Pierre McGuire for Penguins general manager? One party reportedly interested, the other not
The Penguins reportedly have interest in Pierre McGuire, among others, as their new general manager.
There's good news for those of us who want to see the world burn: the Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly interested in Pierre McGuire, along with several other candidates, for their open general manager position.
It was tossed out by a local television station earlier this week, and on Thursday, the godfather of hockey insiders, TSN’s Bob McKenzie, mentioned it during an appearance on TSN Radio.
McKenzie said the Penguins have their eye on "about six or seven guys," but McGuire's name was on a list that included current Pens interim GM and former assistant GM Jason Botterill, Lightning assistant GM Julien BriseBois, Rangers AGM Jeff Gorton and Blackhawks AGM Norm Maciver.
But ... well, OK. Don’t get too excited. Pretty much simultaneously on a different TSN Radio affiliate, McGuire himself said he doesn’t want the Penguins GM job.
Pierre McGuire just reiterated that he has no interest in the Penguins GM job on @TSN690DriveShow with @HunterZThompson and co. #TSN690
— Conor McKenna (@mckennaconor) May 22, 2014 And just like that, those of us who were hoping for this...
Imagine Pierre making a draft announcement. "WITH THE 22ND PICK PITTSBURGH SELECTS FROM THE WINDSOR SPITFIRES A KID IVE BEEN WATCHING SINCE
— Fear The Fin (@fearthefin) May 22, 2014 ... are now broken-hearted.
Honestly, McGuire’s lack of interest is a bit of a head scratcher. It’s basically been common knowledge for years that he wants to get back into the game in an official team capacity, and he’s been in the running for these jobs in the past. He could just be saying he’s not interested because he doesn’t want to kick that spotlight on himself as he sits through the interview process, or he could genuinely not be interested.
In any case, Pittsburgh could surely benefit from Pierre in its front office, and its interest in him makes sense. Anybody who’s watched a game on NBC in the last three years can attest to McGuire’s level of hockey knowledge, even if he does come off as a jerk, or downright creepy, in a lot of instances.
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Despite his hockey knowledge, though, McGuire has a recorded history of rubbing people the wrong way -- and his tenure as coach of the Hartford Whalers can be summed up in one scathing old Hartford Courant article that includes the words “headstrong” and “full of himself” and “universally disrespected.”
There's history in Pittsburgh, however: McGuire was the assistant coach of the Pens when they won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years during the early 1990s, just before his hiring as the coach in Hartford.
We’ll see where this ultimately goes. But for those outside of Pittsburgh, just the sheer possibility feels like Christmas -- even with the recognition that McGuire’s hockey brain is an great asset that could help the Penguins.
