Speculation: Who should be the new GM of the Washington Capitals?

[Marshall]

Sounds like Hextall is off the list of candidates now.

 

[Hivemind]

Edit;
Missed a bit of the hints in Snider's presser. Could very well be Holmgren is getting "promoted" into a non-GM role and Hextall will take over the GM responsibilities.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Sounds like Hextall is off the list of candidates now.

Edit;
Missed a bit of the hints in Snider's presser. Could very well be Holmgren is getting "promoted" into a non-GM role and Hextall will take over the GM responsibilities.

?

@BroadStBull
Homer will return as GM, Snider said.

 

[RandyHolt]

Just say no to hairplugs

 

[Hivemind]

?

@BroadStBull
Homer will return as GM, Snider said.

Not an accurate quote.

When pressed specifically about what role Holmgren will have next year, Snider said the Flyers' front office is in the process of "analyzing everybody's title" and that Holmgren will "be the head of hockey operations" before offering a wry smile.

http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/ed-snider-hints-changes-flyers-front-office

 

[ChibiPooky]

Not an accurate quote.


http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/ed-snider-hints-changes-flyers-front-office

Good times.

 

[PucktotheHead]

Oooh look....Pooky has a random red couch! lol

 

[SpeedGame]

Just promote Brian MacLellan so we can start the interviewing process and stop delaying the inevitable.

 

[RandyHolt]

We need a GM. At this pace, we will be lucky to land late a FA season guy as our big pickup (Grabo Belanger etc), and be rolling with largely the same group next year.

No ones talking Mac but he may well be as good as anyone we are going to bring in here. I am more worried about how much meddling our GM will have to deal with. That may be more important than if they were an assistant on a cup team.

 

[SimplySensational]

We need a GM. At this pace, we will be lucky to land late a FA season guy as our big pickup (Grabo Belanger etc), and be rolling with largely the same group next year.

No ones talking Mac but he may well be as good as anyone we are going to bring in here. I am more worried about how much meddling our GM will have to deal with. That may be more important than if they were an assistant on a cup team.

He's part the "I like our team," environment. I just don't see how you can see someone who's been part of this team for so long could be just as good as a person from a winning team.

 

[RandyHolt]

He's part the "I like our team," environment. I just don't see how you can see someone who's been part of this team for so long could be just as good as a person from winning team.

Would most fans look at us over the past 7 years during his tenure, and proclaim us as.... good?

Not great, but certainly not horrible. Look at those division banners.

He may have learned some good things in an overall good era of caps hockey.

Caps fans aside / we want change, wouldn't you think many fans would look at our AGM as having been in a good program, and even if not, would have likely learned from some of the mistakes he as seen?

 

[SimplySensational]

Would most fans look at us over the past 7 years during his tenure, and proclaim us as.... good?

Not great, but certainly not horrible. Look at those division banners.

He may have learned some good things in an overall good era of caps hockey.

Caps fans aside / we want change, wouldn't you think many fans would look at our AGM has having been in a good program, and even if not, would have likely learned from some of the mistakes he as seen?

Hes been around since 2000-01 and director of player personnel since 04-05.

He's had 9 years to learn from mistakes.

 

[Chokingdogs]

Hes been around since 2000-01 and director of player personnel since 04-05.

He's had 9 years to learn from mistakes.

or how to stay employed for 17 years.....

 

[SimplySensational]

or how to stay employed for 17 years.....

Its Washington DC, once you come here, you learn that real quick.

Look at Poile, still same job, can't draft forwards worth ****.

 

[Hivemind]

That would have been a way better "government job" joke than it was a jab at Poile.

 

[BTCG]

The 006, no thanks. But I do appreciate the ingenuity.

I think fans views are clouded by their own selfishness. Myself included. We want a cup as the highest priority.

When in in reality, we just want to be entertained. And the root of entertaining us through the long regular season, is an unleashed Ovi.

Only, unleashed Ovi had his fair shake to lead us to a cup. No spring chicken nearing age 30 now, I think we are seeing the youthful exuberance kind of wearing off. Is designing our team, making our coaching selection, designing our offense to be attack at all costs, going to be solely hinged on Ovi being Mr Offense and provide all the energy until he retires?

I think the fans are saying yes, just entertain me, but no one admits it. After 40 years, we all see there can be entertainment in losing.

It seems that you have succeeded in making one of the only honest posts on the entire thread.

You did leave out one thing, that Jasper alluded to before he took his ball and went home to his rink:

The median HIQ level of most Cap fans demands the immediate rejection of any culture that has gained success at what they see as 'at our expense': hence... the rejection of anything perceived as reminiscent of 1998.

 

[BTCG]

After that Weiss contract, no thanks.

Holland signed him, not Howe. Howe is a part-time scout, at present.

Oh, and failure due to injury is something the jury is still 'out' on.

 

[BTCG]

You're not creating an authentic atmosphere if you want an AGM to come in and essentially copycat what his boss did that year they won it all. Everyone has their vision and way of doing things and deviating from past success isn't wrong. Every situation is different so it's not like a Benning is going to come in and copycat Boston anyway. You can't really copycat Boston without a Bergeron or Chara (rare exceptional talents). He can improve their floor, diversify their mix and instill greater discipline but most (if not all) franchises are still at the mercy of their top-end talent.

Winning AGMs didn't do what their GM did to begin with and that's create that network and vision. If rigid replication is the answer then just hire Brian Burke, a guy that's actually won the Cup as a GM, and minimize any translation questions altogether. Everything else is guesswork as far as translating skill sets and past usage to a job that's far more widespread and demanding. It's one thing to be an advisor and another to be the ultimate decision-maker.

Cup winning AGMs may have lessons learned that non-winners can only infer but excellence in a previous position can occur without team success (just as team success can obscure individual ability in terms of their actual influence and ability to translate that role in a more demanding context). Neither Shero nor Chiarelli won as AGMs, just as Lombardi didn't win as GM in San Jose and Burke didn't win in Hartford or Vancouver.

That's not to say I prefer Fenton over Benning because the resume of winning as an AGM is a definite advantage but it should be kept in context. The interview process and their overall demeanor is more far important IMO. It's not that different from questions of whether an assistant coach's skill set will translate into being an effective head coach. Some do, some don't. It doesn't matter whether they've been part of a winner before or not. Some have that demeanor and desire to be the head guy and some don't thrive on that pressure. That can't be emulated. It has to be authentic and that's not easy to spot based on resume alone.

You should have stopped before you wrote that sentence. In fact, I'd delete it, were I you.

 

[Langway]

You should have stopped before you wrote that sentence. In fact, I'd delete it, were I you.

So you believe successful organizations should be parroted without regard to context or new information?

Maybe atmosphere is the wrong word but I would say that any bright GM isn't simply looking to replicate past success. They're looking to innovate wherever possible and to build upon their strengths even further.

The Blackhawks are THE example of a winning franchise that continues to seek innovative ways to self-evaluate via analytics rather than rest on their laurels. A fair portion of the future in running teams is happening there IMO.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Just say no to hairplugs

I second this. Would make for an awkward situation, lol.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

The 006, no thanks. But I do appreciate the ingenuity.

I think fans views are clouded by their own selfishness. Myself included. We want a cup as the highest priority.

When in in reality, we just want to be entertained. And the root of entertaining us through the long regular season, is an unleashed Ovi.

Only, unleashed Ovi had his fair shake to lead us to a cup. No spring chicken nearing age 30 now, I think we are seeing the youthful exuberance kind of wearing off. Is designing our team, making our coaching selection, designing our offense to be attack at all costs, going to be solely hinged on Ovi being Mr Offense and provide all the energy until he retires?

I think the fans are saying yes, just entertain me, but no one admits it. After 40 years, we all see there can be entertainment in losing.

I want a Stanley Cup more than any regular season success. As a fan it was hard to watch Carolina, Tampa Bay, New Jersey, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh win cups, especially Carolina and Tampa Bay. I don't care if it takes Hunter hockey or BB hockey, just get it done. I do enjoy watching Ovechkin tearing up the regular season, but I will enjoy it more when the teams hoists a Stanley Cup.

 

[RandyHolt]

I want a Stanley Cup more than any regular season success. As a fan it was hard to watch Carolina, Tampa Bay, New Jersey, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh win cups, especially Carolina and Tampa Bay. I don't care if it takes Hunter hockey or BB hockey, just get it done. I do enjoy watching Ovechkin tearing up the regular season, but I will enjoy it more when the teams hoists a Stanley Cup.

We will all enjoy a cup, but many fans have their own idea of how it best be gotten.

I want both regular season high flying entertainment to get through the 80 games, and I want a cup. But I realize playoff lessons must be learned at some point.

I found myself properly entertained watching Dale playoff hockey and feel that short of supreme offense dominance, defense will win more often than not come playoff time. A team has to be able to adjust, play it both ways. You want to run and gun or hunker down, we can do both too.

I hope the next GM and Coach can find that elusive proper balance it seems many cup winners have.

 

[David71]

mike gillis

 

[EroCaps]

We will all enjoy a cup, but many fans have their own idea of how it best be gotten.

I want both regular season high flying entertainment to get through the 80 games, and I want a cup. But I realize playoff lessons must be learned at some point.

I found myself properly entertained watching Dale playoff hockey and feel that short of supreme offense dominance, defense will win more often than not come playoff time. A team has to be able to adjust, play it both ways. You want to run and gun or hunker down, we can do both too.

I hope the next GM and Coach can find that elusive proper balance it seems many cup winners have.

You aren't going to run and gun during the regular season and flip a switch. Personally, I'd much rather watch Boston, St Louis or LA style hockey all year. I appreciate the stinginess of a good D/goaltender.

Hopefull guys like Kuznetsov and Orlov are green enough to absorb lessons that Ovy and Green clearly were never accountable for.

 

[RandyHolt]

You aren't going to run and gun during the regular season and flip a switch. Personally, I'd much rather watch Boston, St Louis or LA style hockey all year. I appreciate the stinginess of a good D/goaltender.

Hopefull guys like Kuznetsov and Orlov are green enough to absorb lessons that Ovy and Green clearly were never accountable for.

Defensive hockey is likely embedded in long time Caps fans DNA.

We always thought the key to a cup was just to add a big gun or 2.

Too bad McPhee fleeced the D while doing that.