News Article: From the Athletic - Confidence in Your GM?

[KINGS17]

The 2019 NHL front office confidence rankings: Fans weigh in...

Rather than go into a much-needed rebuild, the Kings bet on 2017-18’s short playoff run as a sign they can continue being a playoff team. They signed Ilya Kovalchuk, extended Drew Doughty to a mega-deal, and then fell flat on their faces the following season.

What was clear then is even clearer now and we’ll see if the team can take the steps to do a proper and much-needed rebuild. The public is extremely skeptical of Los Angeles doing so successfully, but the fan base is a bit more optimistic, especially in the team’s ability to draft and develop. I’m not sure where that confidence currently comes from given the current state of affairs, but they did do well at the draft according to our Corey Pronman, so that’s a start.

I wonder where Sakic would have ranked a few years ago.

Click to read more...

 

[crassbonanza]

Dom alone is keeping me from subscribing to the Athletic. I honestly can't stand his f***ing know it all snark and he seems to be the centerpiece of their hockey coverage.

 

[KINGS17]

 

[Master Yoda]

The 2019 NHL front office confidence rankings: Fans weigh in...

Rather than go into a much-needed rebuild, the Kings bet on 2017-18’s short playoff run as a sign they can continue being a playoff team. They signed Ilya Kovalchuk, extended Drew Doughty to a mega-deal, and then fell flat on their faces the following season.

What was clear then is even clearer now and we’ll see if the team can take the steps to do a proper and much-needed rebuild. The public is extremely skeptical of Los Angeles doing so successfully, but the fan base is a bit more optimistic, especially in the team’s ability to draft and develop. I’m not sure where that confidence currently comes from given the current state of affairs, but they did do well at the draft according to our Corey Pronman, so that’s a start.

I wonder where Sakic would have ranked a few years ago.

I'm still not sold on Colorado.
Grubauer has never been a #1.
On D, they lost a 60-point d-man, Byram probably isn't ready yet, and as good as Makar looked, he's only played 10 NHL games.
And even with Kadri, they don't have a lot of secondary scoring.
Many of these questions will be answered this coming season.
But they do have a young core so they don't necessarily have to be in a "win-now" mode.

 

[KINGS17]

I'm still not sold on Colorado.
Grubauer has never been a #1.
On D, they lost a 60-point d-man, Byram probably isn't ready yet, and as good as Makar looked, he's only played 10 NHL games.
And even with Kadri, they don't have a lot of secondary scoring.
Many of these questions will be answered this coming season.
But they do have a young core so they don't necessarily have to be in a "win-now" mode.

I mentioned Colorado only because I think the consensus a few years ago was that Sakic was a disaster as a GM. It's the fickle finger of fate that can change things pretty fast.

 

[Master Yoda]

I mentioned Colorado only because I think the consensus a few years ago was that Sakic was a disaster as a GM. It's the fickle finger of fate that can change things pretty fast.

Right, but other than hitting on a couple of high draft picks, Sakic hasn't really done anything "visionary" or much winning to be considered a top 3 GM as the article suggests.
He's probably somewhere between a disaster and a top 3.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Right, but other than hitting on a couple of high draft picks, Sakic hasn't really done anything "visionary" or much winning to be considered a top 3 GM as the article suggests.
He's probably somewhere between a disaster and a top 3.

I mean, this was a pretty epic trade: The Matt Duchene Trade, One Year Later

Girard is nasty and getting Byram out of a guy who was going to be a UFA in the near future is pretty franchise altering.

 

[johnjm22]

I mentioned Colorado only because I think the consensus a few years ago was that Sakic was a disaster as a GM. It's the fickle finger of fate that can change things pretty fast.

I was one of those people criticizing him. I thought he was botching Duchene.

It turned out he made an absolute killing on the Duchene trade.

He's done a good job, but also caught some breaks. The Avs were sort of fortunate that MacKinnon was initially only a mediocre player. It allowed them to sign him to cheap deal. Then he became a great player after it was already signed.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I was one of those people criticizing him. I thought he was botching Duchene.

It turned out he made an absolute killing on the Duchene trade.

He's done a good job, but also caught some breaks. The Avs were sort of fortunate that MacKinnon was initially only a mediocre player. It allowed them to sign him to cheap deal. Then he became a great player after it was already signed.

Was about to say the same thing. Seems more like luck/lightning strikes than anything visionary but you need luck too. He has the solid base now, it's important what happens next. Getting MacKinnon cheap was fortunate timing. Trading Duchene looks phenomenal now. But they also botched things with Duchene and O'Reilly which is why they were in that position in the first place, and about the only thing worthwhile they got back for ROR is Zadorov (I guess COmpher could still take a step, Grigorenko is a bust, forget what the pick became so maybe I'm wrong).

Blake, similarly, has now reshaped things to his liking, and what happens next is vital.

 

[BigKing]

As I've said numerous times: Blake's below-par job so far will easily be forgotten if these prospects hit in a big way.

At the moment, it is completely fair to criticize him. Like Sakic though, nobody will care about 2019 if Turcotte is feeding Kaliyev on the top line for ten years.

 

[King'sPawn]

It's amusing how much praise Tampa Bay gets. Granted, they had a fantastic regular season, but a very large chunk of their core is tied up in NTC/NMC, and he hasn't yet signed Point as he doesn't have the cap space. Not sure how much praise that gets for roster build and cap management.

 

[KINGS17]

Right, but other than hitting on a couple of high draft picks, Sakic hasn't really done anything "visionary" or much winning to be considered a top 3 GM as the article suggests.
He's probably somewhere between a disaster and a top 3.

You are probably dead on with this assessment. Sakic is in a good position right now as he has McKinnon signed I think for several more years at a very reasonable cap hit, but he can still blow it. He definitely needs to start thinking about moves to get a cup before it's time for another McKinnon re-signing.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

It's amusing how much praise Tampa Bay gets. Granted, they had a fantastic regular season, but a very large chunk of their core is tied up in NTC/NMC, and he hasn't yet signed Point as he doesn't have the cap space. Not sure how much praise that gets for roster build and cap management.

Both TB AND TO are running around gloating right now yet neither has signed their big pieces. It's hilarious.

 

[KINGS17]

Both TB AND TO are running around gloating right now yet neither has signed their big pieces. It's hilarious.

I am sure Rob Scuderi is available if either of those two teams comes calling.

 

[Master Yoda]

I mean, this was a pretty epic trade: The Matt Duchene Trade, One Year Later

Girard is nasty and getting Byram out of a guy who was going to be a UFA in the near future is pretty franchise altering.

I give him credit for getting a good return, but I don't think even Sakic himself ever imagined Ottawa would finish dead last.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Was about to say the same thing. Seems more like luck/lightning strikes than anything visionary but you need luck too. He has the solid base now, it's important what happens next. Getting MacKinnon cheap was fortunate timing. Trading Duchene looks phenomenal now. But they also botched things with Duchene and O'Reilly which is why they were in that position in the first place, and about the only thing worthwhile they got back for ROR is Zadorov (I guess COmpher could still take a step, Grigorenko is a bust, forget what the pick became so maybe I'm wrong).

Blake, similarly, has now reshaped things to his liking, and what happens next is vital.

You definitely need luck. If Ed Snider and Paul Holmgren don’t impulsively decide they want to ship Richards and Carter out of town on the same day on the next train, and if Carter doesn’t pout his way out of Columbus, the Kings don’t have two Cups.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

You definitely need luck. If Ed Snider and Paul Holmgren don’t impulsively decide they want to ship Richards and Carter out of town on the same day on the next train, and if Carter doesn’t pout his way out of Columbus, the Kings don’t have two Cups.

Yeah zero argument here about that.

Just saying I'm not seeing any really visionary moves from Sakic yet either, but that might be clouded by the fortune of those moves.

 

[crassbonanza]

Both TB AND TO are running around gloating right now yet neither has signed their big pieces. It's hilarious.

I honestly don't understand the love affair with Dubas, his first season as a GM saw them have a 5 point decrease. He purposefully seemed to go against his head coaches wishes leading to a rather dysfunctional team and his decisions really didn't pan out. He panic signed Matthews to the most player friendly contract in the league, caved on Nylander after letting him fall out of shape for ahalf of a season and has yet to re-sign Marner. He only has Reilly under contract on the blue line past this season and has already shipped off his next two 1st round picks. He inherited a young 105 point team that had a high end number 1 center, defenseman and goalie, which may be the best possible starting set up and I have not been impressed with his subsequent moves. I am far more confident in Blake than I would be in Dubas.