OPINION: The Only Two Candidates The Islanders Should Consider for GM Now

Today marks the two-week mark since the New York Islanders moved on from Lou Lamoriello. The Islanders’ search, according to multiple reports around the league, honed in on experienced candidates from the jump.

Eliminating all first-time candidates from the mix leaves two candidates that stand out from the rest. Jarmo Kekalainen and Marc Bergevin. From the jump, of the experienced candidates, those two were my preferred candidates for the job.

Now, with the Draft Lottery victory from last night, there’s a new mandate for this job: Be aggressive, unafraid of calculated risks, and do anything to improve the team and get elite pieces.

Kekalainen and Bergevin have a reputation for aggressive general management. Lou Lamoriello was extremely calculated and bold, but not aggressive. Garth Snow was neither aggressive nor bold by the end of his tenure.

Who Shouldn’t Be the Next GM:

This hire, with the first overall pick, a roster with winning pieces locked in long-term, key RFAs, and multiple first-round picks next year, has a treasure trove of options. The time of a patient but bold GM, like Lamoriello or current candidate Ken Holland, is now gone. Yes, Peter Chiarelli is still being floated as an option, but the last time a team allowed him to make bold moves, he set the Oilers back half a decade. Chiarelli surely had time to ponder his mistakes and is dying to redeem himself, but that type of risk is one the Islanders cannot afford to take.

Rob Blake, recently departed from the Kings, is another candidate. However, his resume includes trading Brock Faber and the 19th overall pick (Liam Ohgren) to the Minnesota Wild for Kevin Fiala. It includes trading a boatload, including Gabriel Vilardi, to the Winnipeg Jets for Pierre-Luc Dubois, a move he then corrected by acquiring Darcy Kuemper for Dubois. In the 2017 NHL Draft, he selected Vilardi one pick before Martin Necas and two before Nick Suzuki, all of whom were listed at center.

Blake did have some major trade wins and strong moves. However, with where the Islanders are, I’m not sure his track record indicates he could be the best candidate. He whiffed with the fifth overall pick in 2019, selecting Alex Turcotte over Moritz Seider, Dylan Cozens, and Phillip Broberg. He took Quinton Byfield over Tim Stutzle second overall, two solid players, but Stutzle is the better one at this point.

Blake’s ability to get four straight 99+ point seasons out of the Kings shows he can build a contender. The downside is that they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in four consecutive first rounds.

Why Bergevin Makes Sense:

Bergevin and Kekalainen are the two strongest candidates for the job. I truly believe their measured level of aggression is extremely necessary for the position.

Both threw caution to the wind to try and make their teams better. First, let’s dissect Bergevin. Here’s his trade history.

Bergevin is the GM who acquired Thomas Vanek from the Islanders for Sebastian Collberg and a draft pick. He acquired Jeff Petry from the Oilers for two draft picks. One of his biggest moves came in 2016.

He dealt P.K. Subban for Shea Weber, one-for-one. Weber captained the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, while Subban helped Nashville to the 2017, but quickly fell off.

He dealt Max Pacioretty for a package including Nick Suzuki, and then acquired Brett Kulak for two young players who never became anything.

By the end of his tenure, some of his bigger swings flamed out. He gave up too much for Christian Dvorak, then signed Josh Anderson for too much and too long.

Perhaps Bergevin’s most aggressive swing came on July 1, 2019. He signed Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet. That move is rarely used, but showed just how aggressive he’d be willing to be. Just days before, he drafted Cole Caufield 15th overall despite many concerns over his size.

Bergevin’s most regrettable draft decision was in 2018. He selected Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall over Brady Tkachuk.

Why Kekalainen Makes Sense:

Kekalainen’s long executive career began as the director of player personnel for the Ottawa Senators from 1999 to 2002. From there, he pivoted to an assistant general manager job with the St. Louis Blues from 2002 until 2010. He also served as the director of amateur scouting, helping identify and pushing the team to draft future Blues captain and 2019 Stanley Cup Champions Alex Pietrangelo, along with a litany of forwards including T.J. Oshie and David Perron. after that, he became the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets midway through the 2013-14 season.

That experience in multiple front offices is massive for the Islanders, who have been pretty transparent about their need to expand their front office.

He lasted a decade in Columbus, with a decent enough record drafting, including drafting Zach Werenski (8th overall, 2015) and shocking the NHL world in the 2016 NHL Draft, opting to take Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi. In later rounds, he has big-time hits, including a third-rounder on Oliver Bjorkstrand and a sixth-rounder on Vladislav Gavrikov. As with any GM, he has his misses, but his hits are notable.

Trading-wise, he has arguably the biggest fleece of the 2010s. On June 23, 2017, Kekalainen acquired Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte, and a sixth-round pick in exchange for Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg, and a fifth-round pick. A total fleece of the Chicago Blackhawks. Previously, he acquired Seth Jones one-for-one for Ryan Johansen. Johansen came off a career-high 71 points in 2014-15, then started slower in 2015-16. He acquired the 21-year-old Jones for his then 1C.

Two gigantic wins. He notably landed Matt Duchene ahead of the 2019 Trade Deadline. Oh, and by the way, he’s the GM who signed Johnny Gaudreau as a free agent. All he knows is to be aggressive. Back in 2019, he came very close to so signing Mitch Marner to an offer sheet.

If he hadn’t dealt with virtually every star player he acquired demanding out of Columbus, perhaps he’d have been able to earn more sustained success for the Jackets.

Last spring, Kekalainen spoke to NHL.com about his desire to return to the NHL as a GM:

“I’d be a lot better general manager the second time around,” Kekalainen told NHL.com. “I’m also realizing that I’m not ready to retire, so I’m staying active. I’ve [scouted] some games to make sure that I stay current with the other prospects coming into the NHL, which is a lot of NHL hockey, college hockey, major junior, [American Hockey League], so I’m definitely full of energy and ready for the next challenge as well.”