After a long silence, partly attributed to a sinus infection that was threatening to turn into bronchitis, and with the commencement of soccer season that has seen hm turn in his GM suit and tie for shorts and cleats, Georgetown Millers General Manager Chris Kash finally addressed the media at an intimate, invitation-only press briefing over craft brews and made to order barbeque at Red State Taps in quaint downtown Georgetown.
Seeing as how local media are fixated on the University of Kentucky’s loss in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, only 2 scribes attended, one from the Georgetown News-Graphic (GNG) and the other from Lexington’s “alternative” paper, Ace Weekly (AW).
GNG: How would you sum up the season?
CK: It was acceptable, given our pre-season goal of reaching the conference finals. Obviously we hated to lose but the Puffin are an extraordinary team and we pushed them to the limit in each game.
AW: How disappointing was it to lose 3 games in Overtime?
CK: It was heart-breaking. To give up late leads and then lose in OT, one of those times short-handed…(pauses, takes a sip of Country Boy Brewing Black Gold Porter)…to be honest it made me question the heart of the team.
GNG: Are you saying there is a leadership vacuum?
CK: You tell me. Nearly blowing a 3 to 1 lead in the 2nd round than getting swept in the conference finals, all by one goal…I just feel that some guys were just happy to be there and weren’t invested as much as they could have been.
AW: Is Coach [Jarrod] Skalde in trouble?
CK: Absolutely not. I’m the one that acquired the players. He has done a fantastic job for us.
GNG: Are you looking to acquire more leaders for the team? Will Backstrom no longer be the Captain?
CK: I think Nik has done a fine job as Captain. Josi is still young and does an admirable job as an Assistant. Fish [Mike Fisher] is a role-model in every sense of the word. and when Doan came back the leadership welcomed him with open arms. I don’t think the fault lies with them.
AW: Then what do you think the problem is?
CK: (Long pause before answering. Orders another Porter and the Opera Street Nachos topped with Pork). I think some of the role players weren’t necessarily happy with their roles, their icetime and the needs of the team. That’s all I will say about that.
GNG: Looking ahead to next year - will Fleury or Talbot be your #1 in net?
CK: Yes.
GNG: Excuse me?
CK: As of right now we have 2 #1 net minders. I’m in no hurry to change that unless we are blown away with an offer.
AW: Which UFA will you re-sign?
CK: We will let the market handle that. Obviously we can only re-sign one guy and we have to see what value other teams place on these guys before we can make that call.
GNG: Are you looking to upgrade anywhere?
CK: In the final interview Eric [Staal] told me he wants to explore the market, so we will need a 2nd line Center. Fish is getting older and is better suited to a 3rd line role, Girgensons will more than likely play on a wing next year, and neither Janmaark or Teravainen are ready for 2nd line responsibilites.
AW: Is there anyone definitely not coming back?
CK. Aside from Staal wanting to exercise his UFA rights, Slater has already signed with a Swiss team for next year. Horcoff, Scuderi, Ellis and Fiddler are extremely doubtful to return.
GNG: Will you be introducing any rookies to the team next season?
CK: We are excited to see Matty Janmark - he’s very talented and will probably slot in on LW on the 3rd line and fill-in higher up when needed. Teuvo Teravainen will also play a full-time role, likely on the bottom 2 lines and on special teams. Faksa will probably spend some time in the minors but could be used if injuries are a problem - we are very confident that he will make a break-through in the next couple of years. Brett Pesce, Alex Marchenko and Dylan McIllrath are also minors bound, more so because we have a dozen Defenders under contract as of right now then on any shortcomings on their part.
AW: Is it a youth movement?
CK: Not really. These younger guys are looked at right now more as depth pieces - bottom 6 forwards and bottom pairing D-men for next year than hopefully they can embrace more responsibility down the road. Also Orlov is healthy and we will find a spot for him on the blue line.
GNG: With Orlov and the 2 rookies you could possibly have 12 Defenseman on the roster, if the RFAs are re-signed. Will you be looking to move any to ease the logjam?
CK: We’re gonna have too. Orlov is going to play and I firmly believe Ristolainen is a star in the making and deserves a bigger role, so at least 2 of the vets will need to move on.
AW: Anyone in particular?
CK: All I will say is that Josi isn’t going anywhere.
GNG: So Kronwall or Braun could be dealt?
CK: Anything is possible.
AW: You’ll probably lose money this season. Is that a concern?
CK: Not really. We can keep our payroll in the top half of the league for another coupe of years without worrying about the balance sheet.
GNG: There was some issues with Rupp Arena, with scheduling conflicts and with the ice conditions. Will you continue to use them as a venue for certain regular-season and all of the playoff games?
CK: We definitely felt like second-class citizens at times when dealing with Rupp management. As of right now I expect Alltech Arena to host all of our games going forward. Expanding the seating capacity has been discussed and will happen in stages over the next couple of seasons. Eventually Alltech expects to seat 12,500 by the 2018-2019 season.
AW: Anything you want to say to the fans?
CK: Hold on to your hats. It’s going to be an interesting off-season.
(This press conference was sponsored by Country Boy Brewing Company and Red State Taps.)
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