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GM Bracket Battle: Waddell vs. Bowman

September 14, 2020, 1:08 PM ET [8 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After a few days off to cover some Senators news, it’s time to return to the GM Bracket Battle. In the last blog, Vegas’ Kelly McCrimmon carried the day over Montreal’s Marc Bergevin. Let’s get to today’s matchup:

9 – Carolina Hurricanes: Don Waddell

Perhaps Waddell’s greatest strength in Carolina is the fact that he’s surrounded himself with really smart people that he can listen to when the need arises. The results have been sweet: His Carolina Hurricanes consistently make smart moves and take advantage arbitrage opportunities on the free agent and trade markets. That, in turn, has led to the Hurricanes becoming one of the Eastern Conference’s premier teams, consistently a threat in the playoff conversation.

Whether it’s acquiring Dougie Hamilton, trading for Nino Niederreiter, or inking Teuvo Teravainen to an extension, Waddell has consistently found himself on the right side of transactions. That’s the mark of a good general manager.

24 – Chicago Blackhawks: Stan Bowman
It’s a little bit tough to evaluate Bowman’s tenure as Chicago’s GM, simply because so many of the good pieces that led to his team’s run of Stanley Cups were in place before he arrived. With that being said, surrounding them with the right supporting cast certainly took a deft hand at the helm, and for that Bowman deserves an immense amount of credit. Winning the Cup once is challenge enough; winning it three times in a span of just a handful of years is as close to a modern day dynasty as we’ll likely ever see.

The trouble for Bowman now is that the players responsible for the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Cups are a little bit older and less effective, which hampers Chicago’s ability to compete. They are all tied in with big contracts on account of past performance. So, the question in this matchup is really whether Bowman gets credit for the Stanley Cup wins, or gets held back for not being able to wiggle out of the “problems” that those wins have created since.

Who is the better NHL GM?
Don Waddell
Stan Bowman


As always, thanks for reading.
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