Islanders to choose GM before hiring president (maybe Shanahan)

My basic understanding is that the Islanders – who asked permission to speak to Brendan Shanahan this week – will hire a general manager BEFORE thinking about anything else, namely a president/president of hockey operations.

So an organization potentially keeps its head coach, hires a GM, and THEN thinks about hiring a boss for their new GM?

Let’s just say it’s unusual and completely backwards from the usual strategy.

Normally, we start at the top and work our way down: the president of hockey operations chooses his man for the GM seat, as Jeff Gorton did in Montreal with Kent Hughes, who in turn chose Martin St-Louis to be the club’s head coach.

Not only that… It’s a bit of a departure from today’s staff hierarchy, and from the usual role given to a high-ranking member of the hockey operations department: the president concocts a vision, and the GM executes on the field.

In a nutshell.

Mathieu Darche and Marc Bergevin, two men Brendan Shanahan interviewed before hiring Brad Treliving, would likely be the two finalists for the job. Without him being hired first, perhaps we already know his opinion of the two candidates at the Islanders?

It’s also worth noting that it’s rarely a GM who decides on a team’s vision, although he can sell one to his bosses. When it’s not the president, it’s the owner – who was the same person, in Montreal, when Marc Bergevin was in charge: Geoff Molson.

It’s an unusual way of doing things, but it’s not a huge game-changer either.

Overtime

– KK is left out and Renaud Lavoie goes through his stats…

– Cup or bust, in Edmonton.

– Cayden Primeau wasn’t particularly happy with his game.