Is the Penguins GM search down to Two Finalists?

As expected, no announcement on the Penguins new GM with today being Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

However, two finalists are believed to have emerged,

One of the finalist is indeed Pierre McGuire who is the primary consideration, but who is the other?

The talk around the league today among NHL types is that the Penguins decision has or is coming down to McGuire and Tampa Bay’s Julien BriseBois.

I will stress that there’s always curveballs in these searches, and right now we’re unable to officially confirm that BriseBois is the other finalist with McGuire but the talk among several NHL people, including executives with other teams, is that McGuire is believed to be the direction the Penguins are leaning.

As of this afternoon, Interim GM Jason Botterill had not been told he’s no longer under consideration but a lot less chatter about him getting the job right now.

In addition to McGuire, Paul Fenton, BriseBois, and Jim Rutherford are among the known candidates to have met with Penguins owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux within the last five days.

What remains to be seen in the next 24-48 hours is whether there will be some pause on McGuire when it comes to it? We’ll see.

If the Penguins do indeed hire McGuire, sources say, Jason Botterill would likely stay in a prominent role with the organization and McGuire said to have proposed that to Penguins ownership. Can’t imagine Botterill wants to stay long-term if they hired BriseBois or Fenton.