ESPN: GM die auf dem heißen Stuhl sitzen

Richer Pastures Aren't Greener

Glen Sather built a Stanley Cup dynasty in Edmonton, a task that became more difficult as hockey's financial climate changed. Money isn't an issue for him in Manhattan, but as ESPN.com's George Johnson writes, it puts him at the top of GMs that should be on the hot seat. Across the river in New Jersey, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello leads Barry Melrose's list of the top GMs.

GM's auf den heißen Stühlen
Sather, Clarke find money doesn't change everything

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By George Johnson
Special to ESPN.com

The season has yet to begin. The new rules on obstruction have yet to be ignored. Mike Keenan has yet to have a meltdown. The Atlanta Thrashers have yet to be mathematically eliminated. Everyone starts equal and hopes run at least moderately high in most NHL outposts.

Soon enough, however, reality is going to set in. Trends emerge, teams either fly or falter and the pressure begin to mount on those unable to live up to expectations.

While coaches are the usual candidates to be offered up for sacrifice, there are a number of general managers around the league sure to be living under a very powerful microscope. Here are five that could be (or should be) under the gun if things don't play out properly:

1. Glen Sather, New York Rangers
Two years, two expensive years, at the controls and not one playoff date at MSG to show for it. Legs Diamond, the most expensive closed-before-opening-night flop in the history of the Great White Way, might be considered a smashing success next to this two-act stinker. Those titters you hear around the league from teams trying to make do on half the budget are threatening to escalate into full-blow guffaws. And once again, predictably, this summer the Rangers were tossing around dollars like confetti at the Lindbergh Atlantic crossing parade. They shelled out $70 million in two days -- more dough than the Gross National Product of San Marino and Lichtenstein combined -- on checking centerman Bobby Holik and bad-boy defenseman Nefarious Darius Kasparaitis. Their payroll, despite offloading pricey chattel like Theo Fleury and Martin Rucinsky, is higher than the NHL-record $73 million they established, and which brought them such remarkable results, last season. Geez, at least the Yankees get bang for their buck.

There's been a change behind the bench -- Bryan Trottier in, Ron Low out -- which leaves the glare of the spotlight directly on the cigar-chompin' visage of general manager Glen Sather. The genius mantle bestowed on Sather during his Stanley Cup seasons in Edmonton is beginning to show major cracks. New York has never been the most patient of towns, the most forgiving of addresses, and another non-playoff season for a lineup dotted with names like Lindros, Bure, Leetch, Richter, Kasparaitis, Nedved and Messier would surely call for a drastic reshuffling.

Oh, well, at least Sather has put together the toughest coaching lineup in recent memory (Bryan Trottier, Jim Schoenfeld, Terrible Teddy Green and Terry O'Reilly -- 5,168 combined career penalty minutes). Maybe they can pound some sense into the cast of glittering underachievers in their care.

2. Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
How far can being a local sporting icon carry you? A long ways if you're an indomitable gap-toothed centerman with a stick like a stiletto, a virtually unparalleled will to win and the key man in two Stanley Cup championships nearly three decades ago. As the Flyers continually falter when the time comes to deliver the goods, Bobby Clarke would seem to be putting himself in danger! danger! danger! more often the Steve the Crocodile Hunter. Yet the man seems to be bullet-proof.

During his years in charge of the franchise he came to symbolize, Clarke has shed coaches more frequently than Don Cherry changes sports coats. The blame for postseason disappointment has invariably been shuffled elsewhere. Yet another first-round playoff (during which the Fly-boys scored only two goals in five games) disaster this spring has the jackals braying, loudly. There's an argument to be made that a general manager's job is to put enough talent on the ice to win, the coach's to make the best use of that ability. And that's true, up to a point. But it's been a long time since they sipped Stanley Cup champagne in Philly and the financial resources have never been an issue.

Once again, the Flyers are being ticketed to make a strong bid for the Eastern Conference title. In Ken Hitchcock they've installed a successful strategist behind the bench. Another early folderoo could prove fatal for a lot of people, even an icon.

3. Larry Pleau, St. Louis Blues
Has the golden chance slipped by the St.Louis Blues? The window of opportunity for any franchise, in any professional sport, to lay claim to championships is a narrow one and the Blues, after being touted as one of the prohibitive favorites to lift the Cup the past three seasons, have steadfastly failed to deliver on expectations. Including their own.

Pleau has spent the money to construct a winner, adding quality players. But sports is a bottom line business and St. Louis doesn't look like such a viable threat to go four playoff rounds anymore. Since the high-water-mark 114-point Presidents' Trophy winning season of 1999-00, though, the Blues' total has eroded slightly each successive year, down 11 points, then an additional five, despite adding the costly tickets of Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight. Al MacInnis ain't getting any younger and Chris Pronger has spent the summer rehabbing. One wonders if this might not wind up being the final hurrah for the Pleau-Joel Quenneville combo.

4. Darcy Regier, Buffalo Sabres
It didn't take the Detroit Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup to show just how important Dominik Hasek is to a team. A quick check of the Buffalo Sabres was clearer proof. The Sabres suffered through a disasterous season, tumbling 16 crucial points, 12 spots in the overall standings and out of the playoffs. The collapse of owner John Rigas's Adelphia Communications meant that the Sabres tightened the purse strings and didn't venture out into the free-agent market this summer. So the team is no better than the one which finished 20th overall in 2000-2001.

Another non-playoff year and Regier, who's posted a 189-158-61 record since assuming the GM's post in Buffalo, might well be made the fall guy.

5. Don Waddell, Atlanta Thrashers
On the surface, Waddell's immediate future wouldn't seem to be in any doubt. And it may not be. Atlanta, after all, is in only its fourth NHL season and the payroll ranks among the bottom-feeders in the league. But with attendance becoming a problem at Thrashers home games and considering that outside of Calder Trophy winner Dany Heatley and the gifted Ilya Kovalchuk there isn't much light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel, the patience level in Georgia could wear very thin sooner than anyone expected.

The Thrash have won only 56 of 246 games since their inception, and if their two free-agent defence signings -- Uwe Krupp and Richard Smehlik -- don't pan out, and should Slava Kozlov decide to sleepwalk through the season, someone's going to be held responsible. Whether or not that someone would be coach Curt Fraser, Waddell or in a package deal remains to be seen. "We're all under the microscope," admitted Waddell prior to training camp.

Oh, how prophetic he could turn out to be.

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
http://msn.espn.go.com/nhl/preview2002/c...ge/1441246.html

Die Top GM's
Decisions, not money, make the best GMs

Editor's note: ESPN.com asked Barry Melrose to name his top five general managers in the NHL:

1. Lou Lamoriello, New Jersey Devils
Lamoriello does more with less than any other GM -- and I'm talking about money. He does things they way they're supposed to be done. Lamoriello wins the battle against players, keeps payroll down, and his teams are always competitive. A lot can be attributed to his quality scouting staff. But a good GM knows how to surround himself with good people. Lamoriello is always able to pull off deals that get the job done.

2. Ken Holland, Detroit Red Wings
Holland has more money to work with than Lamoriello, but more money doesn't always mean more wins. Three of the NHL's top five payroll teams didn't even make the playoffs last year (N.Y. Rangers, Dallas, Washington). Holland's teams win. He's made some great trades and drafted well, all while keeping the Red Wings' nucleus in tact. I like the way he's kept this team together, yet whenever they need an added dimension -- a defenseman or a forward -- he goes out and gets it.

3. Pierre Lacroix, Colorado Avalanche
For the past three years, Lacroix has gotten a big-time player to come in and change the team at the March trade deadline. That's so important. Colorado has drafted better than any NHL team, acquiring players like Milan Hejduk and Chris Drury in late rounds. Because of trades, the Avs had four first-round picks in one draft (1998). Yes, Lacroix has done it with a high payroll, but he's made some great trades and he puts Colorado in a position to win every year. The Avs won the Stanley Cup two years ago and I believe they're the team to beat again this season.

4. Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers
Lowe has done a great job in Edmonton. I know they didn't make the playoffs last year, but they were right in there. It's tough when you're trading your best players for young players and draft picks every year. But Lowe has been doing just that, while staying competitive. He's got some great young players again this year. And with the Canadian dollar, he's doing it on a shoestring budget, and with his hands tied behind his back.

5. Dean Lombardi, San Jose Sharks
The Sharks drafted extremely well, so they've got a lot of great young players in their system. Lombardi has done a good job surrounding those young guys with quality veterans like Vincent Damphousse and Gary Suter (although, Suter retired this year). He's also made some good trades and has bee able to hold on to his free-agents like Teemu Selanne. Each year at the deadline, Lombardi does something to make the Sharks a better team. He's got a great scouting staff. Like Lamoriello, he knows the importance of surrounding himself with good people. The Sharks are one of the best young teams in the NHL and they're on their way up. That's a result of their GM and how he handles his players. With the same head coach, Darryl Sutter, for six years, the Sharks have stability -- which is rare. Lombardi doesn't panic. He stays with people he believes in.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL defenseman and coach, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.
http://msn.espn.go.com/nhl/preview2002/c...ry/1440371.html

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