The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to whittle down their list of potential general manager candidates as they try to decide who will lead them into 2023-24. On TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun reports that Eric Tulsky and Dan MacKinnon have both been eliminated from the race.
Tulsky, currently the assistant general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, has seemingly become the fan favorite for every vacancy in the league in recent years. The analytically-minded executive has made quite an impact on the Hurricanes organization, overhauling everything from how they scout to their contract negotiations.
But he’ll have to wait a little longer for his first chance in the big chair, unless another team decides to turn their attention to him over the next few weeks.
MacKinnon, a former member of the Penguins front office and current AGM with the New Jersey Devils, is another name linked to several vacancies recently. With more than two decades of hockey operations experience, he has taken a more traditional route to candidacy, including his time as an AHL GM in the last few years.
The Penguins will now have to decide between their last few candidates, which are expected to include names like Kyle Dubas, Jason Botterill, and Mathieu Darche.
If those end up being the 3 finalists, I’d say Fenway is doing a good job with the search.
Any of those 3 would be a really solid hire.
Hire whichever of them has the best plan for our goalie issues.
VGK is making me at least reconsider my reticence against platooning random mediocre goalies instead of paying for a number one.
I haven’t seen him enough to know if he’s a great goalie in his own right or if he’s a product of a good system (like Brian Elliot for years in STL) but I’m starting to think the Pens best option might be to make a trade offer for Jeremy Swayman.
Offer something like a 2nd, a 3rd/4th and DeSmith with the Pens retaining half his cap hit. This would allow Boston to fill the roster spot behind Ullmark cheap and recoup some of the picks they dealt. Pens get a potential long term option who can play now.
@66TheNumberOfTheBest – “VGK is making me at least reconsider my reticence against platooning random mediocre goalies instead of paying for a number one” – Much of that success (maybe all of it, really) is one Sean Burke, who is rapidly ascending to the level of Mitch Korn-like talent.
I don’t think It’s that important who the next Penguins GM will be, The teams core is aging and the team won’t be relevant again until they rebuild.
I’m guessing Dubas gets offered the job and Spezza will join him.