Anaheim Ducks future management: Who is Bob Murray’s heir apparent as GM?

Bob Murray is entering his 11th season as the Anaheim Ducks General Manager. At 63 years old, Murray’s career is winding down. It’s a good time to look at some of his potential successors.

Nobody lives forever. Almost as important, no one wants to work till they drop either. Anaheim Ducks General Manager Bob Murray is 63 years old, he will eventually retire his contract signing pen. It may not happen this year, or next, or even in five years (although I can’t see him sticking around longer), but his retirement will happen.

I say retirement because he wouldn’t be completely fired from the organization. In addition to being the GM, Murray is also an Executive Vice President. He might not run the day to day operations, but he’ll have some involvement with the Ducks until he chooses not to.

We’ve established that Murray is headed toward the end of a distinguished career. The question then becomes, who is the Anaheim Ducks next GM? Whoever it is will have some big shoes to fill.

Who it won’t be

Brian Burke – Burke is the Architect of Anaheim’s Stanley Cup Championship team of 2007. A shrewd negotiator, he is not afraid to speak out in the media. Since his departure as the Calgary Flames president of hockey operations last April, he has been working as an analyst for Sportsnet.

Murray is only seven months older than Burke, and running a hockey club is becoming more of a younger man’s game. He doesn’t need the money and looks comfortable in the analyst’s chair. If he did have any involvement with the Ducks, it would be in an advisory capacity to help hire the next GM.

Paul Kariya – Hiring Kariya to run the Anaheim Ducks would be a great way to bring the Hall-of-Famer back into the fold. It will never happen. First, he has shown no interest in management. Second, he doesn’t need the scrutiny that comes with the job. Finally, if the bridge was burned when Kariya left Anaheim the first time, it would be totally destroyed should the situation go south.

On to the candidates, two external and three internal.

Bill Guerin

I am a huge fan of Bill Guerin the player. His contributions and dedication to representing the United States on the ice earned my respect. Then there are his two cups and 856 points, tallied in the NHL. Guerin isn’t on the list because of what he did as a player, but it doesn’t hurt either.

The USA Hockey Hall of Fame member has been working in the Pittsburgh Penguins front office since 2011, starting as their player development coach. Guerin was promoted to Assistant GM in June of 2014. He has been part of two Stanley Cup Championship winning teams since then. Guerin was a contender for the recently vacant Sabres GM job (which went to another Pens staffer Jason Botterill).

In a recent article for The Athletic, Craig Custance had Guerin among his top Assistants GMs ready to be promoted. Current Pens GM Jim Rutherford told Custance:

“He came into hockey ops as a character player with good leadership qualities and in a short period of time, he’s learned how the hockey ops works.”

“He is ready to take that next step. He’s really good with analytics. He’s good on contracts. He’s good on the CBA. He played the game, understands the game and is good at evaluating talent.”

Teemu Selanne

It’s odd to think of Selanne as an external candidate, but he has no formal role with the team. Now a restaurant owner, members of Ducks Nation know Teemu Selanne is both the best player in Anaheim Ducks history as well as it’s most popular. The first word that comes to mind when his name comes up is “legend.” Who wouldn’t want a legend running their club?

He is also the most loved hockey player in his home country. So popular, he was once named the sexiest man in Finland. Does that make him GM material? Not necessarily, but his outgoing and friendly manner, make him a man that people get along with. That is an important quality when dealing with the modern athlete.

Selanne has some management experience as an adviser to Team Finland since 2016. He considers Colorado GM Joe Sakic as one of his best friends. The Finnish Flash obviously has some grade A connections in the sport. The bigger question is whether he’d want to give up his current life and take on an extremely challenging role running the Ducks?

Todd Marchant

Marchant is a familiar face to Anaheim Ducks fans. He played the final six of his 17-year career in Anaheim. That included being a member of the 2007 Stanley Cup winning team. The Buffalo, NY native retired after the 2010-11 season and joined the Ducks management team soon after.

He currently serves as Anaheim’s Director of Player Development. News articles about Ducks prospects usually include a quote from Marchant, who takes a very hands-on role when mentoring younger players. For example, after Troy Terry signed with the Ducks following his college career last April, the young forward spent quite a bit of time with Marchant leading up to his NHL debut.

His future may not lie behind a desk, but rather behind the bench. At the end of the 2017 season, he was a “quasi-assistant” on Randy Carlyle‘s staff. He attended meetings and sat with assistant Rich Preston, analyzing games from the press box.

Scott Niedermayer

A veteran of 18 NHL seasons, Niedermayer also joined the Ducks management team upon his retirement (2010). He has served in a variety of capacities for the Anaheim including Assistant Coach under Bruce Boudreau. Currently, his title is Director of Player Development, off-ice.

Niedermayer is a hero to Ducks fans, as the captain of Anaheim’s 2007 Stanley Cup Championship team. As a Hall of Fame member and four-time league champion, Niedermayer has quite a bit of clout around the league. He knows what it takes to win. If named General Manager, the Ducks would hope Niedermayer has the same success as another HOF defenseman that retired the same year. Rob Blake won the cup his first season as GM of the L.A. Kings.