Ranking the New York Islanders General Manager Candidates

Ranking the New York Islanders General Manager Candidates

The last one feels speculative, but uh says Burjan Kealinan next up. I’d also throw Matthew Dar into the mix because not Arthur Staple, but Stefan Rosner said that he will interview at some point. So, I would assume that interview has either happened or coming very soon. I would be surprised if he does not interview for this role. Um, I I like everything that he’s he’s done for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Everything that he’s learned and the situation that he has been put in with the Tampa Bay Lightning and just look at the way they build their teams. Sure, they’ve got guys like Coutrav Headman and Vaselki, right, that have predated Judian Biz Bo and have just been uh staples, but it’s what they’ve done after that. going after Jake Gensel, moving on from Steven Stamco at the right time it seems. Um, picking up guys like Brendan Hegel and turning them into absolute bees. Sure, they’ve whiffed on like guys like Tanner Jenu. Absolutely. But they have more major successes than they have losses. No, exactly. And that’s uh that’s a big difference for for me is because yeah they they do have their misses and you’re right to point point them out but they’ve made a lot of tough decisions and I think they’ve done well with their decision. Like they were in the Stanley Cup won two of them but in the Stanley Cup final three years in a row. Yeah. Had two I’ll say down years in air quotes but they still made the playoffs and were a playoff team and then they were right back. I know they got bounced in the first round but they played the defending champion Florida Panthers in in the first round in their matchup. They were right back to contender status two years later after their fall off. Yeah. And like they they’re going to fall off sooner like quicker over the next couple years because that core of Headman, Cuchra, Vatileski is getting older. They’re in their 30s. Uh it’s just not going to go very well the longer it goes. But they’ve shown an ability to maximize that by bringing in talent to supplement it, which is kind of what we need. We we have good core pieces. We we don’t have superstars like them, but you supplement guys like Matthew Barzal and Bo Horvat and and Ilia Sroken and Noah Dobson and and this team could very well take a step forward very quickly. So I I think that’s why we all have kind of our blinders set almost on Metadash, which is perfectly fine. Mich or Mjave, sorry. uh I’m pretty down with. I think I I didn’t mind how brave he was in Montreal, but Yarmmo Keolin, I don’t know if I’m okay with that, man. I I I just I get that he himself is also brave and has taken brave decisions, but I don’t want to have an experimental GM necessarily. No. And he’s a bit of an older experimental GM, too. Like, he’s 58. It’s not like you’re taking that chance on like a 38-year-old who really hasn’t done the job yet or had the maybe success level, I guess, is maybe the better phrasing of it. Of the three names I listed, I think Matthew Dar would be the one that would excite me the most. Yeah, I I think in order DJ and then like a pretty decent third would be Yarmmo Kealina for me. Yeah, I have the same order that you do. I don’t mind some of the moves that he’s made in um when he was there with Columbus finding some players here and there. Um the moves to get our Timmy Paneran obviously clutch um and the Brandon Sod back and forth was strange but I think it worked out in their favor anyways. Um he has done some good things on that team right loaded up in that last year with Artame Piner and Sergey Babski right and and got them to the playoffs and it it just wasn’t enough. So that that in and of itself is redeeming. But when I mention experimental, I just mean like he kind of throws a bunch of random [ __ ] to see if it sticks. And I would say seven times out of 10 it doesn’t. We need a guy where seven times out of 10 it does. Yeah. Which is kind of like what what has done. Exactly. And so Mat sorry I should say what has done and thus Mat Dash has picked up on by association. Right. Yeah. Exactly. So, I’m with I’m with you on that. Uh, he would be most exciting to me. Burjan, I’m not like over the moon over, but I would get it. All right. Like, I think he’s done enough where he deserves another chance. Um, yeah, Kakalinan doesn’t really move the needle for me, but um, of the names that have been listed off, Dar of a gap, Berseran. That’s my list. What do you think about Rob Blake? So, Rob Blake obviously let go by the uh, Los Angeles Kings. So he’s out there. Would you take where would you rank him in those those three? Would he come below uh Merge or would he come just below Metadash? I think he would go between Dar and Burjven. Um but probably closer to Burjan than Dar. Yeah, it’d be like 2 A 2B between Blake and Djave. Right. Yes. And I would put I think I would put Blake ahead of Burjan. just slight slightly though. Yeah, cuz he was the one in the role in in Los Angeles making the final decisions and they they have done well in LA. They I I don’t know why they can’t faking beat the Edmonton Oilers. They seem to usually have their number and then they just crumble. Um but that’s a really good team in LA. Just look at their home record this year. Just out faking standing stuff. I think they lost like seven games all year at home. If you like that, make sure to subscribe to Up the Turnpike on Patreon for more exclusive New York Islanders content.

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