It seems like Buffalo Sabres fans can’t go through a season without a good dose of controversy. After things have seemingly turned around for the club, there’s a concerning rumor involving the front office.
A report in RG Media published on Thursday posits that associate general manager Marc Bergevin could be the choice for the soon-to-be-vacant GM role in Nashville. Earlier this year, current Predators’ GM Barry Trotz announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season. While he’s technically still in the role, Nashville is actively looking to fill his role.
The name that has popped up among league sources is Bergevin’s. Meanwhile, the chatter suggests that the Predators will be looking to hire erstwhile Toronto Maple Leafs team president Brendan Shanahan as well.
“There is nothing set in stone here, but I keep hearing this could become a real scenario for Nashville. Shanahan would be the President of Hockey Operations and Bergevin the GM.”
That’s certainly a worrisome situation. Bergevin left his previous role with the LA Kings to join Jarmo Kekalainen’s front office in Buffalo. Kekalainen and Bergevin are known to have a good relationship. That’s why adding Bergevin made sense for Kekalainen.
It’s worth pointing out that Bergevin is an associate GM. Kekalainen remains the boss. So, you would have to think that Kekalainen wouldn’t stand in his friend’s way of getting a promotion.
But then again, it seems concerning that Bergevin would be willing to bolt the Sabres this soon. While there’s no indication of any issues in the club’s front office, the potential move, nonetheless, could raise some eyebrows.
Predators GM opening a surprising opportunity
Objectively speaking, there’s no way that Bergevin could have known the Predators’ GM role would be opening up when he joined the Sabres. Unless Trotz told Bergevin what he was thinking, the Sabres associate GM would have to be psychic to guess the opportunity would be coming.
As such, news of Trotz’s retirement was certainly surprising in NHL circles. The list of potential GM candidates has been rather extensive, with plenty of familiar faces thrown into the mix. That list included Bergevin.
The former Montreal Canadiens GM was one of the finalists for the New York Islanders' job at the end of last season. So, it’s certainly fair to say Bergevin has been looking to get back into a GM role.
If Bergevin does leave, it would hardly derail the Sabres’ front office. The team is in good hands with Kekalainen at the helm.
As for Bergevin, the surprising opening in Nashville could be his chance to get back into the game. The club is going through a transition at the moment. That’s why the Predators’ ownership would likely want to get some clarity regarding its front office as soon as possible.