Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylvanfan
Let's be a bit more realistic...the fact that Conroy didn't trade Kadri before he was appointed as GM is a massive failure that's been catastrophic to the franchise.
Although the brutal reality of this business is that a guy like Conroy who will be the guy who has to draft the higher end talent for this team since he really didn't inherit it...he's likely fired by the time that talent comes of age and becomes a higher end team.
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With rookie GMs in mind, it will be interesting to watch how long of a leash Grier gets with the Sharks. Thus far he is 4 years in as a rookie GM and all he has really done is lose.
Sure, he's auto-drafted some high end talent at the top of the draft and he has made some good trades to add more talent in key positions (like goalie) but now he has to stop losing. He is clearly making some moves toward that end but signing Orlov and Klingberg (and snagging Leddy off of waivers) is not going to be enough to get his D group into a functional state.
Also, with all of the talk about McTavish being potentially available because he doesn't want to be stuck behind other Cs in the depth chart, how long until this happens to the Sharks?? If Celebrini and Smith solidify as their #1/#2 combo this year, then it means there is no spot for Misa to be the #1C guy, or Bystedt to be the #2. Those players will be stuck with the Sharks for a few years while their ELCs run out but then their first contract negotiation could start to look like McTavish's.
How Grier handles all of that will dramatically change how long of a leash he gets (if he even gets 3 more years).
I would guess that Conroy is watching closely to see how their situations compare even with their rebuilds/retools being so dramatically different. IMO, Conroy was dealt the much harder hand and has done some impressive work with it, all things considered. I would hope that gives him a longer leash to get the team into the next phase of his plan (5 more years?).