Speculation: Poll: Who would be your choice for new GM of the Oilers?

[nexttothemoon]

Ok by request... this is the thread in which HFOil gets to choose the new GM for the Oilers if/when Chiarelli gets canned this season.

Who would you choose as the new management leader for this Oilers franchise to right the ship and set them sailing towards brighter days ahead?

Choose from the list of names I came up with as GM replacement possibilities (several of them have jobs elsewhere but of course they would all surely jump at the chance to come to Edmonton and lead this team to glory once again.)

If there's no one on the list you'd choose... write in your choice in the comments below and tell us why they'd be a solid choice to get this team back on track again.


EDIT:

I'll add more GM options when people suggest them in the comments and you can also change your choice if you see your preferred option added to the poll.

Click to read more...

 

[Soundwave]

With the GM I think it's more about how they interview to me.

What is their trade philosophy?

What is their contract negotiation philosophy?

For track record I would look more at their drafting record than "well so and so has won a Cup so he knows something about winning". I don't think that is the be all/end all for a manager. Focus on their philosophy to management and their draft track record, that's where the GM does his work.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Hard not to admit that the Lombardi/Sutter combo would be tempting.

Lombardi's drafting has been great. He like most other GMs have made the mistakes of Dustin Brown and Mike Richards, but I think he's learnt from those mistakes and won't actually afford to be able to hand out big contracts to mediocre players because of the big ones we already have. He's got a great ability to identify and acquire good defensemen, and Sutter knows how to use them.

 

[Soundwave]

Lombardi jumps out obviously, especially if Sutter is the new coach.

But I sense a lot of the bad that Chiarelli has in Lombardi too. He just doesn't lose trades as badly.

Feaster is a goofy bastard, but you have to admit the dude drafts pretty well.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

I like Paul Fenton the most Nashville has had good cap management for a long time, I know he was given the reigns for a lot of their AHL teams decisions and they've developed a lot of players through that pipeline while icing a competitive team. Nashville has been a well run organization for a long time and seem to do a good job at getting quality role players without breaking the bank, something we will clearly need to do with $21M tied up in our top 2 centers.

Lombardi would be my second choice, he is responsible for 2 albatross contracts on the Kings books, but it is hard to avoid accruing a few given the cup success they had, but by and large he made a lot of intelligent decisions and seemed to have a good grasp on towing the line of accruing assets till they were at the brink of being able to win a cup and then exchanging said assets to push them over that hump, a lot of GM's pull that cord too early and fall flat.

If people want Lombardi because of his drafting success apparently a lot of the drafting success was because of Mike Futa director of player personel at the time of nearly all their notable picks (now assistant GM) and apparently he is someone who is up for most GM openings I believe he interviewed for both Buffalo and Toronto GM openings.

One other name to consider is Julien Brisebois he's assistant GM in Tampa and has had a hand in their cap management, how well Tampa has been able to retain a lot of talent and fit it just under the cap has been impressive.


Don Maloney has a strong Oiler connection between being assistant GM to Glen Sather for many years and having Gretzky be his coach for a while, I think his predecessor is the one that actually hired him though. IMO Maloney had the deck stacked against him a bit in Phoenix, but Poile/Fenton seemed to make it work on a budget in a non-traditional hockey market.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

I just want to add that I have a lot of respect for the Maple Leafs brain trust and I'd have a lot more confidence in Chia being able to get the job done if he was surrounded by people like Lamoriello is. If you exchanged Keith Gretzky, Craig MacTavish, and Scott Howson with Kyle Dubas, Mark Hunter, and Cliff Fletcher, we'd likely be better off and could have avoided some of Chia's stupider decisions.

 

[I am the Liquor]

None of this matters if the goofball owner insists on hanging onto Fric and Frac.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Honestly, someone here, because no matter the replacement it will be the same

 

[smokersarejokers]

There are some bad names on the poll. Why is Tim Murray on there? Who the hell voted for Jay Feaster?

I'm in the Fenton, Brisebois, Futa camp. They desperately need someone with a proven track record of drafting and developing.

The reason they've had to sign some stupid contracts in the last few years, is because they had little to no homegrown NHL talent. When you're drafting and developing is weak, you need to sign players from other organizations and you get in stupid bidding wars with other weak drafting and developing teams. It's viscous cycle.

The old boys club has to stop. For the love of god. No former Oilers, no former Oil Kings.

 

[McShogun99]

We complained about Tambo doing nothing, we complained about Mac T not making trades and only signing 6/7 defenceman. Then we bring in PC to give away any asset of value we tanked all those years for....

 

[nexttothemoon]

There are some bad names on the poll. Why is Tim Murray on there? Who the hell voted for Jay Feaster?

I'm in the Fenton, Brisebois, Futa camp. They desperately need someone with a proven track record of drafting and developing.

The reason they've had to sign some stupid contracts in the last few years, is because they had little to no homegrown NHL talent. When you're drafting and developing is weak, you need to sign players from other organizations and you get in stupid bidding wars with other weak drafting and developing teams. It's viscous cycle.

The old boys club has to stop. For the love of god. No former Oilers, no former Oil Kings.

I added those 3 additional choices to the poll now as well and people can change their pick as long as the poll is open... so I left it as flexible as I could which is why I had as many GM options as I did.

 

[Joey Moss]

Julien Brisebois for me. Tampa has set their team up for the next decade with great drafting and management.

You could go with Fenton as well. I don't like the Lombardi idea.

 

[RipThisJoint]

Fenton is the one who really interests me. Brought up under Poile and sounds like already handles most of the duties of a GM. Always some risk going with someone who hasn't held the position but seems like he would be a solid choice. Also like Lombardi but has some definite blackmarks on his legacy...

 

[ujju2]

I'm not much of a Lombardi guy, especially if it, means we continue to build around size rather than speed. I like size, but this team seriously lacks speed. Fenton and Brisebois are my top two.

 

[Zaddy]

I don't know a ton about them but any of Fenton, Futa or Brisebois would be interesting. I don't know what to think about Lombardi honestly. I really like his interviews and he seems to have a good mind, but he also made a lot of bad decisions with the Kings and it's a very real possibility that he isn't any better than Chia.

EDIT: Didn't realize Paul Fenton's son is actually an amateur scout with the Oilers. That's interesting.

 

[oXo Cube]

I don't really care. As long as they have googled the term 'asset management' at some point prior to the interview they would be an improvement.

 

[StevenF1919]

Literally anyone. Hell, bring Lowe back even. As long as Chiarelli doesn't get another offseason to f*** this team up further.

 

[BudBundy]

If Fenton is available, then hell yes. This joke of a franchise could use some Nashville drafting and cap management. Hell no to Lombardi. He is a Chiarelli clone and his whole schtick openly sniping at Lowe a few years back just points to a lack of class that has permeated this franchise enough already.

 

[RebuildTheRebuild]

Julien Briesbois is for sure my first choice but another name I like is Norm Maciver who is currently assistant GM of the Blackhawks. He has been involved in the player development department in Chicago since 2006 and was promoted to assistant GM in 2013. He knows the value of player development and could help us in that department and has seen and been apart of a team that has been tight to the cap but still staying competitive for years.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Lombardi jumps out obviously, especially if Sutter is the new coach.

But I sense a lot of the bad that Chiarelli has in Lombardi too. He just doesn't lose trades as badly.

Feaster is a goofy bastard, but you have to admit the dude drafts pretty well.

Sutter does not want to coach in the NHL.

My understanding he is enjoying being GM/HC in Red Deer as well as owners. When he quit being a head coach in the NHL he said something about not liking it at the NHL level

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

I don't really care. As long as they have googled the term 'asset management' at some point prior to the interview they would be an improvement.

then MacT or Tambo it is

 

[Joey Moss]

Sutter does not want to coach in the NHL.

My understanding he is enjoying being GM/HC in Red Deer as well as owners. When he quit being a head coach in the NHL he said something about not liking it at the NHL level

Wrong Sutter

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Sutter does not want to coach in the NHL.

My understanding he is enjoying being GM/HC in Red Deer as well as owners. When he quit being a head coach in the NHL he said something about not liking it at the NHL level

Darryl Sutter

 

[Jumptheshark]

Darryl Sutter

two things work against him

1) he turns 60 shortly and for out next head coach I want a guy who will be here for awhile and that leads to number 2
2) Look how the kings are playing this year--was Sutter in fact the problem there? if so is he out of touch with the current NHL--Kings hated his line decisions that last year

 

[SupremeTeam16]

My list would start with Brisebois and Fenton. They have both been involved with teams that have done a terrific job drafting and developing.