Rob from Fleming Island, FL
Hey, John: Will the new general manager likely bring in his own scouts with enough time to prepare for the draft or will he be forced to rely on the current staff for the analysis work this year? Seems like that would be a disadvantage.
Many O-Zone questions in the coming days will be impossible to answer. This is one of them, because there's no way to know precisely what a general manager will do before a general manager is hired. But generally, new general managers keep many area scouts from previous regimes. This is because area scouts have extensive history, contacts and familiarity with their areas; such institutional knowledge can be important in that front line of scouting. Remember: area scouts on that front line are typically not involved in final decisions. They're not making the call on draft day. Discussions on that level are conducted by the general manager, director of player personnel, regional scouts, etc. A general manager therefore often will make changes at those positions – though it is common for much of that change to occur after a general manager's first draft with a team. The timing of the draft makes wholescale change difficult in a general manager's first offseason with an organization.