Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Trevor Linden does not provide this same buffer.
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How about Sakic? Shanahan?
Three hall of fame players without much management experience hired as Presidents of NHL teams in the last 12 months. Then there's LaFontaine and Neely. None of those guys have as much hockey management acumen as their subordinates in the GM chair.
There's definitely a marketing and corporate status angle here.There weren't as many former superstar players in top executive positions in the NHL 10 years ago. Franchises today want a superstar face to the management team. Since most of these guys don't have the experience (or perhaps the acumen) to be GMs in the modern era, teams bring them in as President, where they can have a prominent public position while being one step removed from day-to-day job of NHL team management.