The Philadelphia Wings today relieved Lindsay Sanderson of his duties as the team's general manager, ending a five-year reign in which the once-dominant franchise made the playoffs just once.

Sanderson was hired as the Wings' head coach and general manager in June 2004, posting a 21-27 record in three seasons before being stripped of his responsibilities behind the bench.

With Sanderson serving exclusively as the team's general manager the past two seasons, the Wings compiled records of 10-6 in 2008 and 7-9 this year. Philadelphia tied for the best record in the Eastern Division in 2008 but lost in its first playoff game since 2002.

This year, the Wings stumbled to a 1-3 start and were 4-7 in late March before winning three of their final five games. However, the one game they had to win -- the season finale at Rochester, against whom the Wings were competing for a playoff berth -- was an 11-8 defeat.

Prior to joining the Wings, Sanderson had a stint as head coach of the Ottawa Rebel, posting a 3-8 record in 2002. He also was an assistant coach with Montreal and Toronto; at both stops, Sanderson's brother Terry was the head coach.

Cline said that team brass will evaluate the coaches and current players in the coming weeks, seeming to imply that further changes may be ahead.