When it comes to a team’s success, you need not look any further than the general manager’s role.
Under the guidance of Pat Gillick, the Toronto Blue Jays took back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, and although he stepped down as GM of the Philadelphia Phillies, he is largely responsible for the team’s World Series win last fall.
Ken Holland, GM of the Detroit Red Wings, is credited with the remarkable consistency Hockeytown’s team has displayed over the years.
Now, late in the NHL season two of the league’s most prominent franchises—the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens—show how a GM’s decisions affect the team’s fortunes.
Fans in Pittsburgh were sounding the alarm bells in mid-February as their beloved Penguins were in danger of missing the playoffs less than a year removed from representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Pens were 27–25–5, in 10th spot, and coming off a 6–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs when GM Ray Shero decided to fire coach Michel Therrien and replace him with farm team bench boss Dan Bylsma.
The players have taken a liking to the new coach as the Penguins have reversed their fortunes going 12–2–3 as of Tuesday, good enough for sixth place.
As Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “When a team sees Pittsburgh on its schedule, we want to keep making that one game a team circles and says, ‘Boy, that’s going to be a tough task.’”
And thanks to some deadline deals by Shero, if Pittsburgh wasn’t tough before, they certainly are now.
Bill Guerin was acquired from the New York Islanders and has contributed three goals and seven assists for 10 points in nine games.
Chris Kunitz was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Ryan Whitney and has averaged a point a game in 12 games since joining the Pens.
Guerin and Kunitz together with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal give the Pittsburgh Penguins the horses to run all the way to the Stanley Cup again.
While the Penguins scored at this year’s trading deadline, the Montreal Canadiens gaffed last year’s trading deadline when GM Bob Gainey dealt away goalie Cristobal Huet—a move that still haunts the team as it tries to secure a spot in this year’s playoffs.
Last year’s Huet deal was made because Gainey believed 20-year-old goalie Carey Price was ready for a full-time duty. The jury’s still out on him but down the stretch this year, a veteran goalie would be a Godsend for the struggling Habs.
In his last 21 games, Price has gone 6–15 while fellow Montreal netminder Jaroslav Halak has gone 13–7 in his last 20, but has lost three in a row.
Despite owning a better recent record than Price, Halak isn’t the answer for the stretch run and playoffs. He only has two postseason appearances under his belt with a 0–1 record and save percentage of .889.
Price’s confidence looks shot and the rabid Montreal fans are in a state of panic.
“Canadiens playing like they’ve already quit” reads a headline from the Montreal Gazette, and the fans have taken to chanting the name of former coach Guy Carbonneau, who was fired and replaced by GM Bob Gainey on March 9. Under Gainey, the Habs are a mediocre 2–3–2.
Gainey felt he had all the pieces of the puzzle in place at the trade deadline. But a new signing or two would have reinvigorated his lackluster team. Don’t let Tuesday’s 6–3 victory over the hapless Thrashers fool you.
The Habs are ready to fall like a house of cards and with goaltending a major question mark as well as the team’s recent lackluster play (8–13 in their last 21 games), they will be on the outside looking in come mid-April.
With this being their centenary season, missing the playoffs would be considered a total disaster.
Under the guidance of Pat Gillick, the Toronto Blue Jays took back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, and although he stepped down as GM of the Philadelphia Phillies, he is largely responsible for the team’s World Series win last fall.
Ken Holland, GM of the Detroit Red Wings, is credited with the remarkable consistency Hockeytown’s team has displayed over the years.
Now, late in the NHL season two of the league’s most prominent franchises—the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens—show how a GM’s decisions affect the team’s fortunes.
Fans in Pittsburgh were sounding the alarm bells in mid-February as their beloved Penguins were in danger of missing the playoffs less than a year removed from representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Pens were 27–25–5, in 10th spot, and coming off a 6–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs when GM Ray Shero decided to fire coach Michel Therrien and replace him with farm team bench boss Dan Bylsma.
The players have taken a liking to the new coach as the Penguins have reversed their fortunes going 12–2–3 as of Tuesday, good enough for sixth place.
As Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “When a team sees Pittsburgh on its schedule, we want to keep making that one game a team circles and says, ‘Boy, that’s going to be a tough task.’”
And thanks to some deadline deals by Shero, if Pittsburgh wasn’t tough before, they certainly are now.
Bill Guerin was acquired from the New York Islanders and has contributed three goals and seven assists for 10 points in nine games.
Chris Kunitz was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Ryan Whitney and has averaged a point a game in 12 games since joining the Pens.
Guerin and Kunitz together with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal give the Pittsburgh Penguins the horses to run all the way to the Stanley Cup again.
Habs Stumble
While the Penguins scored at this year’s trading deadline, the Montreal Canadiens gaffed last year’s trading deadline when GM Bob Gainey dealt away goalie Cristobal Huet—a move that still haunts the team as it tries to secure a spot in this year’s playoffs.
Last year’s Huet deal was made because Gainey believed 20-year-old goalie Carey Price was ready for a full-time duty. The jury’s still out on him but down the stretch this year, a veteran goalie would be a Godsend for the struggling Habs.
In his last 21 games, Price has gone 6–15 while fellow Montreal netminder Jaroslav Halak has gone 13–7 in his last 20, but has lost three in a row.
Despite owning a better recent record than Price, Halak isn’t the answer for the stretch run and playoffs. He only has two postseason appearances under his belt with a 0–1 record and save percentage of .889.
Price’s confidence looks shot and the rabid Montreal fans are in a state of panic.
“Canadiens playing like they’ve already quit” reads a headline from the Montreal Gazette, and the fans have taken to chanting the name of former coach Guy Carbonneau, who was fired and replaced by GM Bob Gainey on March 9. Under Gainey, the Habs are a mediocre 2–3–2.
Gainey felt he had all the pieces of the puzzle in place at the trade deadline. But a new signing or two would have reinvigorated his lackluster team. Don’t let Tuesday’s 6–3 victory over the hapless Thrashers fool you.
The Habs are ready to fall like a house of cards and with goaltending a major question mark as well as the team’s recent lackluster play (8–13 in their last 21 games), they will be on the outside looking in come mid-April.
With this being their centenary season, missing the playoffs would be considered a total disaster.
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