Had a feeling you were going to pull this, but anyway, off we go!
Surprise! You just described John Davidson. Here's a piece that may enlighten you:
Blues part ways with team president John Davidson
I lived in St. Louis for some of this period of time, and can attest that his face was all over commercials with a tagline of "Come Grow With Us" and fans responded very well. The Jackets also happened to hire him in a similar spot the Blues were in when they hired him. Both clubs had finished dead last in the league the year before and had absolutely no direction or mission statement. Funny, "Come Grow With Us" is reminiscent of the "Brick by Brick" mantra that someone came up with...
From the source above:
When ownership comes in, they're going to look for every cent they can save. JD had already done his job. He had brought the fans back, gave the team an identity and a winning culture, and hired Doug Armstrong, whom was awarded GM of the Year in '11-12. The new owners didn't need him anymore, so they bought him out. But sure, he was
fired, whatever you say.
Your checklist:
Demonstrated success leading an organization – check
Media savvy and strong sales ability – check
Hockey background – check
What novel ideas. Surely, as you suggest, this could be improved upon without difficulty. Who would hire idiots like Marc Bergevin, Peter Chiarelli, Garth Snow, or Pierre Dorion? Oh wait. Those guys are all puppets for ownership that doesn't have a ****ing clue, much like our owner would be without a competent POHO. Thankfully we've got one who makes these decisions for our ownership but doesn't overload himself by also being the GM.
PS – there are quite a few more numbskulls in the GM ranks that I could name here, but those guys also have a POHO above them who are incompetent
Nothing really to argue here. I think we're pretty much in agreement. I will point out, though, that Brad Larsen had some success in the minors before being promoted to assistant coach here, and I personally think he deserves a shot.