Employment Markets Warms Up

With teams being eliminated from the NHL Playoffs, there will be people fired that will cause the job market to heat up in the NHL. There are some vacant positions as we sit and wait for the NHL to complete its tournament for the Stanley Cup, and some of the assistant GMs and personnel at NHL teams will now be considered for those vacant offices in NHL front offices. Who would be a good fit? Who should fill chairs in certain cities? I'll make some bold guesses here today!

We'll start in Florida where the Panthers desperately need new leadership, a new outlook, and perhaps a new direction to see them win a playoff series in what feels like forever. There are good pieces in Florida around which a general manager can build, but there are some pieces that likely need to be moved as the returns being seen simply aren't there.

I happen to like the idea of Ron Hextall being hired in Florida. Hextall's approach in Philadelphia has paid off in a big way with players such as Giroux, Hart, and Provorov being big pieces in why the Flyers have progressively gotten better, and his draft-and-develop approach with how he built the Flyers before his dismissal is exactly the kind of attitude the Panthers should adopt if they want to be successful.

The prevailing thought, however, is that Florida may look for someone whose current work has them working at both the NHL and AHL levels, and that means the likeliest candidates would be either Chris Drury or Scott Mellanby. Both players are working in assistant GM roles - Drury with the Rangers and Mellanby with the Canadiens - and they'll bring a new attitude to the GM's chair in Sunrise with their knowledge of AHL players and the NHL business.

Thee other franchise who needs a reset is the Arizona Coyotes, but, like Florida, they have good pieces around which to build despite Taylor Hall's impending free agency. John Chayka's use of analytics has seen the Coyotes improve, but it's likely, in my view, that the Coyotes will go with a more traditional guy who has an appreciation for the analytical world.

While Hextall fits that mould, I believe a guy like St. Louis assistant GM Bill Armstrong or former NHL assistant GM Mike Futa would fit well in Glendale based on their experiences and knowledge of the game.

Armstrong worked his way up from scout in 2011 with the Blues to assistant GM last season, helping to bring in the necessary pieces for the St. Louis Blues to capture their first Stanley Cup. The Blues have a solid farm system that emphasizes player development much like Chayka had in place with Tucson, and that's something that may appeal to Armstrong if he's contacted. Add in a solid, young team at the NHL level with the Coyotes, and this might be a good opportunity for Armstrong to hop into if he's looking to take a GM position.

Futa is a more interesting case as he's been interviewed for a number of positions, but has yet to land in a GM's chair. He was a highly-touted mind with the Los Angeles Kings until his contract wasn't renewed this season. Prior to that, he served as both the VP of Hockey Operations and Director of Player Personnel until 2014. He started off with the Kings in 2007 as the Director of Amateur Scouting, so these jobs prove he has extensive experience in scouting and player evaluation at the developmental levels of hockey.

Ray Shero, Peter Chiarelli, Dean Lombardi, and Brian Burke are all out there, with Burke the least likely to make the move back to the GM's chair, but Elliotte Friedman's reporting also has Kevin Weekes, Ross Mahoney, John Ferguson, and Laurence Gilman linked to the Florida job.

Arizona seems to have garnered less speculation, but it will be interesting to see who gets interviewed there knowing that Alex Merulo Jr. and CEO Xavier Gutierrez are playing a more active role in how the team is built. Steve Sullivan was named as the interim GM after Chayka's departure, and it could be that the interim title will be stripped from his office door to allow Sullivan to continue as the new GM of the Arizona Coyotes.

In any case, the employment market for potential NHL GMs is starting to warm up with more teams eliminated from play and more potential new GMs exploring options. Whoever lands in Florida and Arizona will have some work to do, but they're not going into a complete teardown/rebuild situation like other GMs have.

That's the kind of job most potential GMs want.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!