Panthers AGM should be a GM candidate
Renaud Lavoie: On potential GM candidate whose name is out there is Florida Panthers assistant GM Paul Krepelka. He has a great reputation.
He doesn’t speak french so is not a candidate for the Montreal Canadiens, but expect him to be interviewed by other teams.
Potential candidates for the Vancouver Canucks GM position
John Shannon: Whoever the Vancouver Canucks hire as their next GM, things will run through Jim Rutherford.
Any Canucks list of potential candidates will include Jason Karmanos.
Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal of The Athletic: A big list of potential GM candidates in no order:
Jason Botterill, Stan Smyl, Mike Gillis, Laurence Gilman, Hayley Wickenheiser, Marc Bergevin, Scott Mellanby, Eustance King, Chris MacFarland, Ryan Johnson, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, J.P. Barry, Josh Flynn, Mike Futa, Ray Ferraro, Craig Conroy, Ross Mahoney, John Ferguson Jr., Kevin Weeks, Alexandrea Mandrycky, and John Chayka.
TSN: Darren Dreger says that it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the Vancouver Canucks hired Jim Rutherford as he’s won multiple Stanley Cups as a GM.
“Rutherford is the interim general manager. He tells me that he’s going to look at pretty much every candidate – those with experience, those without experience – but first he’s gotta put feet on the ground in Vancouver and get to know everyone throughout the organization. So that’s the priority (and) no timeline.”
Potential tightening of protocols
TSN: Chris Johnston notes that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly isn’t sure if they’ll need to tighten their COVID protocols as numbers have risen around North America. 19 teams so far this season have had to tighten their own protocols at varying times.
“There is a conversation due next week with the NHL Players’ Association where they review these protocols and Bill Daly mentioned 19 teams this year have had to at one point or another enact heightened protocols, maybe go back to something like we saw last season, a little bit more like the bubble scenario to be safe and maybe we’ll start to see that depending on what the league’s doctors decide before that NHLPA meeting.”