Rumor: Gretzky in talks with Caps & three others

[NoMoreChoking]

Remember, he is president, not GM. If he was GM I would be worried. Let's wait to see who he hires as GM

 

[Hivemind]

I don't think this is necessarily a terrible move. Sure there were better candidates available for the job but atleast there is someone now that knows something about hockey aswell.

Willing to give this a chance without shooting it down the second it happens.

You could have said the same thing, word-for-word, about Adam Oates.

 

[HeyMattyB]

Remember, he is president, not GM. If he was GM I would be worried. Let's wait to see who he hires as GM

Yup.

 

[HunterSThompson]

People evolve, people change, people learn from their mistakes. I am not going to say whether hiring Gretzky as President is a good or bad thing necessarily.

Pros: marketability, juice with league, possible stature for free agents/other executives or coaches, fate

Cons: track record, past mistakes, cronyism, star-player to executive dynamic, ego

I said the other day. We will know if he has learned from his mistakes by whom he hires as GM. Messier or other crony=uh oh. Non-crony=progress.

 

[Liberati0n*]

It's the logic behind this that makes it so completely unacceptable. Hiring a new president to set an organizational tone and philosophy is a very good idea. Ted didn't arrive at it because it's a good idea. Instead, he arrived at one specific president for completely other, marketing-oriented reasons. A grown adult man who has run entire companies thinks the answer to the franchise's problems is a PR stunt (that the public doesn't even support).

 

[g00n]

Well let's get ahead of this and cut directly to a question many will be sure to ask: How likely is it that 99 will ever trade Ovechkin?

You know this is going to come up if it hasn't already. 99 was the biggest star in the league and the face of his team, and he was traded. Does that make him more likely to pull the trigger? Or does his experience mean the opposite, and he's less likely to put a team and a player through all of that?

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

People evolve, people change, people learn from their mistakes. I am not going to say whether hiring Gretzky as President is a good or bad thing necessarily.

Pros: marketability, juice with league, possible stature for free agents/other executives or coaches, fate

Cons: track record, past mistakes, cronyism, star-player to executive dynamic, ego

I said the other day. We will know if he has learned from his mistakes by whom he hires as GM. Messier or other crony=uh oh. Non-crony=progress.

Ironically the person who has not learned from their mistakes is Leonsis. Style of substance. That's all this move is.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Poll added. Name your "other" candidate if you chose that option.

 

[g00n]

It's the logic behind this that makes it so completely unacceptable. Hiring a new president to set an organizational tone and philosophy is a very good idea. Ted didn't arrive at it because it's a good idea. Instead, he arrived at one specific president for completely other, marketing-oriented reasons. A grown adult man who has run entire companies thinks the answer to the franchise's problems is a PR stunt (that the public doesn't even support).

I think the writing on the wall here is "Someone come in and take over the Capitals because the Wizards rebuild is over and Ted and Dick want to be more focused on them".

I would expect 99 to have near total control over the Caps if this goes through. Ted and DP will defer. And whoever the GM is may end up being a puppet or a figurehead number-cruncher.

edit: Wiz at 84% attendance and 18th in the NBA. Any exec looking at that vs the Caps will want to pass off the healthy arm of the business to a capable manager and focus on getting that other 16% while also raising ticket prices.

 

[ChibiPooky]

At this point I'm just hoping it's not Gretzky - - > Milbury - - > Gretzky.

 

[NoMoreChoking]

At this point I'm just hoping it's not Gretzky - - > Milbury - - > Gretzky.

If you rather have Milbury then I am so sorry

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Poll added. Name your "other" candidate if you chose that option.

Bob Nicholson

 

[g00n]

At this point I'm just hoping it's not Gretzky - - > Milbury - - > Gretzky.

 

[Hivemind]

My friend did point out a silver lining. This does mean more Paulina Gretzky in/around DC.

Bob Nicholson

Given his reasons for leaving Hockey Canada, I don't think he was a realistic option. But agreed that he would have been the ideal candidate.

 

[Calicaps]

@Stormin1Norman: Breaking News Wayne Gretzky to be named president of the Washington #Caps #NHL

He called Lavy to NSH yesterday so...ugh.

We all knew the firing could go badly... but wow.

 

[Langway]

Well let's get ahead of this and cut directly to a question many will be sure to ask: How likely is it that 99 will ever trade Ovechkin?

You know this is going to come up if it hasn't already. 99 was the biggest star in the league and the face of his team, and he was traded. Does that make him more likely to pull the trigger? Or does his experience mean the opposite, and he's less likely to put a team and a player through all of that?

More likely, although that's always going to be an ownership call anyway. Patrick was the one behind tacking more years on Ovechkin's extension and recently said if they had two of him people wouldn't be getting fired. Gretzky couldn't help but provide a more realistic and thoughtful perspective if need be when it comes to a star player (assuming ownership wants to hear it and there isn't a subtly coerced sense of taboo there). In that regard maybe it's not a terrible hire...but that's mainly because ownership has proven to be so lacking in perspective/insight.

Raising the bar in an organization in one off-season when a number of hires need to be made is a pretty difficult endeavor. So much has to go right to find the right people at the right time to fit the vision. If this process drags on you've got to wonder if the pieces ever were or are still going to be out there to put it together. The GM pool seems adequately deep enough not to worry but the coaching field a lot less so. Hopefully there isn't some recycled placeholder added behind the bench but someone a new front office can actually build with.

 

[Atlas]

I am ALL-IN with THE GREAT ONE!!!!!

 

[RandyHolt]

Gambling with Gretzky

The question is, which one, or both.

I just hope Ted and Dicks Big Adventure included actually grilling Wayne on the unpleasantness of Phoenix, and were not star struck, their minds already made up.

 

[Atlas]

Gambling with Gretzky

The question is, which one, or both.

I just hope Ted and Dicks Big Adventure included actually grilling Wayne on the unpleasantness of Phoenix, and were not star struck, their minds already made up.

I expect Ted and Dick to do it all wrong. I'm just hoping they luck in to something.

 

[RandyHolt]

I expect Ted and Dick to do it all wrong. I'm just hoping they luck in to something.

I know the restructuring may make it difficult to know who is going to have what powers, but I would think a top notch GM candidate is going to demand full control of the team.

Lets just hope we get a top candidate GM in here with said controls, which should all but confirm Wayne is a PR stunt at least for the next several years.

 

[stanleycaps18]

Ugh, if this is true. I will withhold judgement.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I have no issues with him as President. Just keep him out of the GM and Coaching areas. Hopefully, this will attract some UFAs in the future. I totally see this as a PR move.

 

[SDBondra]

I am OK with it as long as he doesn't have an opinion about which wing Ovechkin should play.

 

[FloridaCap]

I am OK with it as long as he doesn't have an opinion about which wing Ovechkin should play.

I hope he does have an opinion, and I hope it's left wing.

 

[JenniferH]

I think this has a potential upside with Gretzky in this position. If he were being hired as coach or GM, I'd be very worried, but this is different, so I'm cautiously optimistic. Everything I've heard from Ted has set me at ease so far. I may not know hockey like some of you, but I know how to read pressers and in between the lines of what they say and don't say from my other interests, so, yes, I'm optimistic that this isn't just some showy gambit, but there was a lot of thought put into this, if it's actually going through.