Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“You’re not afraid to aim for the stars, are you?” Cannon muses.
Penn Navarro is undoubtedly the best player in the league. Like Coen, he plays center and he just entered free agency after his Florida Spartans lost the championship last week. He’s going to be on every team’s radar.
“We have little room in the cap, even after losing Coen’s salary. I’ve got a few ideas to free up some space, but we’re going to have to get creative if we want to make a play for Navarro.” I tap on an icon on the SMART Board and the screen changes to two players on our team, complete with pictures and statistics. “Mason Lavoie and Anders Blom. Two we can cut loose and free up some serious money.”
“You’ll need more than those two,” Maurice says.
“Agreed. I’m looking at offloading Kirill Zucker and Darius Cermak. I’ll need to burn some draft picks, and depending on what Lane reports back with the new prospects, it could happen. The question is… what do we want to do with this team? Do we want to take a solid shot at the championship next year? If so, then getting Navarro would be a huge move. If we want to use this as an opportunity to build, then we take the money that Coen will free up and spend it on younger guys who can hopefully grow into what we need.”
Conversation erupts around the table as we hash out the pros and cons of every single player who has the potential to come to this team or exit. The duration of free agency will run through the first week of August this year, which means I’m going to be neck-deep in negotiations. That’s why I don’t take much time off in the summer.
And while the free agency period doesn’t start officially until July 1 when contracts expire, there will still be discussions and negotiations with players and their agents beforehand. The work starts now in what’s known as the free agency interview period.
My focus should be on the issues being discussed around this table, and yet I find myself continually checking my phone to see if Juniper has texted for any reason. She’s been in Pittsburgh for less than twenty-four hours and I’m worried about her settling in.
I’m glad we landed yesterday afternoon with enough time to get her over to visit her dad. I went in after I grabbed some groceries and spent a few minutes talking to him. Even though Coy has no cognizance of me, I kept up a steady stream of dialogue. I talked about the Pittsburgh Titans since I took this job long after he fell into a vegetative state, telling him everything about my new career as a general manager.
Sitting by his bed, I thought of every little thing I do to run the team and told Coy all about it—I believe that hearing voices speaking to him has to be a good thing. “It’s juggling a lot of balls at the same time. Let’s see… most important I think is roster management. Negotiating and signing players to contracts, facilitating trades, that sort of thing. It requires a deep understanding of our team’s needs and the nuances of the salary cap. That’s a delicate balancing act, making sure we stay competitive while keeping in compliance with the league’s rules on the cap. I work with the scouts and coaches to evaluate and select young talent, then I manage picking players from the draft. I have full authority to hire and fire coaches and other executive staff, but luckily, we have an amazing group of people who work for the organization. I’ve only had to fire one asshole and he deserved it.
“Oh, yeah… I’m the direct liaison with Brienne Norcross, the team’s owner. You wouldn’t know this, but she took over the team after her brother died when the Titans’ plane went down. I keep her apprised of the day-to-day operations and consult with her on major decisions. You’d like her. She’s strong and independent, just like your Juni.” I cut a glance over to said woman and she looked startled. I know she doesn’t think of herself that way because she stayed with Joshua for so long, but I know the real Juniper.
My gaze moved back to her dad, and I continued. “I’m the main interface with the media when it comes to discussing trades, signings, team performance and other matters of public interest.”
When I finally finished and Juniper and I were leaving, she said, “It was surreal hearing you tell my dad about your job.”
I smiled at her in understanding because Juniper would know all about what a general manager does for a hockey team. She’d shared in that dream with me since we began dating, was by my side as I studied sports management in college and waited patiently in the wings as I cut my teeth in other areas of the industry before landing my dream job. Everything she heard me describe to her father, she could’ve probably recited word for word.