Breaking down the 5 rumored candidates to become the next GM of the Blue Jackets

Mark Hunter

I wrote a pretty scathing article about hiring Mark Hunter just last week, but if our choice is between him and, say, someone like Bergevin, or Botterill, or Holland ... I can warm up to the idea pretty quickly.

Hunter has at least proven that he can build championship teams in today's hockey world. And, he's done it with young players, in the OHL.

If he can figure out how to do that in the cap-management world, sure, maybe it could work. But what concerns me here is, what kind of culture would we be getting in Columbus?

I suppose winning would be better than seeing our best-ever chance at having a contending team get flushed away by another member of the NHL's management castaways.

In the end, I would not be surprised if the Jackets hire any of these guys. It would be right on par with the history of our franchise to do the exact wrong thing.

They did it just last summer, in fact.

My hope, however, is history repeating itself in a different way. Last year, nobody talked about this team hiring Mike Babcock as their head coach.

Maybe they'll do the same thing with this GM hire, and choose someone that nobody is expecting for the gig. That's my hope. Fingers crossed.

I just fear that the "hands off" ownership might bite us in the behind here. They want someone who has experience running an NHL team.

I don't think that's the correct approach in today's NHL. It's time to turn the page and give someone new a chance. The wrong move here, is hiring someone based on a 25 year old legacy.