The thing with Tampa is Yzerman actually did spend a few years in lower NHL management learning the job. Linden went straight from being a spokesman for gyms and cheap glasses to determining the fate of our franchise for the next 5+ years. And in Jim Benning's case, it's a combination of nepotism (his dad was a legendary scout) and the Peter Principle working it's magic.
It's certainly not a recipe for success to draw your management from such a small group of people, but certainly among all the players there are a few that should make good managers. And if I had to guess and pick from a pool of retirees who would make a good GM, Steve Yzerman would certainly be at the top of the list. As a player he had a great mix of leadership, intelligence, determination, and humility. Most former players that make it into management tend to be grinders who stuck around and made the right connections. In the NHL you usually get the Kevin Lowe's and Craig Mactavish's sticking around, not the Jarri Kurri's and Paul Coffey's.
It's also that there being a range of talent within the small group of people generally considered for GM roles today doesn't have any bearing on the point being replied to. Yes, some GMs are better than others even though they come from a small pool, and you can succeed by hiring a former player given the pool of talent that NHL GMs are currently pulled from. But that doesn't mean that teams are making the right choice given the broader pool of talent available.
It is funny too, because for a large chunk of the sport's history, many managers were not former players. This is a recent phenomenon. And those who never played the game at a high level certainly have had an outsized impact in the sport. Despite most GMs in the league's history being former players or kids of former executives, those who never played the sport at a high level make up a large portion of those considered the best GMs of all time (Pollock, Torrey, Selke, Devellano, Lacroix, Lamoriello, etc.).
This isn't to say there is no value in hockey specific knowledge. There is. But the idea that the hockey specific knowledge garnered by former NHL players is so important to the role that hiring former players is the best way to build a good team is asinine.
