By Ron Rop
Local Sports Journal

The Muskegon Lumberjacks’ front office has undergone some changes this past week.

Assistant coach Steve Palmer and chief operating officer Pat Day both have resigned to pursue other interests.

Palmer has been with the Jacks one-plus season while Day was just hired this past offseason.

“He’s pursuing some other opportunities,” Lumberjacks’ owner Josh Mervis said of Palmer, who served alongside Dave Noel-Bernier as the team’s assistant coaches. “We wish him nothing but the best.”

Mervis said Palmer left on good terms.

“He had some other things he wanted to do,” Mervis said. “He’s a good guy.”

Mervis isn’t sure when, or if, Palmer’s position will be replaced.

“That will be an evolution,” Mervis said. “Manny Legace has a Stanley Cup ring. He doesn’t just handle the goaltenders, he can add a lot. Keith Sullivan coming from the NHL adds a lot more to the mix. Coach (Ron) Mason is still around. There is room for only so many voices in the room and you’ve got to create head space for all those people.”

Day, who came to Muskegon after a career in minor-league baseball appears to be heading back to that sport.

“He wanted to be in baseball,” Mervis said. “Hockey was too hard and that is the truth. He called me up on a Monday night and said, ‘I am leaving to go back to baseball.’”

Day’s duties will be handled by others in the front office, including team president Tim Taylor, who handled Day’s duties prior to his arrival.