Quote:
Originally Posted by mikephoen
This certainly isn't true. There is at least one board member who has won a Stanley Cup, and certainly has a better hockey resume than Treliving did when he was hired. And there are quite a few very successful people who are CP members. Being an NHL GM isn't like being a neurosurgeon or a federal court judge that you need to train for decades to do the job well.
Look at Treliving's path to being a GM. He spent a decade in the ECHL trying to live his dream of playing in the NHL. The closest he got was 15 games in the AHL. Then he became the Commissioner of a couple semi-pro hockey leagues that were both bankrupt within a few years. Then he spent time in the top tier Arizona Coyotes organization and then he became GM in Calgary. Other than having a billionaire for a father, a lot of people here would have a resume as good or better than that at the time he became a GM.
Sure, the entire league is an old boys club, so having NHL contacts like a former player would is great, but personally I'd also consider a very successful business person or entrepreneur. You can hire a quant to run your analytics department and some former players to be your AGMs if you need NHL old boy network contacts.
I mean, Joe Sakic is considered a top NHL executive and he ended his playing career by sticking his hand into a powered up snowblower. This job isn't exactly sending people to Mars level difficult.
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Yep. Surround yourself with good hockey people if you didn't play the game, but I don't see how being a former player is a job requirement for GM. Would be nice to see teams get out of the old boys club.