Article on assistant GM's ready to move up. Jim Nill #1

[Guest The Axe]

The Red Wings are all that matters. The Griffs are just breeding grounds for the big club. Sure, they want to win. But everyone in the organization is chasing Lord Stanley. Not the Memorial Cup.

[sibiriak 84]

The Farm club obviously isn't a big part of a GM's evaluation but to say it doesn't matter to an Owner isn't exactly true either. (Fan evaluations are irrelevant as they don't have the power to replace a GM)

If a GM has stockpiled talent in the draft he won't be fired after 1 bad season if that talent is developing and producing on the farm team. He might be if they don't perform at the NHL level, but a championship AHL team can save the job of a GM with a poor producing NHL team. Look at Bob Gainey in 06, Steve Yzerman last year, and Brian Murray in 2010/11. All 3 missed the playoffs with a franchise that was expected to do well but all 3 teams had championship AHL teams. Not surprisingly all 3 GM's kept their jobs.

I would agree that a stocked farm system might be used as an excuse for an underperforming team's GM, but that excuse will not serve for very long. 1 season at most.