After a month of speculation, the Boston Bruins finally decided to go with what they knew. From day one Don Sweeney was the odds on favorite to get the general manager job. If that was the case, what took them so long to come up with that decision?
The biggest reason was that the Bruins promised an extensive and thorough search. To their credit, they did their best to find the right person who could work the team’s current strengths and weaknesses. They also had to factor in who they thought they could get to run the organization.
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Jeff Gorton was probably the biggest X-factor in the Bruins GM search. Gorton was the number two candidate for Boston, and there had been talk that he could bring some of the old oomph back to Boston. The biggest problem in getting him was the New York Rangers, the team he was currently working for.
The longer it took for the Bruins to decide, the more fingers pointed to the former interim GM to come back to Boston.
EnterHarry Sinden. Sinden spent over three decades with the organization, and coached the team to their 1970 Stanley Cup Championship, and spent twenty-nine years as the team’s general manager. Sinden’s current title is Senior Advisor to the Owner. It was in that capacity where Sinden was likely used to communicate with the Rangers via a back door channel.
Puck Prose
The Bruins still made attempts to talk to Gorton, but the Rangers organization shut them (and everyone else) out. Rangers GM Glen Sather wanted other teams to know that Gorton would be unapproachable for as long as the Rangers were in the post-season. But Sather had also rebuked offers from other teams in the past, most notably the Pittsburgh Penguins last year.
Sather is over seventy, and underwent cancer surgery two years ago. It’s look like Sather will be getting ready to step down after this season. The Rangers have decided to make Gorton their man, and it’s a pretty safe bet to say Gorton will be promoted as soon as Sather steps down.
In the end, the New York Rangers knew what kind of man they had, and they were determined to keep him.
It’s a bit of a shame though. The Bruins could have achieved a lot more solidarity with the fan base had they gone with their leading candidate from day one. The month delay made the Bruins front office look a little unprepared for the Chiarelli change over, and having Jeremy Jacobs looming like a spectre over the proceedings certainly didn’t help matters.
Well, at least we know Cam Neely has someone he can rely on, and that Claude Julien should still have his job come opening night.