Might there be a twist to John Davidson's search for next Blue Jackets GM? | Arace
Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/interim general manager John Davidson was talking about the process of finding the team’s next GM when he harkened back to his time as hockey-ops chief of the St. Louis Blues. The story came out of the blue, if you pardon the pun.
Davidson recalled the time he hired Doug Armstrong to replace Larry Pleau. Armstrong spent two years as Pleau’s director of player personnel before he took over for Pleau in 2010.
“Larry knew what was happening,” Davidson said. “Doug spent time taking a good look at the landscape.”
In other words, Armstrong had a two-year runway to the GM job and Pleau, an excellent hockey man and a fine human being who was approaching retirement age, was cool with that.
The situation is different in Columbus. Davidson is not looking for an understudy, not primarily. He’s looking for a GM to instill a new culture and provide a firm direction, ASAP.
That said, if you take Davidson’s history into account, the next GM may be lured with a higher office in the offing.
Davidson, 71, has two more years remaining on his contract. He’s closer to retirement than he is to winning a Stanley Cup. He has a deep affinity for Columbus and he’d do everything in his power to land the right person for the GM job. His wants to see the Jackets set up for sustainable success.
Does that mean Davidson would be willing to step aside, and to offer up his job title, for the right candidate? TSN has reported that such a possibility exists.
Does it mean Davidson would hire the next GM with an understanding in place that the GM would get kicked upstairs, maybe in two years when JD’s contract reaches its term? That’s the way it worked when Armstrong went from a player-personnel person to GM in St. Louis.
Understand, I’m just speculating here. But it was Davidson who conjured the memory of the St. Louis situation. I don’t discount a similar spin in Columbus as a possibility.
I don’t discount it because it opens up the field. Sitting general managers whose teams are involved in the playoffs are rarely given permission to make a lateral pursuit for another GM job. But if a GM has a chance to better his lot and add to his job title, it’d be highly unusual for an employer to stand in his way.
Davidson’s most oft-used phrase this spring is this: “We’re looking at everything.” In context, what that means is the next GM will be given the space to make his/her own judgments about every facet of hockey ops, and to act.
“I know, everyone knows, this is a really important position,” Davidson said. “(The situation) is not as bad as some people are saying it is. We don’t need a nuclear bomb. We get the right person in here, it’s going to stimulate every part of the operation. That’s what we want to do. We’re excited about it.”
Davidson said he and team president Mike Priest, co-conductor of the search, are looking for someone with the patience to get a good grasp on what’s on hand, identify areas for improvement and then “go for it.”
“It’s going to be a fresh eye and a new brain,” Davidson said.
Our man Brian Hedger has described the major tasks for the next GM and proffered five external names to know, five female candidates who could make history and five possibilities who could cause a stir in NHL circles. (One of the stir-worthy, former Jackets assistant general manager and current Florida Panthers’ GM Bill Zito, two weeks ago signed a multi-year extension and bigger title. So, take him off the listicle).
“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Davidson said. “We’ve done some interviews. I won’t say how many or who we’ve interviewed. We’re looking ahead at (playoff) series, figuring who could become available in the next round or the next round after that, and so on. Our situation here is, it’s the offseason, so we don’t know when that person is going to be hired.’’
At this point, we can’t even be sure what will be offered. The GM job? Something bigger, be it now or down the road? If you are a Jackets fan, your only wish is that Davidson and Priest nail this hire. You hope people in other markets point to Columbus and say, “Brilliant move.” You deserve nothing less.
Get more Blue Jackets news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is Blue Jackets' John Davidson looking for new GM and his successor
