5 GMs on the hot seat entering the 2017-18 season
Unlike coaches, general managers don't usually get fired mid-season. However, that doesn't mean GMs aren't feeling the pressure of having their fates decided by the performances of their players throughout a grueling campaign.
Here are five GMs who could find themselves unemployed by the time the 2017-18 season draws to a close.
Marc Bergevin, Canadiens
Bergevin is the most obvious candidate on the list. He has been heavily scrutinized for several moves he's made as GM of the Canadiens, but none more so than the P.K. Subban-Shea Weber blockbuster.
More than just questionable trades, Bergevin hasn't been able to stockpile young talent since taking over in May 2012. Perhaps the best prospect they've unearthed during his tenure was defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who was traded this offseason for Jonathan Drouin.
It's extremely difficult to imagine Bergevin keeping his job unless the Canadiens are able to go on a deep playoff run in 2017-18.
Ken Holland, Red Wings
Holland is the second-longest tenured GM in the NHL behind Nashville's David Poile, but his time may be coming to an end.
The Red Wings have gone from the class of the league to the laughingstock. They are one of the worst teams in the NHL, have very little young talent, and a boatload of bad contracts.
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Holland was credited as the genius for finding players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in the late rounds of drafts. These two players helped the Wings extend their playoff streak to 25 years, but with Datsyuk playing in the KHL and Zetterberg not the dominant player he once was, Holland doesn't have much to hang his hat on these days.
With a finish near the bottom of the NHL standings, it wouldn't be surprising at all if Holland was relieved of his duties. With the death of owner Mike Ilitch and a brand new arena, it seems like a good time to go in a different direction.
Garth Snow, Islanders
It's incredible to think that Snow is the fourth-longest tenured GM in the NHL, despite bringing nothing but mediocrity to the Islanders for over a decade. During his 11 seasons at the helm, they've made the playoffs just four times, with only a single series win.
Snow was responsible for Rick DiPietro's 15-year contract, trading a 20-year-old Nino Niederreiter for grinder Cal Clutterbuck, and making several questionable high-end draft picks. He's now on the verge of letting a franchise player in John Tavares walk in free agency. It doesn't get much worse than that.
Doug Wilson, Sharks
Wilson has done an outstanding job building the Sharks. Since taking over as GM in 2003, San Jose has failed to make the postseason just once. He made one of the greatest trades in NHL history in 2005, stealing Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau.
However, all good things must come to an end. The Sharks are an old team. Their core is made up of Thornton (38), Brent Burns (32), Joe Pavelski (33), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (30), and Logan Couture (28).
If San Jose were to miss the playoffs this season, the organization's hierarchy may want to kick-start a rebuild, and may want a new man for the job.
Chuck Fletcher, Wild
The Wild have made the postseason in five straight seasons and are coming off a franchise-record 106-point season. That doesn't necessarily mean Fletcher's job is safe, though.
Under Fletcher's reign, the team has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs and is coming off back-to-back first-round exits. Perhaps more glaringly, as each season goes by, the 13-year, $98-million contract he gave Zach Parise in 2012 is looking progressively worse.
Though Fletcher is certainly the safest on this list, another early playoff exit could spell the end of what would be a nine-year run in Minnesota, even though he has built an incredibly deep team.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
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