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GM Bracket Battle: Francis vs. Poile

September 2, 2020, 9:29 PM ET [4 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The first round of the General Manager Bracket Battle saw two heavyweights set against each other, with Detroit’s Steve Yzerman coming out with a convincing victory over Boston’s Don Sweeney. Despite woeful on-ice results in Detroit, Yzerman’s reputation from his years in Tampa Bay was clearly enough to convince the masses that he’s a General Manager worth having run your team. Tonight, we have another big-name battle:

16 – Seattle Kraken: Ron Francis

There obviously isn’t a body of on-ice results to evaluate when it comes to Ron Francis’ work as General Manager with the Seattle Kraken, but his time in Carolina and off-ice moves with the Kraken provide plenty of reason to give him credit.

While the Hurricanes have taken a massive step forward in the years since Don Waddell took over, it was Francis’ work compiling draft picks and young players that really started the turnaround for that franchise. Snagging Sebastian Aho in the second round? Acquiring Teuvo Teravainen? Those moves, among others, were made on Francis’ watch. And, those players just happen to have been Carolina’s top two scorers this past season.

Beyond the reputational weight that he carries from his days in Carolina, Francis appears to be taking some very positive steps in Seattle. Even without a roster in place, his hockey operations department has added a number of highly-regarded analytics minds. He's positioning his team to be competitive from day one.

As for negatives, it’s worth mentioning that Francis’ tenure in Carolina was marred by a lack of on-ice wins. He oversaw a tradition of postseason absence for the Hurricanes, largely due to big misses like the massive Scott Darling contract.

17 – Nashville Predators: David Poile
The obvious place to start when it comes to David Poile is on the blue line. Under his leadership, the Nashville Predators have been a defenseman drafting and development machine. Think of the names that have come through and out of that organization. There’s Shea Weber. There’s Ryan Suter. There’s Dan Hamhuis. There’s Roman Josi. The list doesn’t even end there. Simply put, Poile has had no problem identifying and developing players to fill a void that is often viewed as the most difficult for NHL GMs to fill. For that, he and his team deserve a ton of credit.

Poile also has the honour of having pulled the trigger on one of the most lopsided trades in post-lockout NHL history. When he dealt Martin Erat to the Washington Capitals for Filip Forsberg, it was almost impossible to believe. Since that move, Forsberg has gone on to become a perennial 50-60 point player for the Predators.

Once again, though, this is a General Manager who doesn’t own a perfect record. Recent contract extensions signed by the Predators – specifically to Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene – have the potential to cripple the franchise’s cap structure unless those players experience a material resurgence. That, plus the decision to hire a head coach who wasn’t viewed as particularly effective in his last post, lead to some serious questions about where the Predators will find themselves next season.

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Who is the better NHL GM?
Ron Francis
David Poile
Created with Survey Maker


As always, thanks for reading.
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