Assistant general managers are the unsung heroes of an NHL front office. The President of Hockey Operations and/or the General Manager gets all the shine, for better or worse, but it is the assistant general managers who run the minor league team and pro scouting. For the Boston Bruins, Jamie Langenbrunner was the assistant in charge of pro scouting, but he parted ways with the team on Thursday.
For all the shade that Don Sweeney gets thrown at him for his lack of drafting prowess over the past decade, the critics say that he makes up for it with elite trading and an eye for pro players who deserve a chance elsewhere. As previously stated about the unsung heroes, Sweeney was the one getting all the credit for it, but Langenbrunner was likely the one behind it.
Think about this season's surprising 100-point team. Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, and Viktor Arvidsson all played a massive role in the team getting to that point, despite some criticism of the Bruins' offseason. It didn't work out in the postseason, but without Langenbrunner, the Bruins might not even have come close to making the playoffs this season.
Some would argue that the Bruins were better off missing the playoffs this season and continuing the rebuild that they started, which may not be entirely incorrect. However, with the Bruins hoping to turn a corner soon and start contending again, someone like Langenbrunner to help fill the gaps of those rosters is going to be something the front office misses, unless they get someone in who can do a similar job.
It'll be interesting to see how this affects the front office. If Sweeney's right-hand man for the one thing he was given credit for over the years is gone, will the general manager be as effective? With his stock already down with his drafting, this could be a serious problem for Sweeney and the organization going forward.
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