Nick Saban Involved in the Predators GM Hiring Process
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast with Kyle Bukauskas went over the general manager openings following the New Jersey Devils hiring Sunny Mehta. They got to Nashville and Friedman indicated the Predators are doing more interviews, but minority owner Nick Saban is more involved in the process than first thought.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Bukauskas: “All right, so Nashville, in the end, they did not prove everyone wrong through a third straight year, the GM search continues for them. And also, too, there’s quietly, and you’ve touched on this a few times, like, how does new ownership, Bill Haslam, feel about the direction the team is going or wants to go? So give us an update on where things are at for the Preds.”
NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils
Friedman: “I think among the people they’ve interviewed for the GM job, there was the internal candidate, Jeff Kealty, but I think they’re not going internal. I think they want to go external. But there was also Darren York from Carolina, and there was Brett Peterson from Florida, and there was Bill Scott from Edmonton, and I, I believe they are going to interview Tom Fitzgerald. I don’t know exactly when. I think next week in person, but I don’t know exactly when. And I believe they have also spoken to Ryan Martin from the New York Rangers. And it’s possible there’s more, but those are the ones I know of. So that’s the group that they’ve spoken to.
I believe that in this round of in-person, Nick Saban’s played a pretty big role. Like, I think he’s asking questions. I think he’s sizing up the candidates, and it’s, it’s pretty clear, from what I’ve heard, that he’s got, the guy’s been very successful. It’s not all apples to apples, Alabama Football and the Nashville Predators, but he has some idea of what makes a person a success, and he wants to see it. And I’ve heard some of the interviews have been good.
I heard someone mentioned to me that the rumor going around was that Bill Scott’s interview was good. But obviously, yet, there isn’t an answer, and they’re looking to speak to a couple more people, so we’ll see. I think Fitzgerald, everybody feels as the team’s first captain, he feels a connection there, and he wants this job. So we’ll see what happens when he goes in there, and where we go from here.
And, Ryan Martin’s a really interesting guy. He’s worked in Detroit. He’s worked with the Rangers. Two years ago, he was a really hot candidate, and he was his stock was really moving up. And it shows you the Rangers have had two years, whether they’ve gone like the last two. And, I always say, I don’t think people suddenly become stupid. We just, it’s a results-oriented business, and we focus on results. So this is a big opportunity for him, too. So we’ll see where this all goes.”
NHL Rumors: Canucks, Maple Leafs, Devils, Panthers, and Predators
NHLRumors.com Note: It is no surprise to see Nick Saban a part of the process. He is a winner. While it was in the college football world, he has standards. He keeps himself too. Those standards right now don’t exist with the Nashville Predators. There is a reason he came in when he did in December, and soon after Barry Trotz spoke with management about stepping down. Saban has a different vision of how the Predators should do things.
While Tom Fitzgerald remains in the clubhouse lead, it would be ideal for them not to repeat the same mistake with just awarding a person a job because they were already there as a player. In order for the Nashville Predators to turn this around, they need to hire someone with experience who has won at this level or at least made deep runs in the playoffs.
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