CBC's Elliotte Friedman has heard a theory about the extarordinary long amount of time that has transpired since Pat LaFontaine began his exhaustive search for his next GM.
Buffalo and Calgary can look, but they can't touch.
Not no for ever. No for now.
On the "Hot Stove" on Hockey Night In Canada, Friedman noted that Calgary is beginning to experience the same type of push back from NHL teams that Pat LaFonataine has been experiencing for the past month. The reason is that if LaFontaine and Brian Burke are trying to hire their next GMs and they have scouting backgrounds, then NHL GMs may be saying that its ok for Buffalo and Calgary to speak with assistant GMs from other teams, however, they cannot have permission to hire the man that they are hoping to hire until after the 2014 NHL entry draft in June.
Lets use the Jim Benning hypothetical.
Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli granted LaFontaine permission to interview Benning. LaFontaine has already conducted the interview, as well as several others. LaFontaine may be frustrated right now because he cannot get Chiarelli to green light a Benning hire right now. Perhaps Chiarelli is telling LaFontaine "don't call us, we'll call you". In other words, Benning can be had after he's completed all of his responsibilities and due diligence while still under contract to the Bruins. The same hypothetical can be applied to Brian Burke in Calgary and Dave Poulin in Toronto.
Glenn Healey chimed in a with this nugget:
LaFontaine is taking so long to hire a GM because he has designs on taking the Buffalo GM job for himself.
LaFontaine has said from day one on the job that he feels that he doesn't have the proper amount of experience to be an NHL GM, hence, his long search for a true NHL GM.
LaFontaine doesn't want to be the next GM of the Sabres. He wants to hire an experienced hockey man. I still believe that Jim Benning will be Buffalo's next GM.
My take on the "suspicion":
I think NHL teams may be chumming the waters with the theory that LaFontaine is only interviewing for the sake of it and going through the motions because he's going to name himself Buffalo GM. trust me when I tell you that there are many teams in the NHL that do NOT want to see the Sabres succeed in the neat future. LaFonatine's next GM will have $28 million to spend to get to the salary cap floor of $58 million next season. Hell, the lucky GM can spend $41 million this summer on UFAs and restricted free agents to get to the new $71 million cap ceiling. The next GM will have a treasure chest of first and second round draft picks in the 2014 and 2015 entry draft to re-build the Sabres immediately. To say nothing of the top 3 overall pick that Buffalo will have in the 2014 entry draft based on this horrendous season. Whats more, trading UFAs Ryan Miller and Matt Moulson at or before the NHL trade deadline will fetch Buffalo top six forwards and more first and second round draft picks to add to the treasure trove that Darcy Regier accumulated before he was fired in November.
NHL teams fear LaFontaine and his next GM. They have an obscene amount of Pegula's wealth and a metric ton of NHL draft currency to invest in their team this summer.
The Sabres will not be shy about offering big money to their own free agents and UFAs-to-be.
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