What do you want from the Jackets' next GM?

[The Last Red]

There seems to be a total lack of urgency in getting this done.

 

[CBJx614]

There seems to be a total lack of urgency in getting this done.

Based on what? Do you work in the CBJ front office?

We as fans shouldn't actually hear anything until it's announced. Just because stuff hasn't been leaked out doesn't mean stuff isn't happening in the background. There's still almost half of the league the FO can't even talk to. If Zito was their guy before his extension there's a possibility they wouldn't have been able to fully talk with him until almost June...

 

[MissADD]

There seems to be a total lack of urgency in getting this done.

Not really. If the person they is working for a team that is currently in the playoffs, that team is well within their right to say we aren't letting you interview them until their season is over. Lets say Darche is their top guy, his season ended last night. Now that teams seasons are ending, I expect some interviews to take place.

 

[Xoggz22]

Why won't they tell us what they are doing? C'mon... that's a fan rule

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

Hopefully they don't try to rush the process. If there are candidates that are on teams that go deep into the playoffs, I don't want the desire to hire someone sooner cause the pool to shrink.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

No question, the CEO in the business world is judged on profitability and if a publicly held company, they are judged first and foremost on the performance of the company's stock.

you cannot entirely separate the two, though, because the on-ice results drive a ton of revenue.

it's a gate-driven league. good teams have more expensive tickets, better ratings, more sponsorship opportunities, etc. – and that's without getting into the millions of dollars per game that they'd make in the playoffs.

every year they miss the playoffs, they miss out on tens of millions of dollars in potential profit. mike priest has, at the very least, signed off on every coaching/GM hire that has failed to yield those results in the last 25 years.

it's been written about ad nauseam, but the organization has refused to pay top dollar for coaches and it has burned them. they got lucky once (torts) with a reclamation project there, then got burned when they tried to replicate that (babcock). otherwise it's a lot of cheap first-timers who are in over their heads (lars, pv).

it's not like JD and jarmo were the guys pinching pennies with those hires. they were working within budgets set by mike priest and ownership.

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

you cannot entirely separate the two, though, because the on-ice results drive a ton of revenue.

it's a gate-driven league. good teams have more expensive tickets, better ratings, more sponsorship opportunities, etc. – and that's without getting into the millions of dollars per game that they'd make in the playoffs.

every year they miss the playoffs, they miss out on tens of millions of dollars in potential profit. mike priest has, at the very least, signed off on every coaching/GM hire that has failed to yield those results in the last 25 years.

it's been written about ad nauseam, but the organization has refused to pay top dollar for coaches and it has burned them. they got lucky once (torts) with a reclamation project there, then got burned when they tried to replicate that (babcock). otherwise it's a lot of cheap first-timers who are in over their heads (lars, pv).

it's not like JD and jarmo were the guys pinching pennies with those hires. they were working within budgets set by mike priest and ownership.

I wonder if Jarmo wanted cheaper coaches because they demand less power which allowed the GM to be in total control of all personnel moves.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

I wonder if Jarmo wanted cheaper coaches because they demand less power which allowed the GM to be in total control of all personnel moves.

i 100% get that it was time for jarmo to go but this is revisionist history that doesn't even fit the MO that jarmo showed when he was here. jarmo was always ardent that the coach sets the lineup, and that the GM's job is to give the coach pieces that work.

not only that, but jarmo wasn't even the top ranking hockey ops executive (that was JD). these guys also don't just make up their own budgets, those get set by ownership, and they have to get approval if they go over. not exactly an "absolute power" guy or position. they only hire 'damaged goods' coaches (torts/babcock) or first-timers who aren't hot commodities on the HC market (larsen, pv) because ownership doesn't want to shell out the money to win a bidding war for a coach who has legitimate interest around the league.

 

[squashmaple]

i 100% get that it was time for jarmo to go but this is revisionist history that doesn't even fit the MO that jarmo showed when he was here. jarmo was always ardent that the coach sets the lineup, and that the GM's job is to give the coach pieces that work.

not only that, but jarmo wasn't even the top ranking hockey ops executive (that was JD). these guys also don't just make up their own budgets, those get set by ownership, and they have to get approval if they go over. not exactly an "absolute power" guy or position. they only hire 'damaged goods' coaches (torts/babcock) or first-timers who aren't hot commodities on the HC market (larsen, pv) because ownership doesn't want to shell out the money to win a bidding war for a coach who has legitimate interest around the league.

Ding ding! We don't need to make up supervillain conspiracy theories about Jarmo. Sometimes incompetence and cheapness is just that. Simple organizational rot.

 

[TaketheCannoli]

Toronto, Montreal, and the Rangers are the most valuable franchises and I assume they are far far more profitable than any other team. Toronto fans complain that the salary cap hurts them, but really it protects their team’s profitability. Should these teams be considered the most successful franchises in the NHL?

My comment was specifically about how CEOs are evaluated in the business world. As a business, the Rangers and the Leafs are the most successful ie. profitable in the NHL.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

My comment was specifically about how CEOs are evaluated in the business world. As a business, the Rangers and the Leafs are the most successful ie. profitable in the NHL.

those franchises also outright tanked in order to build teams that would have sustainable success and perennial playoff appearances, have been willing to fire coaches with a ton of money remaining, and have spent top dollar on front office personnel + coaches.

they do those things because they understand that significant investment into those positions + a strategic vision for getting to (and staying in) the playoffs yields maximum actual profits.

hell, even florida – a failing business for years prior to (and in the first few years with) their current ownership – understood the assignment. you have to be ruthless and decisive – they had an adams finalist in brunette and let him go so they could get a proven coach in maurice, and it almost got them a cup in year 1.

in the NHL, the easiest way to maximize profit is to make consistent, deep playoff runs. the blue jackets haven't ever had that, in large part because ownership is too impatient to abide by a long-term rebuild and too cheap to pay top dollar for a good coach.

you really can't separate the on-ice stuff from the business side.

 

[NotWendell]

I wonder if Jarmo wanted cheaper coaches because they demand less power which allowed the GM to be in total control of all personnel moves.

There's enough crap that we know about that warranted his dismissal a long time ago. Even if something like this happened, it's superfluous now.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Torts is the suggestion from the article

 

[KJ Dangler]

Torts is the suggestion from the article

No thanks …

 

[MissADD]

Torts is the suggestion from the article

Interesting. Lets say they go that way, what would it cost to get him out of Philly?

 

[JohnnyJacket13]

Torts is the suggestion from the article

Please god no

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Interesting. Lets say they go that way, what would it cost to get him out of Philly?

Since it’s technically a promotion, nothing.

 

[stevo61]

Im curious if Torts actually wanted that role how he would handle it. Would he get guys like Johnson away from his team or would he take a Trotz approach and welcome young skill while finding veteran character to build an actual roster

 

[majormajor]

Im curious if Torts actually wanted that role how he would handle it. Would he get guys like Johnson away from his team or would he take a Trotz approach and welcome young skill while finding veteran character to build an actual roster

We really have no idea, do we?

When Trotz was hired as GM the immediate speculation / joke was that he was going to fill the team with talentless grinders. I'd expect to see the same type of posting if Torts is hired here.

 

[stevo61]

We really have no idea, do we?

When Trotz was hired as GM the immediate speculation / joke was that he was going to fill the team with talentless grinders. I'd expect to see the same type of posting if Torts is hired here.

Thats why Im curious, they had a type and had their expectations but that are also very bright hockey minds. Dont think anyone expected Trotz to openly tell his scouting staff to swing for the fences and find players that get people out of their seats because he can find 3rd and 4th liners all day long but he did. Also those 3rd liners he signed turned into 1st liners

Coach to GM gives a unique perspective, they have a different feel for a locker room than individuals from other backgrounds. Whether thats a great thing or a bad thing isnt always so clear but at the end of the day we do know Torts is a hockey nut who will put in work and Id imagine has a long list of connections around the game

 

[5th Line Fanatic]

I saw this interview with John Lynch of the 49ers today and thought this is exactly the type of guy I hope the CBJ hire. Obviously it's a different sport, but this is the personality type I want as a GM. I don't particularly care what his background is, but a competent, confidant, culture builder is so desperately needed here.



mod edit: fix twitter embed

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Im curious if Torts actually wanted that role how he would handle it. Would he get guys like Johnson away from his team or would he take a Trotz approach and welcome young skill while finding veteran character to build an actual roster

torts doesn't have an issue with smart, skilled players. he loved panarin. also while kj definitely needs to add some strength/explosiveness, his defensive hockey IQ and stick defending have always been pretty solid.

my bigger issue with torts is that he has zero experience on the hockey ops side outside of coaching. i'd rather hire someone who is either a clear rising star AGM (tulsky, castonguay) or someone who has done it before.

 

[stevo61]

torts doesn't have an issue with smart, skilled players. he loved panarin. also while kj definitely needs to add some strength/explosiveness, his defensive hockey IQ and stick defending have always been pretty solid.

my bigger issue with torts is that he has zero experience on the hockey ops side outside of coaching. i'd rather hire someone who is either a clear rising star AGM (tulsky, castonguay) or someone who has done it before.

And Trotz was loaded with experience? Hockey is hockey and if you surround yourself with the right people you can do a lot of good, thats why I referenced his connections. I dont know if Torts would be the best GM in the league or worst but same goes for the other candidates. They could just as easily do poorly or just as good

 

[KJ Dangler]

torts doesn't have an issue with smart, skilled players. he loved panarin. also while kj definitely needs to add some strength/explosiveness, his defensive hockey IQ and stick defending have always been pretty solid.

my bigger issue with torts is that he has zero experience on the hockey ops side outside of coaching. i'd rather hire someone who is either a clear rising star AGM (tulsky, castonguay) or someone who has done it before.

He’s not even going to be considered , nor should he

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Torts would just fill the team with no talent grinders.