GM search thread - all news and discussion here

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Spot on.

I'd find it almost impossible to believe that JD would get a positive assessment from an unbiased observer.

For whatever reasons, McConnell has not made good decisions regarding his top managerial team with the CBJ. As your post stated, he's got to use his allies in the NHL to help him. He simply can't rely on internal sources at this point.

Probably his allies in the NHL told him a well-connected NHL lifer like JD would be great in a certain role that would allow McConnell to not have to worry about day-to-day ops of the team. Now JD IS "his allies in the NHL."

I don't know where I'm going with the above, it's just a reaction to your comment, which I probably agree with.

 

[Indy18]

Doesn’t Roy want Gm power too? Forget that.

Which is why most teams would pass on him. He wants the room and the roster decisions.

 

[Michigan Magic]

Which is why most teams would pass on him. He wants the room and the roster decisions.

He can have say but not full

 

[Cheddarcheese]

Honestly Roy would've been my first call after the Babcock situation, unless Roy had already said no.

i would imagine he's a prideful guy and said no after he didnt get the job the first time around! i hear ottawa might take a run at him!

the distinction here is between 'new school' systems/coaching and 'new school' roster building/management. that's not to say the jarmo-era jackets haven't embraced modern trends when it comes to drafting – because they have – but there's more to a front office than just that.

the jackets roster building has been modern at times, but has fallen victim to outdated thought process by way of being:
- overly broad (bring in a lot of young players, let the chips fall where they may),
- reactionary (we lacked X trait, better go get a guy who has it)
- overly-positional (defense was weak, go get more defensemen)
- overly fixated on building through the draft

successful modern front offices, on the other hand:
- are more strategic
- are more targeted
- build from the top down
- are bold to the point of almost being harsh
- focus on getting the best 'bite from the apple' with their assets
- don't care nearly as much about the draft

the last point there may be controversial but i believe that over-reliance on the draft has significantly hamstrung this organization, even if i like the way they draft overall.

teams like vegas and florida have historically eschewed the draft but still build value by either fixing depreciated assets + giving them ample opportunity or by filling the fringes of the lineup with limited but role-appropriate players, while also taking huge swings to add long-term core pieces (i.e. eichel + tkachuk trades).

florida in particular has moved a ton of picks/prospects (i.e. tippett, levi, etc) whose hypothetical value outweighed their on-ice value, only to backfill with unheralded or struggling players who then provided both immediate and future value (verhaeghe, forsling, montour, bennett, reinhart).

in practice, florida identifying carter verhaeghe and putting him in a position to succeed with ample opportunity made owen tippett expendable, which netted them giroux. but verhaeghe was also cheaper than tippett, more developed and significantly better.

as a process, this is both faster and, weirdly enough, safer than the draft because you are making more strategic decisions based on more data. you don't need to gamble and wait on players to develop, you embrace the meat market and find assets you can improve at a reduced cost.

why wait on a guy like chinakhov or sillinger to pop off when you can get similar/better value, sooner, at a lower price by finding a depreciated asset, and double dip by moving those two guys to bolster your roster/asset cache?

you can look at Florida and Vegas but look what happen to Calgary and buffalo taking that big swing.

 

[CBJx614]

Doesn’t Roy want Gm power too? Forget that.

I mean... Would that be a such a bad thing?

 

[Cheddarcheese]

I mean... Would that be a such a bad thing?

i honestly, don't think it is! i would want the guy coaching/developing to have more say IMO

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Probably his allies in the NHL told him a well-connected NHL lifer like JD would be great in a certain role that would allow McConnell to not have to worry about day-to-day ops of the team. Now JD IS "his allies in the NHL."

I don't know where I'm going with the above, it's just a reaction to your comment, which I probably agree with.

I don't doubt that JD came recommended by NHL insiders. The first time he was hired!

A major problem might be is that McConnell is so detached from the team that he might not have (m)any close relationships in the NHL upon whom he could seek this type of information. I hope this isn't the case. If it is, then he'd probably be best served by hiring a high powered outside agency to guide him in his search for new executives.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

you can look at Florida and Vegas but look what happen to Calgary and buffalo taking that big swing.

i'd consider buffalo's end of the eichel trade to still be a win – they got tuch/krebs/etc and cleared up the opportunity and role that allowed tage thompson to become a star after getting him as a reclamation project.

florida was on the 'modern' end of their big swing – converting non-prime years of two stars for prime years of one star. calgary was doing the dinosaur thing of trying to remain competitive in what clearly should have been the start of the rebuild.

what i'm advocating for is a certain type of thinking – florida exercised it in that trade, calgary didn't. it's more than just "take big swings" – it's about parlaying uncertainty into a certain core piece.

 

[Cheddarcheese]

i'd consider buffalo's end of the eichel trade to still be a win – they got tuch/krebs/etc and cleared up the opportunity and role that allowed tage thompson to become a star after getting him as a reclamation project.

florida was on the 'modern' end of their big swing – converting non-prime years of two stars for prime years of one star. calgary was doing the dinosaur thing of trying to remain competitive in what clearly should have been the start of the rebuild.

what i'm advocating for is a certain type of thinking – florida exercised it in that trade, calgary didn't. it's more than just "take big swings" – it's about parlaying uncertainty into a certain core piece.

i think your on to something tho! i thought in the summer they should have made a splash trading away a few young exciting players with hype and picks for a star. i think
maybe jarmo is trying to set up the 2024/2025 summer FA Johnny T / Rantanen / Leon ?

 

[Cheddarcheese]

i always thought logan couture would look good in a jacket uni. that ship has sailed unfortunately

 

[majormajor]

the jackets roster building has been modern at times, but has fallen victim to outdated thought process by way of being:
- overly broad (bring in a lot of young players, let the chips fall where they may),
- reactionary (we lacked X trait, better go get a guy who has it)
- overly-positional (defense was weak, go get more defensemen)
- overly fixated on building through the draft

successful modern front offices, on the other hand:
- are more strategic
- are more targeted
- build from the top down
- are bold to the point of almost being harsh
- focus on getting the best 'bite from the apple' with their assets
- don't care nearly as much about the draft

the last point there may be controversial but i believe that over-reliance on the draft has significantly hamstrung this organization, even if i like the way they draft overall.

teams like vegas and florida have historically eschewed the draft but still build value by either fixing depreciated assets + giving them ample opportunity or by filling the fringes of the lineup with limited but role-appropriate players, while also taking huge swings to add long-term core pieces (i.e. eichel + tkachuk trades).

florida in particular has moved a ton of picks/prospects (i.e. tippett, levi, etc) whose hypothetical value outweighed their on-ice value, only to backfill with unheralded or struggling players who then provided both immediate and future value (verhaeghe, forsling, montour, bennett, reinhart).

in practice, florida identifying carter verhaeghe and putting him in a position to succeed with ample opportunity made owen tippett expendable, which netted them giroux. but verhaeghe was also cheaper than tippett, more developed and significantly better.

as a process, this is both faster and, weirdly enough, safer than the draft because you are making more strategic decisions based on more data. you don't need to gamble and wait on players to develop, you embrace the meat market and find assets you can improve at a reduced cost.

why wait on a guy like chinakhov or sillinger to pop off when you can get similar/better value, sooner, at a lower price by finding a depreciated asset, and double dip by moving those two guys to bolster your roster/asset cache?

I agree with all of this - but you can do without the modern v outdated framing. You'll have people tell you that modern is build through the draft.

My analysis of the cap situation a year ago was that the Jackets had the cap space to keep Bjorkstrand if they ditched some of the overpriced RFAs like Boqvist and Bean. They were only a couple million over on a 22 man roster. So that would be another example of overreliance on RFA aged talent.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Doesn’t Roy want Gm power too? Forget that.

Why? You have confidence in Jarmo?

 

[cbjthrowaway]

I agree with all of this - but you can do without the modern v outdated framing. You'll have people tell you that modern is build through the draft.

My analysis of the cap situation a year ago was that the Jackets had the cap space to keep Bjorkstrand if they ditched some of the overpriced RFAs like Boqvist and Bean. They were only a couple million over on a 22 man roster. So that would be another example of overreliance on RFA aged talent.

this is a good observation – talented RFA-age players who aren't on the superstar-track are typically valuable in theory but hurt the on-ice product.

funny enough, both bean and boqvist made sense as targets as they were a few years post-draft and theoretically were closer, but the jackets failed to put them in positions to succeed, and their value cratered.

they could have bought 'lower' and gotten better players – forsling, walman, etc. – instead.

there's a sweet spot for acquiring players to get the best bite at the apple, so to speak, and that's mid-20s. columbus has almost exclusively gone after guys on either end of that window.

 

[majormajor]

this is a good observation – talented RFA-age players who aren't on the superstar-track are typically valuable in theory but hurt the on-ice product.

funny enough, both bean and boqvist made sense as targets as they were a few years post-draft and theoretically were closer, but the jackets failed to put them in positions to succeed, and their value cratered.

they could have bought 'lower' and gotten better players – forsling, walman, etc. – instead.

there's a sweet spot for acquiring players to get the best bite at the apple, so to speak, and that's mid-20s. columbus has almost exclusively gone after guys on either end of that window.

Certainly Boqvist does not fit that theory. He was 20 years old and hadn't even started learning how to play defense.

Forsling and Walman would have been great adds. It doesn't seem like our FO has the pro scouting ability to pull it off. Not since Zito left.

 

[Sdrawkcab321]

I mean... Would that be a such a bad thing?

Yes. It rarely works out well.

Why? You have confidence in Jarmo?

No but that’s an extremely low bar.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Pretty big fluff piece but don’t expect any big changes soon. He made it a point to say he talks to ownership a lot, so.

 

[ThisIsMyAlibi]

Fire Jarmo AND JD.

Clowns.

 

[TaketheCannoli]

Damn, I honestly wish I knew what works. I could say all the cliche's like build a hard working team or build through the draft or work to acquire assets that are going into their prime or many I haven't listed.

Frankly, I don't know. I'm pretty sure what we've had since day 1 has missed the mark. I'd guess each front office has had some strengths, but too many weaknesses.

It's interesting the JD/Jarmo front office has had some guys like McFarland and Zito who have done well after getting GM jobs. Were they just in better organizations with a better chance of success? What's missing here?

 

[stevo61]

Damn, I honestly wish I knew what works. I could say all the cliche's like build a hard working team or build through the draft or work to acquire assets that are going into their prime or many I haven't listed.

Frankly, I don't know. I'm pretty sure what we've had since day 1 has missed the mark. I'd guess each front office has had some strengths, but too many weaknesses.

It's interesting the JD/Jarmo front office has had some guys like McFarland and Zito who have done well after getting GM jobs. Were they just in better organizations with a better chance of success? What's missing here?

Accountability?

 

[Another Empty Netter]

First thing you do is go in and fire anyone that has a say in how the team is managed. Blow it all up so nobody has to walk on eggshells. You hire competent people who understand hockey and knows what they are doing.
You find a real coach and allow him to build his own staff. Have them sit down with every player. Find out what each one hopes to accomplish and what their 5 year plan is on the ice. Do they want to win or are they happy just to get a check?
Find out what type of system the player needs to be the best version of them on the ice and create a Bruce Lee Jeet Kune Do style offense instead of forcing players to develop in a system that may not necessarily be the best system for their development.
No matter the name, the star power, or size of contract, hold each player accountable for his actions, on ice play, gym habits, and off-season workout. You're either All In or GTFO. There should be no in between.
We need warriors. Men!
No more lies! No more tit for tat media nonsense! Straight up hockey ninjas that take no shxt from anyone. When a opposing player comes up the ice he does it with one eye on the puck and one on the sharks encircling him.
Fxckin go to war like true legends and leave no doubt who you and your team are.

I’d like to see some samples of any other writing you have around the house . Need clarification on the voice to read this with in my head

 

[DEF]

Jim Varney in his Shakespeare voce?

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Jim Varney in his Shakespeare voce?

Jim Varney is as alive as the Jackets' playoff hopes.

 

[Halfboard]

I’d be very happy with an experienced North American in the position…..the Euro mindset has to change. Once again; IMHO…

 

[Marioesque]

I’d be very happy with an experienced North American in the position…..the Euro mindset has to change. Once again; IMHO…

What is the euro mindset?

 

[squashmaple]

I’d be very happy with an experienced North American in the position…..the Euro mindset has to change. Once again; IMHO…

What is this xenophobic nonsense comment? The second best team in the Western Conference also has a Euro GM, and that team has been spinning its tires a LOT longer than we have.