Blue Jackets still hope to talk to Jeff Gorton

There’s been a lot of talk about the Blue Jackets in the NHL over the past few days. It feels like the club is only hours away from announcing major changes to its hockey operations staff, and some big names could be coming to town.

Don Waddell will be the first, but there’s a sense that others could join him soon.

The question now is who might join him. This morning, Elliotte Friedman mentioned on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that there’s a world in which Waddell takes care of the business side and another executive takes care of the hockey side.

Right now, the name that’s circulating is Ken Holland. But there’s another name that’s been bandied about in the past: Jeff Gorton.

That said, the Habs haven’t given him permission to go elsewhere… but in the latest episode of Real Kyper and Bourne, the hosts mention that the Blue Jackets are still hoping to talk to Gorton (and, eventually, hire him).

Further,

-Apparently #CBJ has been sitting on Ken Holland and Jeff Gorton (of note that Montreal hasn’t given the green light for Columbus to speak to Gorton).
-Maclean can see Holland as more of a president of hockey operations, not a general manager. https://t. co/V6ySa81vF4

– The CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) May 26, 2024

In reality, however, it’s almost certain that this won’t happen. The Habs aren’t going to let their VP of hockey operations leave for a position that would (probably) be equivalent in Columbus, and Gorton seems to be doing really well in Montreal.

The chances of Gorton leaving the Habs for Columbus this summer must be around 0.00000001%, roughly speaking… but Columbus seems to be holding out some hope.

That leaves Holland, who is at the end of his contract in Edmonton. In his case, it seems much more likely that he’ll join the Blue Jackets, but his role remains to be determined.

The theory circulating at the moment is that Waddell would take on a president’s role to look after the business side of things, and Holland a president of hockey operations role. This would leave a GM position to be filled… and it would mean that John Davidson, the club’s current president, would step down and leave his chair to Waddell.

In the short term (it could happen as soon as tomorrow, Friedman believes), Waddell should inherit more than one position in Columbus. However, when the Oilers’ season is over, we’re likely to see Jeff Gorton Ken Holland’s name circulating in Columbus… and, in such a scenario, see the club trying to find a GM on top of it all.

Good luck to whoever inherits the job, whoever might have Waddell and Holland above them in the hierarchy.