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NHL power rankings: Ranking each general manager heading into 2019

By Dave Stevenson

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Doug Armstrong holds the Stanley Cup following the Blues victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Doug Armstrong holds the Stanley Cup following the Blues victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The Unknown Tier

This tier is for the guys it would be very unfair to judge. Either because they do not exist or because it’s still too early to tell how good (or bad) they are.

Vacant (Minnesota Wild)

Since the Minnesota Wild don’t have a full-time general manager, I can’t really rank them. Tom Kuvers is their interim general manager and he has yet to sign or trade anyone, so it’s not fair to judge him. But if Paul Fenton were still employed as the Wild general manager, I’d likely have him right around here because very little he did gave me any confidence.

If they hire Ron Hextall, I’d probably put him in the top 20. He did a great job with the Philadelphia Flyers and he’s precisely what the Wild need right now. Bill Guerin and Bill Zito would both fall in this tier too. If they hire Peter Chiarelli, he’s easily in the next tier, but that’s not good.

Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay Lightning )

Julien BriseBois has been the Tampa Bay Lightning general manager for about a year now. It’s still way too early to fairly judge him considering he inherited one of the best teams in the NHL. Still, I like what BriseBois has done so far.

The Kevin Shattenkirk signing should work out well. And I like the Curtis McElhinney signing. This shows BriseBois might realize the importance of keeping your goaltender fresh. Sure, his team got destroyed in the postseason, but let’s be honest – is there anything BriseBois could have done to prevent that? Probably not.

Rob Blake (Los Angeles Kings)

Rob Blake has been the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings since 2017. Still, he inherited such a bad situation, it’s hard to judge him. Blake inherited a Kings team who, though they have won two Stanley Cups in the last decade, had a closing window. That window is now closed.

I really like what he did during the 2019 NHL Draft. The Ilya Kovalchuk contract obviously hasn’t worked out, but other than that, Blake hasn’t done anything bad. He hasn’t really done many good things either, but to be fair, what can he do? No one wants the Kings bad contracts.

Don Waddell (Carolina Hurricanes)

I liked what Don Waddell did last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s been a part of their front office for a while now, so it’s not like he was just building off of what Ron Francis did (more on him later). I’m skeptical, though, how much of it was him and how much of it was those around him.

But even if Waddell is just the face of the front office, he’s a good guy for the job. I just need to see more than a year-long sample size (especially with my “only the last five years matter” qualification).

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