NHL power rankings: Ranking each general manager heading into 2019
The Above Average Tier
Now we get to the guys who consistently do more good things than bad things.
15. Jarmo Kekalainen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
As much as you’ve got to respect Jarmo Kekalainen for believing in the Columbus Blue Jackets and going all-in at the 2019 trade deadline, it probably wasn’t a good move for the future of the team. Still, given his team’s success with drafting and developing players, maybe they’ll still be a good team.
Kekalainen tends to stay away from free agency, though he did sign Gustav Nyquist this summer. He didn’t trade for Sergei Bobrovsky, but he signed him to a very reasonable extension and got two Vezina Trophy seasons out of him. Not too shabby. The Panarin trade was brilliant.
Blue Jackets fans should be confident in their team. Kekalainen’s best assets are drafting and player development. They might be bad for a year or two, but they should be fine. Kekalainen has been able to build good teams despite not having a very high budget.
14. Brad Treliving (Calgary Flames)
Brad Treliving is terrific at signing his own players. His deals for guys like Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan, Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau, and Mark Giordano are terrific. We’ll have to see on Matthew Tkachuk, but Flames fans should be optimistic considering Treliving’s history.
That said, even the staunchest Treliving apologist must admit he is downright terrible at signing other players. James Neal was a free agent failure, but trading him for Milan Lucic is awful. Treliving also has Troy Brouwer on his resume, which isn’t good. Michael Stone as well. As far as drafting, he has Tkachuk, Rasmus Andersson, Andrew Mangiapane, Dillon Dube, and Samuel Bennett on his resume.
Treliving stood pat at the trade deadline in 2019. It’s fair to question why he did that.
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13. Jim Rutherford (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Jim Rutherford is extremely difficult to get a handle on. He’s won two straight Stanley Cup (2016 and 2017) with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But my goodness, Rutherford has made some baffling moves ever since winning that second straight Stanley Cup.
In consecutive offseason, Rutherford has signed Jack Johnson and Brandon Tanev to long-term deals. That’s unacceptable. The Jake Guentzel extension is great, but a lot of his value is tied to Sidney Crosby.
Rutherford has been changing the Penguins the past two summers. It’s hard to argue they’re better because of them. Also, Rutherford saw a team that won two straight Stanley Cups by out-skilling everyone and decided to try to out-grit everybody. What the heck?
Rutherford has done some good things, but it’s been a while since he’s made a good move if you look past the Guentzel extension.
12. Jeff Gorton (New York Rangers)
Most people would probably have Jeff Gorton in their top 10 after his offseason. I’m pumping the brakes on him a bit. He did a great job rebuilding the New York Rangers, but it’s fair to question if he ended the rebuild a bit too early. The Rangers are in cap heck, and they haven’t even start contending yet. He’d be higher if I factored in what he did for the Bruins during his brief tenure there.
11. Ron Francis (Seattle)
Ron Francis should flourish with Seattle. He did a great job in Carolina, as he built most of the roster that made it to the Eastern Conference Final in 2019. Francis had success despite less than optimal circumstances. With an ownership group willing to spend money, he should be a much better general manager. His drafting is a bit of a red flag, but I think with the right guys around him, that should change.