Brendan Batchelor

Yeah, and that's why I said there are some concerns with a guy like Kevin Adams, too.

It's not just all sunshine and roses because the Sabres are in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in however many years, right?

But something you bring up that I think is also important here, too, is as much as you are searching for a general manager, you should be compiling information with these interviews.

as well you should be garnering opinions from people around the league about your operation about your team about your rebuild about how long they think it's going to take even if you don't like the answers from everyone that you interview i think it's important to kind of use this process

to learn as much as you can about the overall thought about, you know, where you are as an organization, where you need to go, how you can get there.

And then, you know, ultimately, you know, you're going to choose the guy that you think can best implement the way that you want to move forward.

But, you know, an interview process like this can be a fact finding mission and information gathering as well.

And that's crucial, too, I think.

it should be a large component of everyone they bring into the organization, whether player, you know, junior staffer, general manager, president, whatever it might be, because, you know, culture is set from the top if we're talking about the general manager job specifically.

And, you know, at times the culture hasn't been great in Vancouver and, you know, you want someone and you talk about those former players that all will have experience and

having played in organizations that had strong cultures or played on teams that had strong cultures or were instrumental in setting the tone for those strong cultures.

So I think absolutely it's something you have to look at and it's something you have to be

you know, very diligent about because, you know, not only do you want the sharpest minds running your organization, the people that, you know, are on the cutting edge of where things are going in the NHL and are forward thinking and are willing to, you know, embrace the rebuild and all of those things.

But you want people that are going to set a positive tone from where they sit and, you know,

Not to be particularly critical of Patrick Alvin, because I always got along well with him personally, but I believe it was your reporting, Drance, that his relationship with Adam Foote deteriorating was kind of held against him, even if organizationally they agreed with Alvin that they needed to...

You know, play the young guys more.

So, you know, you want a general manager or a leader of your hockey operations department or however this is going to play out that can foster positive relationships that can instill confidence internally, whether it's among staff or players.

And so.

Having someone that's a good character person that understands how to build those positive cultures is integral for setting the tone for the environment that the young players that you already have and the ones that you're going to draft in June and the ones that you're going to bring in in the future, you know, for setting the tone for the environment that they're going to grow up and develop in.

Yeah.