Welcome to the first Saturday of May 2024. Spring is in full bloom. The NHL Playoffs are about to wrap the first round up. And news around the Columbus Blue Jackets will slowly start to gain speed again.
The GM search remains the hot topic around the Blue Jackets. Are we any closer to finding out who the next general manager will be? That’s where we will start this week’s News & Rumors.
GM Search Update
John Davidson from the very beginning of the process said that this search wouldn’t be made public. At least so far, that has turned out to be true.
We know that the team has been spending weeks coming up with a list of candidates to interview. We know that the process kicked into a higher gear once the regular season ended.
We also know that potential names would start to become available as teams were eliminated from the playoffs. One example of this is Tampa Bay’s assistant GM Mathieu Darche. It’s easy to see why there would be a connection.
Darche has been part of the Lightning teams that won two Stanley Cups. He has a front-row seat to watch Julian Brisebois in the GM chair. He’s a former Blue Jackets and widely known as an up and comer who will eventually get a shot in the big chair. His work with player contracts and cap tracking has been a huge asset to the Lightning.
Information has been hard to come by. Not only is it not known who all has interviewed to date, you are not hearing much at the national level either. There’s a big reason for that.
The Blue Jackets have to get this hire right. They also want this process to be as quiet as possible. A quiet process is high on the list of priorities given how noisy last season was.
In a quick conversation with Davidson on Saturday morning, he said they have talked to some people and they like the progress they are making on the search. There is no timeline on a decision since there is plenty of playoffs left to be played.
Who could be considered? We’ve mentioned Darche’s name already. Mark Hunter in London could be in here. The London Knights are set to play Game 6 against the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL’s Western Conference Finals. It is believed that Hunter wants to be back in the NHL soon so it’s something we will monitor.
What should we watch for? Watch to see if chatter starts to pick up more in the coming days and weeks. Watch too for other eliminations. With a couple Game 7’s this weekend, two more teams are about to have their seasons end.
Davidson has previously said they won’t rush but do want to make their decision as soon as possible. Preferably, they would want their new GM before the NHL Draft takes place.
My own take. I think we’ll get news sooner rather than later. With more possible candidates available, the Blue Jackets can start to focus in on who they want to hire. But the longer it goes without much chatter, that could imply they’re waiting for someone to speak with. Especially if they want to speak to all of their candidates before making a decision, this could drag on for a bit. Darche makes a ton of sense for them. We’ll see soon if we finally get any concrete updates on this ongoing search.
Monsters Heading Home
The Cleveland Monsters earned a huge 4-3 win in overtime on Friday night over the Belleville Senators. With that, they now head home to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to host Games 3 and 4 and then Game 5 if necessary.
Team broadcaster Tony Brown made a good point on the air during Game 2 as to why it’s a 2-3 setup. The Monsters had a choice in the matter due to the distance between the two teams and budgeting issues. The Monsters could choose to play the first two at home or choose a 2-3 setup like it is now. They chose the latter and now have home cooking for the foreseeable future especially if they advance.
The story of the game was twofold. First, Jet Greaves is being Jet Greaves. He stopped 36/39 to allow the Monsters the chance to win it in overtime. Then it was some of the lesser known but important contributors who helped get the offense they needed.
Cole Clayton scored just over four minutes into the extra session. Jake Gaudet who entered the Game 2 lineup recorded a goal and an assist while Justin Pearson added two assists. Josh Dunne and Tyler Angle had the other goals.
Game 1 of the series showed the Monsters were shaking off the rust from not playing. They were much better in Game 2. Game 3 goes off Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. It should be an electric atmosphere in Cleveland for their first playoff games in five years.
Side Dishes
More must-reads: