GM search thread - all news and discussion here

[CalBuckeyeRob]

Why would you expect JD to do anything other than hire some guy near retirement with little track record of success? He has been just as big a failure in Columbus as the rest of the front office. Ultimately, it drops in the lap of the ownership group that has no plan or ability to succeed by letting him make this critically important hire. Well at least there will be more draft lotteries to lose over the next 5 years.

 

[ColumbusTrill]

Here’s what Friedman said yesterday fwiw

I’m under the impression they are still waiting to talk to people. What’s going to happen in Edmonton after the season? That is, I think, one of the situations that could have an effect on Columbus. Are there any other teams that are going to go out they’re going to want to talk to people from their organizations?
I know there’s a lot of smoke around Bergevin right now, and I do think he’s someone they’ve talked to, but I can always be wrong. My impression on Tuesday is they’re not there yet and they’re still waiting to talk to people.

 

[CannonFire1]

Well, Carolina is done so tomorrow's rumor can be about Tulsky.

 

[KJ Dangler]

I’d be stoked if they hired Holland . Dudes won 4 Stanley cups .. inherited a mess in Edmonton .. there’s more to winning in the NHL than having a couple star players . People get to caught up in hot take society .. Remember when people here wanted nothing to do with JT Miller … Peter Laviolette… JD pisses me off at times , but look , the Rangers are now in the Eastern finals .. anyone think he had something to do with that ?

 

[Crede777]

I’d be stoked if they hired Holland . Dudes won 4 Stanley cups .. inherited a mess in Edmonton .. there’s more to winning in the NHL than having a couple star players . People get to caught up in hot take society .. Remember when people here wanted nothing to do with JT Miller … Peter Laviolette… JD pisses me off at times , but look , the Rangers are now in the Eastern finals .. anyone think he had something to do with that ?

I think Edmonton are where they are largely because they lucked into McDavid and Draisatl and Holland had the foresight to get out of the way (unlike Chiarelli).

I think the Rangers are where they are because key players like Panarin and Fox forced their way there so they could live in New York City.

There's little actual roster construction for either team.

What I want to see is a GM who can find good players throughout the draft, develop them well, and talk them into sticking around for at or below market value. All while assembling a strong coaching staff that gets the most out of the players that the GM has assembled.

 

[KJ Dangler]

I think Edmonton are where they are largely because they lucked into McDavid and Draisatl and Holland had the foresight to get out of the way (unlike Chiarelli).

I think the Rangers are where they are because key players like Panarin and Fox forced their way there so they could live in New York City.

There's little actual roster construction for either team.

What I want to see is a GM who can find good players throughout the draft, develop them well, and talk them into sticking around for at or below market value. All while assembling a strong coaching staff that gets the most out of the players that the GM has assembled.

A Look at Ken Holland’s Tenure as Oilers GM

The Edmonton Oilers hired Ken Holland on May 7th, 2019. The Oilers fin...

oilersnation.com

The Edmonton Oilers hired Ken Holland on May 7th, 2019. The Oilers finished 23rd in the NHL in 2018 with 78 points and followed that up with a 25th place finish in 2019 with 79 points. Over two years they were 25th in total points with 157. Holland inherited two great players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but he inherited a bad hockey team.
Since arriving Holland made many moves to support his two superstars and during his four seasons the Oilers amassed the 8th most points and third most regulation wins. They’ve played the 9th most playoff games and Holland has built the Oilers into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

The most impressive aspect, for me, has been Holland’s rebuilding of the blueline despite two significant losses that were out of his control. Oscar Klefbom played in Holland’s first season as GM in 2020, but a career-ending shoulder injury forced Holland to find a replacement. The following off-season, Adam Larsson opted to leave in free agency. The main reason was that his mother didn’t want to return to Edmonton where her husband suddenly died a few years earlier. The organization gave Larsson all the time he needed to make a decision, and he ultimately felt a new city would be best for him and his family.
Losing two of this top-three defenders in less than 10 months was a big blow, but Holland navigated it quite well. He brought in Tyson Barrie as a UFA and Barrie played very well for the Oilers, especially during the playoffs. He eventually moved Barrie to Nashville for Mattias Ekholm. He replaced Larsson with Cody Ceci. Ceci was excellent in his first season in 2022 but had a tough 2023. Holland acquired Brett Kulak for a 2nd rounder and Kulak has been a very solid addition with a good cap hit.

Since he replaced Dave Tippett with Jay Woodcroft on February 10th, 2022, the Oilers have the second most points and second most wins in the NHL, trailing only the Boston Bruins.
Holland hasn’t been perfect, but no GM, or human for that matter, is. He has made more good moves than bad, and as he enters the final year of his five-year contract, I keep hearing whispers this might be his final season in the NHL as GM. If it is, Holland has left the Oilers in a much better position than they were in when he arrived. His successor will inherit a much better team than Holland did in May of 2019, regardless of if Holland opts to leave at the end of this season or the year after.

 

[Xoggz22]

I'm not here to pine for Holland or necessarily defened him. HOwever, one challenge in the recent environment is that you have two guys making ~20% of the CAP and then he did the Nurse deal. Nearly 1/3 of the cap on 3 players makes it tough on anyone to build good supporting players without going the cheap route. He added Bouchard (draft) and Hyman (UFA) at reasonable contract. Made a great deal for Ekholm... He's never fixed the goaltending problem, but I think having two superstars can be a blessing and a curse if you aren't the one building as they grow.

I'm waiting to flip out to see who ends up with the job. I don't think Holland would be terrible if he can turn some of the prospects into Ekholm type players (trades), then I think you're putting somethign together.

 

[Mayor Bee]

I’d be stoked if they hired Holland . Dudes won 4 Stanley cups .. inherited a mess in Edmonton ..

He left an absolute disaster behind in Detroit, in which the team was near the top of the league in spending while getting absolutely dismal results with no prospects, few draft picks, and saddled with several contracts that would make one wonder how on earth a sober person could have actually offered them.

They were under .500 his last three years there, and were under .500 the next four years after he departed despite him being replaced by one of the best GMs in the league.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Half of the Edmonton forwards look like crappy AHL players. Holland has utterly failed to provide the best player in the game and another top 10 player (Drai) with anything near decent enough bottom 6 support. I had previously stated that "if they won the Stanley Cup then he'd be a justifiable (albeit poor) choice." I withdraw that statement

He wouldn't even be on the radar to be the GM of a well run franchise. Which, of course, the CBJ aren't. JD might be more a joke/moron than I'd previously thought.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Someone tell Holland that it's ok to take a year off at the age of 70. Dude had worked 40 years straight in NHL

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Someone tell Holland that it's ok to take a year off at the age of 70. Dude had worked 40 years straight in NHL

Holland would go completely in line with the Babcock hire. JD may have a boner for the old Red Wings team.

I'll give some slack for Holland in Edmonton since previous GMs wasted so much assets that he didnt have that much room to do a lot. Still, not a fan.

 

[EspenK]

GMs aren't miracle workers. Fixing the Jackets will be a long term project. YTF would you hire a guy nearing retirement for that job? Get a younger guy and give him 5 years to get the job done.

 

[KJ Dangler]

GMs aren't miracle workers. Fixing the Jackets will be a long term project. YTF would you hire a guy nearing retirement for that job? Get a younger guy and give him 5 years to get the job done.

Still think McFarland is option 1 .. he’s 54.. does have 23 yrs front office experience, would be a dual role … Hunter and Holland seem to be real options … still sticking with my theory whomever it is will be grooming Nash to take over in couple years

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[KJ Dangler]

He left an absolute disaster behind in Detroit, in which the team was near the top of the league in spending while getting absolutely dismal results with no prospects, few draft picks, and saddled with several contracts that would make one wonder how on earth a sober person could have actually offered them.

They were under .500 his last three years there, and were under .500 the next four years after he departed despite him being replaced by one of the best GMs in the league.

How long you expect him to keep it going ? At some point winning 3 Stanley cups , multiple conference championships , your core ages out , and if your still respectable , talent becomes hard to sustain drafting mid round ….. this is a heck of a legacy and written in 2011 … you can sign and overpay free agents to try to extend a winning culture , but ultimately it comes down to drafting at the top of drafts and getting ultra talented homegrown players and keeping that core together .. eventually they age out if your lucky enough to have your job that long .

Ken Holland enters his 14th season as general manager of the Red Wings and his 28th year with the organization. He is arguably the most successful general manager in all of professional sports over the last 13 years. Since Holland was appointed to his current position in July 1997, the Red Wings have won more games (687) than any other franchise in the National Hockey League, including 588 regular-season victories and 99 playoff wins. Under Holland’s watch the Red Wings have won three Stanley Cups (1998, 2002, 2008), four Presidents’ Trophies (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008), nine Central Division titles (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and five regular-season Western Conference titles (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008).

 

[koteka]

the Rangers are now in the Eastern finals .. anyone think he had something to do with that ?

I think the biggest factor JD had on the Rangers was the firing of Gorton and JD was the signal the Rangers didn’t want to be pushed around anymore and brought a new attitude to the team.

 

[Cowumbus]

Holland should just retire at this point.

 

[The Last Red]

I think the biggest factor JD had on the Rangers was the firing of Gorton and JD was the signal the Rangers didn’t want to be pushed around anymore and brought a new attitude to the team.

As another poster mentioned, Panarin and Fox forced their way to NYC. No other team in the NHL will have the benefit of something like that in their rebuild,

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Well, Carolina is done so tomorrow's rumor can be about Tulsky.

going from "it's over" to "we're so back" at breakneck speeds.

How long you expect him to keep it going ? At some point winning 3 Stanley cups , multiple conference championships , your core ages out , and if your still respectable , talent becomes hard to sustain drafting mid round …..

I don't think anyone can reasonably argue that holland didn't do a good job in detroit (although the end was pretty brutal) but the cynical perspective is that:

1. he took over a red wings roster that already had five future hall-of-famers on it
2. it was before the salary cap
3. it was way before analytics

his success there, as impressive as it was, was predicated on having elite established talent, a large checkbook and conventional hockey wisdom.

I'm not saying that's what his MO currently is or would be if he got the job here, but I'd much rather target a more modern candidate.

Holland should just retire at this point.

dude needs to take the Hire A Realtor In Boca Raton challenge

 

[CBJWerenski8]

I think the biggest factor JD had on the Rangers was the firing of Gorton and JD was the signal the Rangers didn’t want to be pushed around anymore and brought a new attitude to the team.

JD was fired because he refused to fire Gorton. It wasn’t like he wasn’t on board with this change in team philosophy

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Good news for people anti-Holland: 32TP again talked about the GM job this morning (and once again phrased it as the coaching search. Someone really needs to tell the producer it’s GM.) and holland was not brought up once. They just threw cold water on Bergevin again (although said we spoke with him) and that we wanted to talk to Gorton but were denied. That we still wanted to talk to people.

Doesn’t necessarily mean Holland isn’t happening but if it was seen as a slam dunk, as it was kinda hinted at yesterday, they would have addressed it.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Good news for people anti-Holland:

we're so back

 

[Cyclones Rock]

If anyone watched Edmonton play yesterday and is still a Holland fan, I'd like to know why.

McDavid and Draisatl were exhausted as they'd been playing 25-28 minutes per game before last night. Those are first pairing dman minutes not forward minutes. Other than Kane (and maybe Holloway) the rest of the forwards looked like the plugs and garbage that they are. There is no excuse for Holland for having such a horrid supporting cast. Nugent-Hopkins is OK (but playing like garbage this post season) and Hyman is the beneficiary of playing with the best players in the game-he would be hard pressed to score 20 goals on the CBJ. The dude cannot pass, skates like he's got a 50 pound weight on him and carries the puck like it's a live grenade. The rest are pure trash. A Justin Danforth would be a huge addition to a team like Edmonton and Holland can't even pull something like that off. He goes and gets a washed up, detoxing Corey Perry instead. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Holland got Henrique, but a 34 year old Henrique isn't the type of player to put a team over the top.

Bouchard and Ekholm are feathers in Holland's cap, but it takes more than two good dmen to compete for Lord Stanley's hardware. He gave Nurse $9+million/year for 8 years. That's appalling.

It absolutely sickens me that Holland has wasted the primes of the two great players. Take one of them off Edmonton and that team is lottery material. Any team that hires Holland deserves exactly what it will get.

End of rant. For now

 

[KJ Dangler]

If anyone watched Edmonton play yesterday and is still a Holland fan, I'd like to know why.

McDavid and Draisatl were exhausted as they'd been playing 25-28 minutes per game before last night. Those are first pairing dman minutes not forward minutes. Other than Kane (and maybe Holloway) the rest of the forwards looked like the plugs and garbage that they are. There is no excuse for Holland for having such a horrid supporting cast. Nugent-Hopkins is OK and Hyman is the beneficiary of playing with the best players in the game-he would be hard pressed to score 20 goals on the CBJ. The rest are pure trash. A Justin Danforth would be a huge addition to a team like Edmonton and Holland can't even pull something like that off. He goes and gets a washed up, detoxing Corey Perry instead. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Holland got Henrique, but a 34 year old Henrique isn't the type of player to put a team over the top.

Bouchard and Ekholm are feathers in Holland's cap, but it takes more than two good dmen to compete for Lord Stanley's hardware.

It absolutely sickens me that Holland has wasted the primes of the two great players. Take them off Edmonton and that team is lottery material. Any team that hires Holland deserves exactly what it will get.

End of rant. For now

I hear what your saying .. coaching certainly has a part in that .. Vancouver like Dallas , is a very good team .. JT Miller is a 100 point player , and they have every bit the top end talent .. At the same point , Holland took over , they were 23rd in league , with those 2 stars … Toronto with their stars , are watching again , and put out in the first round .. Its really hard to deny that Edmonton isn’t a drastically better constructed team then when he took over .. and there’s been some bad luck ..

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

Holland has drafted poorly at Edmonton and the draft is the only way Columbus can add elite talent. If you are picking 22, you can more easily excuse misses. But this team figures to be picking in the top 10 for at least the next 3 years so draft success is not optional.