History has a funny way of repeating itself.......
List of Ottawa Senators general managers
Pierre Gauthier was hired the same day and he replaced the coaching corps that Sexton had hired by hiring head coach Jacques Martin, who had NHL head coach experience. Yashin was signed and Berard was traded. Under Gauthier's leadership, the club qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history. Gauthier resigned from the Senators in June 1998 for personal reasons. Gauthier returned to work as an ice hockey executive with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim two weeks later. Gauthier had previously been the assistant general manager at Anaheim before being hired by Ottawa.
Former player Rick Dudley was hired immediately and he was general manager for one year, before leaving to join the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Dudley has a good eye for talent. I read an article a few months ago which discusses various trades and signings that were the result of Dudley's eye for talent, it left me impressed.
As much as I would love either coach, I dont see them leaving their respective teams. Vignealt led his team to back to back Presidents trohpies and a one game away from a cup.
The knowledge of draft picks will be discussed in depth until the actual draft takes place.The Leafs haven't made any firm choices yet and most likely will be debating late into the Entry Draft Evening,thus letting Dudley's remaining contract to be paid out being the stumbling block that needs to be settled.Good news for the Habs front office depth and experience getting another huge boost.
Maybe Burke has some trades lined up for the draft and doesn't want Dudley spilling the beans to Bergevin.
I can't see Dudley too involved in the actual scouting of junior players (except for Toronto's 5th overall pick)
Great news! And no need to hire him prior to the draft. I don't see why it's complicated. Timmins takes care of the draft. And in all honesty, as great as it is to have great hockey minds, we also need to give Timmins some breathing room. So at the very least, there's absolutely no need for Dudley prior to the draft. Get him prior to July 1st though.
Fantastic move. Makes me feel a lot better having someone with Dudley's experience in the box with Bergevin. former GM for 4 teams and has experience building (or helping to build) cup winners in both Tampa and Chicago.
Andrew Ladd for a 2nd in 2011 and a fading prospect in Ivan Vishnevskyi. Granted, the Hawks were in a tough spot due to their cap troubles.
Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart for Rich Peverley. Wheeler emerged as a real stud this year in Winnipeg. Peverley helped the goons win it all, but Wheeler is a much better asset.
In Tampa:
He traded a 5th for Dan Boyle. A #1 defenceman for virtually nothing.
He traded Cory Cross for Fredrik Modin. A solid top 6 winger for a mediocre defender.
He acquired Adrian Aucoin AND a 2nd for Dan Cloutier. For some reason he traded him just a few months later for Biron and a 2nd, it may have been for budget reasons.
He acquired Vinny Prospal for Ryan Johnson.
He acquired Khabibulin for Mike Johnson, Paul Mara and a 2nd.
Some major fleecings right there. TB doesn't win the cup without his work.
Edit: Holy ****, how could I forget...also signed Martin St. Louis as UFA in 2000. He basically acquired 3 of the 5 most important players of the 2004 Lightning for very little.
There was an article a while back which had a whole list of similar deals. Most of deals showed that Dudley has an eye for players who have not yet fully developed, but have talent that can be exploited.
Your post added absolutely nothing. Also, go Google "Rick Dudley" and have fun sifting through the crap.
Fun is great when..you know, it's actually fun.
Fun can be different for each individual. Was it a little bit of a smart a$$ move yes. Did it add anything to the conversation, no. Did I have a little fun doing it, yes.
The point is sometimes all you need to do is a bit of research and you can find what you are looking for. Is there a bit of crap when you google him, yes. And I guess you did the work for him.
Anyway, to get back on topic, I think Dudley is a great hire and will strengthen the front office and it looks like we will finally have some competency up top.
Great news! And no need to hire him prior to the draft. I don't see why it's complicated. Timmins takes care of the draft. And in all honesty, as great as it is to have great hockey minds, we also need to give Timmins some breathing room. So at the very least, there's absolutely no need for Dudley prior to the draft. Get him prior to July 1st though.
I'd rather have him come in asap. We have many different assets that could be moved before or during the draft. The sooner he comes, the better imo.
Anyway, to get back on topic, I think Dudley is a great hire and will strengthen the front office and it looks like we will finally have some competency up top.
Agreed. It will be interesting to hear what his specific responsibilities will be going forward. IMHO, this is an opportunity for Dudley to be a clear #2, unlike in Toronto, where there seemed to be more of a committee approach under Burke.
I said this to my buddy who is a Leafs fan. We will likely get Dudley but there's no way we get him before the draft because of the conflict of interest.
So I says to Mabel I says...
Anyways, I'm glad to hear that Rick Dudley's coming over to Montreal, especially after hearing his interview with Mitch Melnick on TSN 990.
