We spend way too much time scrolling through the vast wasteland that is the internet. As we lazily thumb our way past meme after meme after meme occasionally, we stumble across one that we can apply to the hockey world. After hearing the news about Stacy Roest leaving the organization our lethargic off-season thoughts turned to the nostalgic, saccharine phrase that often appears over a group of kids playing in a field and reads something along the lines of, “One day we played with our friends for the last time and didn’t even know it.”
It pulls at the heartstrings as we let nostalgia cloud the past, but it is somewhat evocative of what is happening at Channelside Drive these days. First it was uber-scout Al Murray stepping away from the day-to-day operations in 2023. That was the first real sign that change was coming for the Lightning’s staff and front office. As the temperatures rise in the Tampa area, the number of names on the masthead continues to dwindle down.
Jeff Blashill and his oft-derided defensive system is trading Cuban sandwiches for Italian Beefs dragged through the garden. Mathieu Darche was next to submit a forwarding address as he gets his shot at restoring the New York Islanders to their 1980s glory. Somewhat quietly, and without much fanfare, Roest joined the exodus, with his next destination still unknown. For general manager Julien BriseBois it has to be a bit bittersweet to see his long-time associates depart. Darche had been in the front office for the last six seasons, while Roest was there even longer, having served in some capacity with the Lightning since he joined as the director of player development in 2013.
Even more dear to his Mr. BriseBois’ heart, Roest took over as the general manager of the Syracuse Crunch following BriseBois’ abdication of the position when he took over for Steve Yzerman at the top of the organization. It’s been an interesting few seasons for Roest as the Crunch have struggled in a competitive North Division without the high-end talent that some of their opponents have been able to roll out. Thanks to the coaching of Ben Groulx (another somewhat long-term recent departure) and Joel Bouchard, the Crunch have continued to make the playoffs, but like their NHL affiliate, haven’t been able to advance very far.
It’s not ideal to have the director of player development and the director of hockey operations depart with the draft and free agency looming in the not-too-distant future, but if there is any general manager out there that has planned for such a scenario, it’s Julien BriseBois. To see he is a meticulous planner is to say that the Grand Canyon is a nice little ditch. Mr. BriseBois doesn’t just have Plans A-Z, he has AA-ZZ in a binder somewhere as well. In the meantime, he’ll lean on the those that remain: Jamie Pusher, J.P Cote, John Rosso, and Murray (in his role as consigliere) to get through the next month.
In the case of Darche and Blashill, it was easy to see why they would leave what is regarded as one of the best-run organization not only in hockey, but in sports. There are only so many coaching gigs and general manager gigs available on a yearly basis, so when the opportunity is presented, it has to be clung to. We’ll watch and see where Roest heads to. Some speculation has him joining Darche out on Long Island and putting the broken pieces of the Bridgeport Islanders (they went 15-50-4-3 this season) back together. He also has a history with Ken Holland, who is now running the show in Los Angeles.
Change was inevitable for the front office. It’s the price of success in professional sports. There could even be some benefit to it as fresh voices could bring fresh ideas to the organization. Still, the whiff of melancholy will waft through the offices as Mr. BriseBois walks down the halls and no longer sees the names on the doors of the gentleman that helped him build not one, but two Stanley Cup champion teams.
