what's craig patrick doing these days?

at this very moment?... i'm not sure, but i do know that he attended the news conference announcing terry pegula's $88m donation to penn state university for a division one hockey program back in september...

what does that mean?...pure speculation on my part, but maybe he'll be in the running for a senior executive of hockey operations position with the sabres...if terry pegula does, in fact, buy the team from tom golisano...

two years ago (2008,) as the toronto maple leafs were searching for a gm, patrick was quoted as saying, “I’ve been trying to get back in since I left [in 2006],” Patrick told THN.com, a day after his 62nd birthday. “But with only 30 teams, it’s tough to get the job you want. But there’s always opportunities, and I’m sure something will come up.”


it wouldn't be too far-fetched to believe that pegula is smart enough to surround himself with quality people who know more about a certain area than he does...pretty sure that's how he wound up near the top-100 richest americans with a net worth in the $3-4 billion range...

as speculated in a previous blog, what will terry pegula do as owner of the buffalo sabres?, a new owner usually is already surrounded by his inner circle and present buffalo sabres managing partner, larry quinn, is probably not a part of pegula's circle, although quinn has met the man...and i highly doubt that quinn's body of work, outside of marketing, would make him a "keeper" for the new owner...

how important is a senior executive in charge of hockey operations?...just ask the detroit red wings...jimmy devellano helped guide detroit out of the "dead wings" era to an era-transcending, model franchise (which all began with drafting steve yzerman, 4th overall, one pick before buffalo, in 1983)...or ask the chicago blackhawks...with scotty bowman as a senior advisor of hockey operations, the hawks won their first stanley cup in 40 years...

craig patrick is a hockey man with a hockey lineage dating back to the early 1900's and  two stanley cups in his resume' as gm, but has been on the outside looking in since his release from the penguins in 2006...

after a modest playing career with more than a few nhl teams including the california golden seals (pictured) and the kansas city scouts, patrick, who is the grandson of lester patrick, patriarch of the "royal" patrick hockey family, retired as a player in 1979...

the following year he was pegged as assistant general manager and assistant coach under herb brooks for the 1980 lake placid "miracle on ice" usa olympic hockey team...

his front office pro career began in ny with the rangers in 1980 as the youngest gm in ranger history...in dec. 1989 patrick became the pittsburgh penguins gm where he spent 17 years with the organization resulting in two stanley cups (1991 and 1992) as well as a slew of playoff appearances throughout the 90's...

as the decade came to a close, so began the unravelling of the team under patrick...health issues with mario lemieux, financial problems created by ownership and a series of questionable trades and inconsistent drafting took the pens to the bottom of the standings and eventually patrick was replaced by ray shero...but not before being recognized with a spot in the hockey hall of fame in 2001 in the builders category....

craig patrick has the lineage, the experience and the hockey smarts that pegula could put to good use as his right hand man...he also has pennsylvania connections, especially with the penguins where pegula has been a season ticket holder and went on a golf outing with members of the penguins a week before his penn state presser..."Maybe someday in these hills of Pennsylvania, we're going to find a [Sidney] Crosby," pegula said, "Hopefully, he'll play hockey for Penn State and I think that's awesome."

pennsylvania connections...from september 18, 2010 pittsburgh post-gazette:

Mr. Pegula credited two men from Pittsburgh with arranging the donation to Penn State: Cliff Benson, who retired this year as a partner with Deloitte & Touche, and Joe Battista, a Penn Hills High School graduate and a former player and coach for Penn State's club hockey team. He is director for major gifts in PSU's Smeal College of Business.
"Without those two guys, this thing would have never gotten done," Mr. Pegula said.

plus, did i mention patrick's ties to penn state hockey?...