PWHL Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz is leaving the organization, team sources told The Athletic on Thursday night.
The news comes just eight days after the team won the PWHL’s first-ever Walter Cup championship and four days before Minnesota is set to host the 2024 Draft and first-ever PWHL Awards.
“It’s pretty shocking,” one team source said.
Darwitz, 40, was hired in September 2023 to lead Minnesota — which, like all PWHL teams, is owned by the league — heading into its inaugural season. According to a team source, Darwitz was told earlier this week she would not be back as general manager for the 2024-25 season and was offered alternative options within the league. The league also gave Darwitz the option of putting out a statement saying that she had chosen to move on, the team source said. She is not expected to be at the draft table for Minnesota on Monday night.
The PWHL would not confirm the news of Darwitz’s departure.
Darwitz is synonymous with women’s hockey in Minnesota. She grew up in Eagan, Minn., and won two NCAA championships with the University of Minnesota. She won three Olympic medals with Team USA and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. Darwitz was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in May, during Minnesota’s…
