New York Islanders Doing Due Diligence on General Manager Search But Must Get It Right
On Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning Skate with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin. Friedman was asked about the New York Islanders General Manager search and who could land the job.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: New York Islanders GM Candidates
Gord Stellick: “Any other names around the Islanders?”
Elliotte Friedman: “Yeah, I think you know, Arthur Staple had a really good tweet . I think Ken Holland has been in there. I think he’s a very serious contender. He reported that they want to speak to Jeff Gorton. I’m not sure yet where that’s going to go. I think we’ll know in the next couple of days if that’s going to be a thing.
Bergevin, Jarmo Kekäläinen, I don’t know if he’s been interviewed, but I heard his name for it. I also heard the Islanders had asked around, like just saying, is there anyone out there who’s maybe newer, whose name we don’t know, who we should talk to? And I heard they were compiling that kind of a list. However, I think one of the things that may have happened here is that, with the win in the lottery, first overall, it makes the job even more attractive.
But secondly, I think also Gordy, it may shorten the runway to get things done. Like even if they’ve stayed at 11, it’s an important pick, but now you’ve got the number one pick overall. You cannot make a mistake here, especially in a draft where, although I think a lot of people seem to lean (Matthew) Schaefer, it’s not a clear-cut number one.
NHL Rumors: What Comes Next for the New York Islanders?
You have to get your staff together. You have to be organized. You have to be doing your due diligence. I know there was some thought that maybe their runway had shortened for the hiring process because won the lottery.”
NHLRumors.com Note: As we have documented, the New York Islanders’ job will be a highly coveted one with Lou Lamoriello’s contract not being renewed. Pierre LeBrun wrote that he had been working on one-year deals since 2022. But this is a good job with the young nucleus the Islanders are putting together.
The Islanders want to go with a President of Hockey Operations and General Manager. However, some of the names that need to be considered based on their drafting, developing, and putting their staff together are Mark Yannetti and Mike Futa out of Los Angeles, along with Martin Madden in Anaheim and Ross Mahoney in Washington. All those men have excellent track records of drafting, developing, and building winning teams.
It will be interesting to see what direction the New York Islanders go in when it comes to their new general manager.
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