The search for a GM thread

[transplant99]

Saw this blurb from KPD of the Boston Globe

NHL GM jobs remain open in Calgary, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, and the narrative around the league is that the Flames and Flyers hires are related to whether Fenway Sports Group hires Kyle Dubas for its Penguins opening.

In Toronto, Dubas’s Maple Leafs fell into a 2-0 hole Thursday night to the Panthers, which means he soon could be eligible to talk to anyone, provided the Leafs don’t keep him in residence.

“Bright, analytics guy, growing confidence on the job. You know, hockey’s version of Theo Epstein,” said a longtime agent. “Dubas would be good anywhere.”

Perhaps.

The Leafs, finally into Round 2 for the first time since the invention of carbon sticks, have structured a very top-heavy cap model in the Dubas era. They’ve stacked the top of the forward order with high talent and higher salaries, dollars that have led to perennial issues on the back end, including defense and goal.

Unlike the Bruins, with David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm the only two players who can’t be traded, the Leafs have four players who can’t be moved. Three are forwards: Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner, along with Morgan Rielly on the backline.

That’s four players at an aggregate AAV of $41 million, or half the cap. By the way, two games into their series with the Panthers, the Leafs’ goal scorers were Matthew Knies, Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, and Ryan O’Reilly. The high rollers weren’t rolling.

Yet in Pittsburgh, “Keys to the castle for Dubas,” said one well-connected source in the league’s infrastructure.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/...s-roster-2023/

[shutout]

https://flamesnation.ca/news/friedma...in-stan-bowman

Flames Nation has an article about a Friedman comment suggesting Stan Bowman

[Rejean31]

Just a hard NO to Stan Bowman. Is this organization trying to turn fans off? Considering the baggage that this guy has they should not even be considering him.

[mile]

I think Maloney is interested in everybody. He's doing what he should be doing.


Big no to Bowman though. He doesn't exactly fit the profile of what Maloney is looking for anyway

[Sylvanfan]

I heard Kerrs podcast a couple weeks back where he had Peter Maher on. Pete noted that they should talk to as many people as possible to get as many perspectives on the team as they can. Something that Treliving really missed out on kn hiring Bill Peters without interviewing anyone else. But that's where I would limit my engagement with Bowman. I'm not sure how much credit he would get for those cups and with the off ice baggage you really do not want that.

[Bingo]

I never get in a knot over rumours or actual first meetings.

It's when you get short lists you start to worry.

[dammage79]

Bowman did some fascinating roster management during the Hawks cup runs. Pretty sharp and willing to make moves one way or the other. That said, I've not been a fan of Bowman even without the Beech situation attached. And the Flames have built a fairly credible community standing that could take some big hits if they did bring in Bowman. It's a harmful public move, but from a roster management perspective, they could do much worse.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Bowman did some fascinating roster management during the Hawks cup runs. Pretty sharp and willing to make moves one way or the other. That said, I've not been a fan of Bowman even without the Beech situation attached. And the Flames have built a fairly credible community standing that could take some big hits if they did bring in Bowman. It's a harmful public move, but from a roster management perspective, they could do much worse.

Yeah, some real fascinating moves for Stan Bowman:

To Columbus:
2021 12th Overall
2021 44th Overall
2022 1st round pick (6th Overall)
Adam Boqvist

To Chicago:
Seth Jones (signs 8 Year, $76M extension)
2021 32nd Overall
2022 173rd Overall

Quite the banger.

During the “competing years”:

To Columbus:
Artemi Panarin
Tyler Motte
2016 7th rounder

To Chicago:
Brandon Saad
Anton Forsberg
2018 5th rounder

Quite amazing to see two franchise destroying trades occur in such a short period of time. Both involving the same teams.

Chicago effectively rebuilt Columbus while trying and failing to make themselves better.

[Major Major]

Sounds like a guy who is desperate to keep his name in the conversation. Always struck me as an arrogant born on third kind of guy. Of any potential gm, the most likely to reach out to EF to tell him teams are interested is Bowman.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Sounds like a guy who is desperate to keep his name in the conversation. Always struck me as an arrogant born on third kind of guy. Of any potential gm, the most likely to reach out to EF to tell him teams are interested is Bowman.

Yup, that's exactly what I thought when I heard his name. We know Friedman gets a lot of his insider info from agents. We don't have a lot of info about Maloney yet, but under Treliving, the Flames were a pretty tight ship in terms of leaks.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Yeah, some real fascinating moves for Stan Bowman:

To Columbus:
2021 12th Overall
2021 44th Overall
2022 1st round pick (6th Overall)
Adam Boqvist

To Chicago:
Seth Jones (signs 8 Year, $76M extension)
2021 32nd Overall
2022 173rd Overall

Quite the banger.

During the “competing years”:

To Columbus:
Artemi Panarin
Tyler Motte
2016 7th rounder

To Chicago:
Brandon Saad
Anton Forsberg
2018 5th rounder

Quite amazing to see two franchise destroying trades occur in such a short period of time. Both involving the same teams.

Chicago effectively rebuilt Columbus while trying and failing to make themselves better.

Rebuilt Columbus is a bit of a stretch. To their former awful glory?
The panarin deal made sense at the time.
The jones deal was and remains a total puzzler. It remind me of Sutter and Dion. Or Sutter and Stuart. Or Sutter and jaybo. Sigh. Oh the good times.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Bowman is a huge no but the Saad trade was mad because the players wanted him back.