Expect Islanders to target an experienced GM

With Ken Holland expected to take the reins of the Los Angeles Kings, only the New York Islanders remain without a general manager.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed the Islanders’ search for the team’s next GM, highlighting some of the top candidates with Holland now out of the mix.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s go back to the GM search side of things, where the Islanders are still looking and going through the interview process. The Islanders, like the Kings, will go with an experienced GM. Where do you rate that [likeliness] on a scale of one to 10?

Frank Seravalli: I would say that’s probably a nine. They’re in a spot where they had been looking to hire someone as president of hockey operations. I believe Holland was offered that job and I believe he turned it down. I believe he was in a position where New York is just too far from home. He makes his home in British Columbia. He has a lot of his family in the Calgary area. Too far to get to New York. I think that was certainly part of the consideration. Now, moving forward, what’s the next step? We’ve heard the name Marc Bergevin, since he’s obviously not getting the job in Los Angeles. I think that’s a really curious decision. He had been the guy in waiting there for three years. Why go in a different direction? Does that mean that Luc Robitaille is losing his grip on this organization as president of hockey operations if he’s not promoting one of his close friends for the role? And then what happens with some of the other guys who have been in the post before? Jarmo Kekalainen and some of the other names that have been in the mix. I think those are going to be really interesting candidates.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here: