Flyers to retain Jim McCrossin amid lawsuit, announce three new hockey operations hires
McCrossin, who is currently suing Comcast Spectacor in relation to his cancer diagnosis, will have a new title with the Flyers next season.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Jim McCrossin’s lawsuit had been dismissed. The case remains ongoing.
The Flyers announced three new additions to their hockey operations staff late Wednesday evening, hiring Tommy Alva as head athletic trainer, Jeff Taylor as physical therapist/rehab coordinator, and Gavin McClelland as data engineer, according to a team release.
Alva has spent 20 seasons in the NHL, including the last 11 as the Florida Panthers’ assistant athletic trainer, while Taylor worked the past two seasons in different capacities with the Los Angeles Dodgers. McClelland comes to the Flyers from SigmaPoint Technologies Inc., and will report to the director of analytics, Ian Anderson, “to build, manage and optimize the team’s data infrastructure.”
Earlier this summer, the Flyers hired Ian McKeown as their new vice president of athlete performance and wellness to oversee all matters related to training, sports medicine, rehabilitation, sports psychology, sports science, and nutrition.
» READ MORE: Flyers hire Ian McKeown to new VP role overseeing athlete performance and wellness
Maybe the most interesting news item in the release, though, was found in the last paragraph, where the team revealed that former director of medical services Jim McCrossin would stay with the organization as a senior adviser within hockey operations.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise given that McCrossin and assistant athletic trainer Sal Raffa, are currently suing the team’s ownership in relation to their respective cancer diagnoses. The two allege that they were consistently exposed to dangerous carcinogens that were emitted from the Zamboni area, which is located near the training room at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees.
McCrossin, who has been with the team for 25 years, has developed myelofibrosis, a rare type of blood cancer that is considered incurable, while Raffa has essential thrombocythemia, a blood disease that also has no cure.
In April, McCrossin and Raffa sued Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers and the Flyers Training Center, for negligence, strict liability, and loss of consortium.
Raffa will remain in his role with the organization.