Isles' First Year Owners Are Interviewing For A Big Name Hockey Brain To Oversee Operations

Newsday – Newsday has learned that Malkin and Ledecky have been meeting since the summer with a number of people in the hockey world, from former team chief officers to power agents to retired players, in hopes of finding a “big name” to step in and oversee the Isles’ operations.

Sources say that Malkin and Ledecky are not close to naming anyone to what would be a team president role — one of the two titles currently held by Garth Snow, who has been president and general manager since the summer of 2006. A team spokesman flatly denied that there is any search underway for a new team president.

But a league source indicated that pretty much since July 1, when Malkin and Ledecky took over the majority ownership role from Charles Wang, the new owners have been on the hunt for someone to step into the executive suite to either work with Snow or make front-office changes.“They’re looking for a big name,” the source said. “They’ve talked to a lot of people already.”

Staple from the clouds! Here everyone is, minding their own, trying to enjoy their Friday nights and respective 3 game win streaks, and from the cumulonimbuses comes Art Staple dropping bombs.

Two things to digest here – For starters, the fact that they’ve been interviewing for the position since July 1 shows that the Isles terrible start to the season wasn’t the catalyst. Meaning that they are most likely looking for someone to work alongside Garth, as opposed to looking for the former backup Goalie and current President of Hockey Operations/GM’s successor.

Garth would most likely keep his job and knowing his long-term relationship with current head coach Jack Capuano, a clean sweep of the coaching staff would be unlikely. For fear of causing a rift between Pres and GM right off the bat.

Second – This is news that all Isles fans should meet with the warmest of welcomes. It’s no secret the first year with Malkin & Ledecky under the helm has been a bit of a disappointment. What was the most successful season in decades, has been met with a dropoff in quality that rivals True Detective season 2.

With things going south quick and no real word from the guys who just took over this godforsaken franchise, knowing that from Day 1 they’ve been in search of a new brain to take over, and not planning on following in Charles Wang’s footsteps as Garth Snow’s personal Yes Man, is a bright light during these dark times.

With names like Pat LaFontaine and Brad freaking Richards having been thrown into the mix, my guess is as good as yours as to who will end up getting the job, or when the right man will turn up, but one thing that’s for sure is this won’t be Garth’s show for much longer.