In case you missed the news yesterday, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford announced his abrupt retirement citing personal reasons. Assistant GM Patrik Allvin will take over the team on an interim basis and the Penguins' ownership and executive staff will begin searching for a replacement immediately.
Names like Ron Hextall, Peter Chiarelli and Jason Botterill have been floated about as possibilities, but one intriguing name to me is former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis. While Gillis' name hasn't been mentioned by any insiders just yet, we do know that he has formally applied for the position. More on that in a moment. But first, it's hard to believe that Gillis has been out of the NHL for over seven years now. The guy was one of the most successful GMs in the NHL during his time with the Canucks, but has seemingly had a difficult time finding work ever since. Could that all change with this most latest vacancy in Pittsburgh?
Interestingly enough, Gillis' son Spencer "accidentally" leaked his father's proposal to the Penguins online yesterday afternoon. The younger Gillis Tweeted out his father's proposal with little explanation, before deleting it just over 30 minutes later. He then claimed that it was posted by accident. Thankfully the fine folks over at Reddit preserved Gillis' tweet and have made the full proposal available to anyone.
Click the link below to check it out:
I must say... this is a fascinating read.
First thing that's clear to me though, this isn't a GM proposal. It's a President of Hockey Operations proposal. In fact, it's an entire organizational proposal that would see the Penguins go through massive executive upheaval. And I gotta say... I don't think that's such a terrible idea. The Penguins have been stagnant for a few years now and could use a real shake up.
It'll be interesting to see if Gillis gets his foot in the door with the Penguins. If nothing else, it provides us all with a clear blueprint on how to get an executive job in the NHL. Copy Gillis' document, swap out his name for yours and BAM, you've got yourself an interview alongside Gillis, Hextall, Chiarelli and the rest of the NHL's Old Boys Club.
