Common knowledge, yeah. He was in charge there and he wouldnt be with the Pens. When he was with the Pens his main responsibilities included monitoring the salary cap and contract research and negotiations, but also worked with salary arbitration and preparation as well as scouting. Dude has a MBA.
- MattStrat

I mean I have a MBA so that’s not saying much lol.

I mean I have a MBA so that’s not saying much lol.
- Feds91Stammer

Sure it is and congrats. I mean that honestly.

Common knowledge, yeah. He was in charge there and he wouldnt be with the Pens. When he was with the Pens his main responsibilities included monitoring the salary cap and contract research and negotiations, but also worked with salary arbitration and preparation as well as scouting. Dude has a MBA.
- MattStrat

I think having 2 people of different mindsets and experience like Ruth and botts is better than one person doing it however they want to. The force must have balance.

I think having 2 people of different mindsets and experience like Ruth and botts is better than one person doing it however they want to. The force must have balance.
- 10inchTerror

This is along the lines of my train of thought too.

The Flyers are getting Laine so back off!!!!!
- Phillywhiteout

what are you offering?

what's the latest on Patrick's health? is he in Philly or back home in Winnipeg?

I mean I have a MBA so that’s not saying much lol.
- Feds91Stammer

It was from Michigan, which is a top 15ish program, but I agree that it's not anything special for someone in his position to have.

It was from Michigan, which is a top 15ish program, but I agree that it's not anything special for someone in his position to have.
- abasin

As opposed to the other assistant GM's the Pens have had with zero degrees ie Guerin?

Which degrees are you looking for when hiring for the Pens assistant GM position?

he signed Jeff Skinner for 9 million per year
- BINGO!

The thing about Botts was that he was way too timid as a GM. I think he made a lot of solid moves around the fringes that would have been really good complimentary moves but he never made the moves that actually tip the scales for a franchise. By the time he finally sacked up and went and got Skinner (a pretty good move at the time) his seat was hot and he didn’t have a ton of options. Skinner played himself into a massive contract and Botts kind of had no choice but to give it to him because he’d done nothing else.

I think that’s why Bots would be good here working with Rutherford again. He can identify the good, under the radar talent while letting Rutherford make the big league swings for the fences. His stock as a GM candidate has plummeted after buffalo but I think he’s still a good FO executive in this league.

As opposed to the other assistant GM's the Pens have had with zero degrees ie Guerin?

Which degrees are you looking for when hiring for the Pens assistant GM position?
- MattStrat

I think he means that an MBA should be the expectation for an FO exec, not that it doesn’t matter/isn’t aplicable. I’m not impressed by university professors with doctorate degrees because that’s literally a prerequisite of the job.

As opposed to the other assistant GM's the Pens have had with zero degrees ie Guerin?

Which degrees are you looking for when hiring for the Pens assistant GM position?
- MattStrat

Wharton or bust....

In reality an MBA is not what makes someone great at being a GM, but the fact he has the intelligence and drive to get and MBA from one of the top public B schools can only be a positive.

Conspiracy theory time... Anyone think that Vellucci being brought in is a warning to Sullivan?

Wharton or bust....

In reality an MBA is not what makes someone great at being a GM, but the fact he has the intelligence and drive to get and MBA from one of the top public B schools can only be a positive.
- abasin

Totally agree with that.

Conspiracy theory time... Anyone think that Vellucci being brought in is a warning to Sullivan?
- Rinosaur

I thought it was when he was hired for WBS.

I think he means that an MBA should be the expectation for an FO exec, not that it doesn’t matter/isn’t aplicable. I’m not impressed by university professors with doctorate degrees because that’s literally a prerequisite of the job.
- Victoro311

Yeah I can get behind that. This convo has me now wondering how many GM's and their assistants have degrees hahah. Pretty sure JR doesnt have one.

Yeah I can get behind that. This convo has me now wondering how many GM's and their assistants have degrees hahah. Pretty sure JR doesnt have one.
- MattStrat

It seems like its a business that relies heavily on relationships and I think people make the salary cap out to be more complicated than it is. I'd imagine you don't need a PhD in quantitative finance to navigate it. I would have fairly high expectations of the education of an analytics team though.

Yeah I can get behind that. This convo has me now wondering how many GM's and their assistants have degrees hahah. Pretty sure JR doesnt have one.
- MattStrat

FO guys fall into two categories: ex-player good old boys taking the next logical step after retirement and sports nerds who think it’s GMing is cool. Safe to say the former don’t have/need degrees because they’ve already made their industry connections by coming up in the sport. I would definitely think it’s a safe bet all of the latter have MBAs.

I have a buddy at Booth right now getting his NBA and the there is a big subculture of sports analytica that can be leveraged towards getting FO jobs. It’s the next best avenue of getting into this scene besides coming up in the sport and being an ex-player. Your typical finance bro business major coming out of college isn’t going to get a look for an FO job.

FO guys fall into two categories: ex-player good old boys taking the next logical step after retirement and sports nerds who think it’s GMing is cool. Safe to say the former don’t have/need degrees because they’ve already made their industry connections by coming up in the sport. I would definitely think it’s a safe bet all of the latter have MBAs.
- Victoro311

hahaha you're probably right.

It seems like its a business that relies heavily on relationships and I think people make the salary cap out to be more complicated than it is. I'd imagine you don't need a PhD in quantitative finance to navigate it. I would have fairly high expectations of the education of an analytics team though.
- abasin

I've always thought there's a lot of rules and what not behind the scenes, that most of us do not know, regarding cap and the CBA regarding the cap. I could be wrong.

09 Orpik and Scuds or the later years? I can't remember. Did they get fired right before Bylsma?
- 668710

Yeah but Reirdon convinced Orpik to come with him to Washington and their usage of him was always debated. More so than here where I feel he was decent until his skating started to decline.

I thought it was when he was hired for WBS.
- MattStrat

This^

Letang for Danault and Petry maybe

This isn't a thin market. I feel they could have got a cheaper quality back-up and gave up less.
- Rinosaur

Im seeing them currently have 4.5 mill cap space with one UFA (Weise) and 4 RFA's to sign (Domi, Hudon, Mete and Ouilliet)...now Domi is probably gone but will have 4.5 mill to sign 5 players. Manageable but certainly not a lot of space. I guess they probably have a few ELCers kickin around they may feel comfortable sticking in lineup...maybe?
- MattStrat

I'm talking about next year. They may have gotten similar or better than Allen, but might have had to give an extra year. They wanted a bridge because they have a great prospect in the AHL in Primeau who they want to play a starter's role there and hopefully play backup next year.

Next off-season they have Gallagher, Tatar, Danault, Kotkoniemi, Armia, Lehkonen, and Petry all up. That's Petry and 2/3 of their top nine with Suzuki the next year. So they have a bunch of cap space this year they can't really use on long-term deals. So while Allen is an expensive back-up, makes sense for them. Also part of the reason they're hesitant to lock up Domi.

Murray and Pettersson to MIN for Kaprizov



or more realistically... Brodin and Greenway

So montreal just traded for jake allen from stl at full value... wtf
- burgh4life87

Domi-noes

While I admit that Letang can be frustrating to watch on the PP at times, remember that's he's been part of this PP when it's been great and when it's sucked. There is a systematic reason the failure of their PP. It's not Letang.

I think people miss about defenseman like Letang or just top players in general is that they are high-event risk-taking players. There are consequences to those risks and also consequences to not taking those risks. The difference is players like him have the ability to create those opportunities for the team to capitalize on.
- Rinosaur

Yeah Doughty, Karlsson, etc are all in the same boat.

If anything, the playoffs are illustrating how important these elite offensive defenseman are.... Makar, Heiskanan, Klingberg, etc.

We are not a team built to win like the Islanders so I don't think we should try to get 6 solid defensive defenseman.

The anti-Letang-ers are the same people that hate Big Ben for throwing interceptions. Letang will be missed the moment he's gone.