It\u2019s that time of year again. Over the past decade, I\u2019ve conducted an annual survey asking fans to rate their confidence in each NHL team\u2019s front office. Over the next week, I\u2019ll be collecting your answers for this year\u2019s version.<\/p>\n
This type of story would be impossible without the fans. Your input is valued here above all else. The wisdom of the crowd is an underrated tool. In this case, it can collectively gauge the temperature of each team\u2019s management group based on the most important demographic: The fans who spend their hard-earned money. This is a chance for your voice to be heard.<\/p>\n
Each management group will be rated on a scale of 1-5 in six categories, based on how confident respondents are in a team\u2019s ability in each area. Recency bias will be rampant here, and that\u2019s a good thing as this is a \u201cwhat have you done for me lately?\u201d business, but do try to keep a team\u2019s past in mind when evaluating. For teams under new management, try to strike a balance between the previous regime and the new staff, as often, the front office hasn\u2019t completely turned over.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what goes into each category:<\/p>\n
Roster building: How the front office has managed its roster, looking in general terms at the players on the roster and whether they form the right building blocks for the team\u2019s goal of contending, whether in the present or future.<\/p>\n
Cap management: How the front office has managed the team\u2019s finances, about the efficiency of money spent (are there a lot of bad contracts on the books?), cap space, future flexibility and general dollar worth. Bottom line: If a team is or isn\u2019t spending money, are they doing so wisely?<\/p>\n
Drafting and developing: How the front office has managed its farm, from draft day to the big leagues, relative to its draft pick capital. Is the team making smart selections and are those players meeting their potential after the draft? In other words: Is the team doing a good job graduating players from the minors to the majors?<\/p>\n
Trading: How the front office has managed the trade block. Mainly, whether management made the right calls in trading assets and whether they\u2019re generally on the right or wrong side of a deal.<\/p>\n
Free agency: How the front office has managed a period generally synonymous with mistakes and how it has navigated the minefield of free agency. Does the team generally give out reasonable deals, or is it prone to overpaying and overcommitting to players it shouldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n
Vision: How the front office communicates its plan, both implicitly and explicitly. Vision is mostly an abstract concept, one that boils down to whether a team\u2019s plan to build a Stanley Cup contender is evident in its decision-making and whether its plans for the future appear sound.<\/p>\n
Here are the past versions:<\/p>\n
2025 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> | 2024 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> | 2023 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> | 2022 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> | 2021 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> |\u00a02020 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> |\u00a02019 front-office confidence rankings<\/a> | 2018 front-office confidence rankings<\/a><\/p>\n Really, it all boils down to the decision-making process and whether you believe teams are making good choices in each category.<\/p>\n There are two ways to do this: Rate your favorite team\u2019s front office and, for the more ambitious, rate every (or as many as you can) team. The final results will be a blend of both \u2014 a mix of the fanbase\u2019s perspective and a general public opinion about how the team operates.<\/p>\n The final results will be available next week, and the links to each respective survey are below. In both surveys, you can leave a comment elaborating on your opinion of your favorite team\u2019s front office. The best and most concise comments will be included in the final story.<\/p>\n