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As the Pittsburgh Penguins search for a new permanent GM continues, how far and wide should their search take them? Should interim GM Jason Botterill be a serious candidate for the position?
Jason Botterill is viewed as a guy who is going to get a full time GM position in the very near future, what is unclear is that if it will be in Pittsburgh or somewhere else. Botterill has a unique background which includes a successful run in the AHL as a player before concussions ended his career, an MBA from the University of Michigan, and his experience working within the Penguins organization as their cap specialist.
The ability to combine hockey knowledge with business acumen is a highly desirable quality and it is no wonder he is considered one of the up and coming Assistant GM’s about to take over his own team.
All that said, is he the right guy for the Pittsburgh Penguins?
That all depends on one big factor, how big of a role did he play in the Shero administration? Was he a passenger who crunched the cap numbers for Shero? Or was he a guy who played the role of a trusted consigliore in which his opinions carried weight and led to some of the poor decisions that resulted in Shero’s demise?
This is what the Penguins ownership group needs to find out. If Jason Botterill has an organizational philosophy that differentiates from Ray Shero, I believe he deserves to be one of the front runners for the GM vacancy.
Leading me to believe there is the potential for him to have a different perspective on how to build a roster is the fact he was not fired along with Shero. If Botterill was a yes man with a calculator one would think he would be on the unemployment line along with Shero.
There is however a potential blemish on his resume as one of his job descriptions as the Assistant GM was the following: “professional and amateur scouting and overseeing prospect development”.
This could be considered one of the Penguins weak areas. Was that part of Botterill’s job title just window dressing, or did he have a big role in the lack of development of NHL quality players on ELC’s for the Penguins?
The key for Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle, and David Morehouse will be to figure out if Jason Botterill is more than just a number crunching savant. Can he evaluate players effectively and reinvigorate the Penguins youth pipeline? Can he find the character and grit Lemieux is looking for while combining it with the necessary speed and skill needed in the modern NHL?
The optics of the Penguins replacing Shero from somebody in house is sure to ruffle some feathers amongst the fan base, but it’s about finding the right guy for the job. If Jason Botterill can prove in his interview(s) that his perspective on how to build a winning hockey team differentiates from Shero, he just may land the job.
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Our podcast at Hockey Hurts this week covered the Penguins front office shakeup you can find the RSS feed
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