TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun joins Gino Reda to outline the process for the Maple Leafs as they begin the search for a new general manager, discuss the target date for the eventual hire, the timing of Jim Nill’s extension with the Stars and more.
Reda: When are the Toronto Maple Leafs going to have their new hockey boss? Could they possibly try to pluck somebody away from another organization right now? And at least one guy, a big-name GM, is no longer in the mix. To discuss that and more, here’s our insider Pierre LeBrun.
Pierre, Leafs fans want to know what’s the timeline but maybe it’s too early to ask that. Maybe it’s just what’s the first step?
LeBrun: Right, and there’s some people asking, have they already cut down their list? I mean, they haven’t even started the process officially yet. So, let’s point this out. No. 1, the Leafs still haven’t hired a firm to help in this interview process. They hope to hire a firm by the end of next week, I was told on Thursday. So still a little leeway there before there’s a firm in place. Once that firm is in place, then yes, they’ll start reaching out to candidates and lining up interviews and potentially reaching out to other teams seeking permission.
But in the meantime, it’s not like Keith Pelley, the head of MLSE, is not talking to different people. Of course, he’s continuing to lay the groundwork and find out where he should go with this list. So, in fact, when they hire this firm, my expectation is that Pelley will hand over a list of eight to 10 names to that firm to get things going.
Now, what are these interviews for? It’s another great question going around the last couple of days since that news conference. Are these GM interviews? Are they president of hockey interviews? And what I was told on Thursday is, it’s the head of hockey ops is how they’re going into this. Everyone interviewed is for a head of hockey ops, but within that dynamic, by the end of this interview process, they may identify different people that A) may be able to do both jobs, president of hockey and GM, or identify candidates that feel like they’re a GM only and identify candidates that perhaps are better suited to just being president of hockey. All three scenarios remain on the table for MLSE as they enter this process.
And a reminder that Keith Pelley hopes, if possible, to have the head of hockey ops hired by the end of May.
Reda: Now, Keith Pelley and Leafs fans are looking around the NHL and saying, wow, this guy’s really good. This guy had a lot of success with his team in the past. Maybe this guy would be a great add if he becomes available. Which then begs the question, is there a compensation that would have to be paid if you brought somebody in with the other organization’s permission in to lead your team, Pierre?
LeBrun: No, and I don’t know why. I guess people like me have to do a better job of reminding people of this, but there has not been compensation allowed in the NHL for 10 years, i.e. when you agree to hire someone who’s under contract with another team, which does happen, there is no longer any compensation on the table. You don’t give out draft picks. You don’t give out money. Gary Bettman and the NHL abolished this practice starting on January 1st, 2016, 10 years ago. It was agreed upon at the December 2015 Board of Governors meeting in Pueblo Beach, California. I was there. I went back to look at my reporting from that year.
But the reason this happened is that you go back to the summer of 2015. Let’s use the Leafs as an example. They hired Mike Babcock and they hired Lou Lamoriello and they had to give up a third-round pick for each of those hires because technically those guys still had some term left on their deals. But then there were other teams that hired some people that summer where the team in question waived the compensation and allowed that person to get hired elsewhere.
For example, New Jersey didn’t ask for compensation for Pete DeBoer going from the Devils to San Jose behind the bench. It led to a lot of confusion and frankly irritation for the commissioner. And so by the time that December 2015 Board of Governors rolled around, the league, the Board of Governors, voted to abolish the practice of compensation.
So, whether it’s Doug Armstrong or someone else who’s under contract elsewhere, if you leave your team, it’s because your owner gave permission and that’s it. There’s nothing coming your way.
Reda: Listen, up until a couple of days ago, one of the great general managers, one of the great builders and successful guys in this league, was working on an expiring contract and could have become available. And by coincidence, I believe, he got locked up as soon as the Leafs began their search, Pierre.
LeBrun: Yeah, not a coincidence there, Gino. Nice try. No, Jim Nill was on an expiring deal. There was never any sense of stress there. My understanding is between Nill and the Stars that a deal would get done. They were just taking their time on it. In fact, my understanding is they agreed to the extension a couple weeks ago and were just deciding when they would end up finalizing it and announcing it. And yes, the fact that when Brad Treliving got fired Monday night and suddenly in the Toronto market, Jim Nill’s name just popped up everywhere, I think the Stars felt it wise to finally announce that extension for Jim Nill, which is what they did.
And listen, I mean, all kidding aside, this guy is the three-time defending GM of the Year award winner. Can you imagine what his stock would have been like on the open market? But he never intended to become a GM free agent. He started there 13 years ago in April 2013 at the helm of the Dallas Stars Gino, and he has one last step left after being a contender for many years, you know what that is. He wants to see that through.
Reda: Yeah, and he’s willing to stay exactly where he is to get that done. Alright, that’s early inside of training. The full version of IT with Pierre and Dregs is coming up on the early edition of SportsCentre.
