Drew and D’Andrea debate on the Campese situation

D’Andrea’s argument: New GM will be handcuffed

You certainly have to respect Campese’s decision to turn down returning to the Raiders so be with his family in a trying time. Raiders president Dale McFee said as much during Friday’s press conference.

But regardless, the Raiders are now in a difficult situation.

They will have to find a new general manager that’s fine with without bringing in their own coaching staff, their own scouting staff and their own advisors. That’s like finding a zebra without stripes—it technically exists, but is quite rare and tough to find.

According to a source, the Raiders have already offered the position to four candidates, all of whom have declined the offer.

Hiring a hockey operation staff is one of the biggest responsibilities GM’s have—but Mr. Newbie won’t be able to do that. This offseason, the Raiders board approved the signings of the rest of their hockey operations staff to new contracts (or one-year options).

The Raiders have already signed head coach Marc Habscheid and associate coach Dave Manson until 2019. Director of player personnel Dale Derkatch, assistant coach Kelly Guard and athletic therapist Duane Bartley will all be back for next season, as well.

Now, you have to bring a new general manager in after Campese and the board essentially did his job for him. That leaves the GM with a six-shot revolver and one loose bullet.

How will the new general manager’s job be evaluated if he can’t bring in his own people to coach the way he wants and evaluate and draft players the way he wants?

His hands may be tied in other ways as well.

It’s probably in the best interest that the Raiders don’t make a huge splash in trades next season, after the four billion they made last year during a number of circumstances.

GMs of small market teams will have to have a say on the business side of things as well, but the team also made a hire in that area as well. They announced that Michael Scissons will join the team as the business manager during Tuesday’s announcements.

So he can’t hire anybody, he can’t trade anybody (at least next year), the scouting staff has already been in place for a long time and he’ll likely be second fiddle on the business front. What will this new GM actually be allowed to do?

It’s hard enough as it is to find a suitable general manager that satisfies the needs of your organization and your community.

All these additional handicaps and restrictions will only make it a lot tougher.

Drew’s argument: Opportunity to grow for new GM

Whoever takes over as the new general manager of the Prince Albert Raiders will not have to start over from scratch.

The fact he can’t build his team from the ground up will prevent some viable candidates from taking the job.

Those who would want to clean house and put their own people into the key hockey operations positions would clearly turn down this job.

A small market team like the Raiders likely doesn’t have the kind of deep pockets to attract a new big named boss with a proven track record. The most likely successor to Bruno Campese will likely be a person with an impressive hockey resume who is ready to make the leap into the world of a WHL management.

Therefore, having an experienced coaching staff with a solid core of returning players may provide an advantage for this would be up-and-comer. The Raiders also have multiple high draft picks for another couple of years so the new GM will have the chance to devote a great deal of time to ensuring those picks turn into the necessary block to rebuild the franchise through the draft, which is the best way to ensure a competitive product over long term.

The general manager’s job with the Raiders has also evolved with a heavy emphasis on overseeing the business operations. The reason this team will turn a small profit after a season in which attendance declined with a lack of playoff revenue is the fact Campese reviewed and tweaked the budget many times as the season wore on. This is clearly a crucial function for the new GM, another reason having the hockey operations side in place is a good thing.

All this aside, this is an organization screaming for stability. Outgoing captain Sawyer Lange played for four different head coaches in his four year tenure, so the ability to recruit players was at stake and coaching was the best and most immediate route toward to road back to stability.

There is another optical reason the Raiders took this unconventional route toward organizational change.

They have a fan base that is hungry to pack the bandwagon again, the majority of which appear to support bringing back coaches Marc Habscheid, Dave Manson and Kelly Guard. Meanwhile factions within that fan base have also been calling for a change at the top, some of whom will be relied upon at the seasons ticket window as early bird prices are coming to an end in a couple of weeks.

The Raiders have had to become somewhat unconventional to remain a viable entity in a WHL among many large market bib money members. So it makes sense to bring in a new perhaps younger mind that can act and react on the fly, to work and think outside the box.

What do you guys think? Join the debate in the comment section below.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

dwilson@panow.com

On Twitter: @RaidersVoice

by Dropping the Mitts

Drew and D’Andrea debate on the Campese situation

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