The Carolina Hurricanes have already started their search for a new GM after moving Ron Francis out of power this week. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the club has asked for permission to speak with Los Angeles Kings Assistant GM Mike Futa. Lisa Dillman of NHL.com adds that the request was granted. Futa has been in the running for GM jobs all around the league for the last few seasons, but was retained and promoted when Rob Blake took over as GM of the Kings last year.
Futa has a scouting background, previously worked as GM in the OHL, and is regarded as one of the brightest minds not yet given the reins of an NHL team. He was in the running for the Buffalo Sabres job before it eventually went to Jason Botterill last year, and makes sense as one of the first names Carolina would target. Whether they’ll be given permission to talk to him now or after the season is unclear, but new Carolina owner Thomas Dundon hasn’t waited around for much since taking over control of the team in January.
The Hurricanes are in danger of missing the playoffs for the ninth straight season, but do come with an impressive young core. This isn’t a job where a rebuild would be in order, which is usually the case when new GMs are brought in. Instead, the Hurricanes could be just a few moves away from real contention with their pipeline of young defensemen and scoring talent up front. While a star forward would be nice, the team desperately needs to find an answer in goal for their struggles. Cam Ward comes off the books at the end of the season, but Scott Darling hasn’t shown enough to be relied upon as the lone starter for another year.
Noooo!!!