from Chris Zelcovich of Yahoo,

Beset by sagging ratings and negative critical reviews, Rogers has changed course on its NHL coverage.

The media giant announced Tuesday that it has replaced production head Gord Cutler as it prepares to head into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Cutler's job has been eliminated and his duties will be assumed by Rob Corte, who is now in charge of all live events and studio production.

"This change comes as part of our bigger company restructuring, which was announced at the end of January," Rogers spokesperson Andrea Goldstein wrote in an e-mail. ``While this has been a tough year with Canadian NHL teams out of playoff contention early, our commitment to the NHL has never been stronger. There is no correlation between today’s change and our NHL deal.

"While changes are difficult, today’s restructure puts Sportsnet in a position for continued success as we remain focused on delivering industry-leading content and innovation across all platforms."

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