Visiting the Office Of...Duran Size

Welcome to the latest edition of "Visiting the Office Of...", an interview series brought to you by the Elite Hockey Experience.

We'd like to apologize for this edition coming out so soon after the one featuring Cisco Valle of the Red Wings. It seems that scheduling is something of a problem in the VTOO offices...

In any case, Cisco provided some great insights that are well worth a read. Please check the bottom of this page for a direct link.

With that bit of housekeeping taken care of, we can move on to the latest edition, a chat with Montreal Canadiens GM Duran Size. This interview has been a long time in the making, but we think it was worth the wait.

Enjoy!

So, standard first question Duran: When did you join the EHE?

I am proud to say that I am the one and only GM of the Habs. I knew Kevin from a previous league and when he approached me about joining EHE before it started up i was on board!.

My application was still one of the best, if i do say so myself. When asked on it why I should be a part of the league, i responded by telling him I was awesome and I wanted the Habs, the rest is history!

How crazy was the inaugural draft? Fifty-three rounds to disperse 1590 players...it sounds like an absolute marathon. Were you there for the whole thing? Without looking it up, do you know who your 53rd round pick was?

I was, it was my first ever dispersal draft actually so it was a major learning curve  for me. It was pretty intense and Kevin and the Board did an amazing job keeping it well organized and avoiding real shit storms!

Aside from Claude Giroux being my first ever pick, I don't remember in what order the rest were let alone 53rd lol [Ed: Montreal's 53rd and final pick was Marc Hagel]

How did your first season go in the GM's chair? 

Not bad, we made the playoffs and after a tough seven game series against the Leafs, we were ousted by Buffalo easily  in  the second round

With so much player movement in the EHE, do you think it's possible to build a championship team just through trades and free agency? Or is drafting and developing still a vital component?

It really depends on your patience level and willingness to see your plan through if you focus on the draft. I prefer the trade/free agency route as I tend to use draft picks and prospects as coin to acquire the talent I am looking for in order to win!

The Canadiens had an incredible year in 2016, reaching the Stanley Cup Final before falling just two games short against Dallas. What stands out in your mind from that playoff run?

Winning games 6 and 7 against Washington in the second round. That was arguably our toughest series and it wasn’t looking good going into game 6 that we would be able to win two in a row after our miraculous 2nd half of the season. These boys, though, really banded together and we were able to make it to our first SCF.

Unfortunately, after that great season the Habs have now missed the playoffs for two straight years. Can you explain what has gone wrong for your team in that time?

I blew it up! Pretty simple, we were preparing for expansion and I knew that 2016 was our chance with the team we had and I decided to start tearing it down slowly and building back a sustainable winner. Though i’ll admit it stung missing out on the playoffs in 2017!

Maybe your most high-profile move last season was one you didn't make; the non-trade of Andrei Markov, who had announced his plans to depart the EHE. Obviously it was bad luck that he suffered a serious injury just before the trade deadline, but do you regret the decision to hold onto your former captain for so long? Or was there simply no worthwhile deal available?

Catch 22 basically, I was holding out hoping that I could have gotten a better deal at the deadline. Whereas I had some reasonable offers for him during the season but nothing really jumped out at me.

Markov busting his hand was basically karma for me and a perfectly fitting summary of my entire 2017-2018 season. Though ousting Buffalo from the top 3 in the draft was satisfying! 

You made the biggest splash in free agency this fall—maybe ever—by signing Drew Doughty to a three-year, $12.65 million deal. Was he a player you had targeted specifically for a while? Or did you intend to go after the biggest fish out there, whoever it happened to be?

Essentially from the minute he was traded to the Rangers at the deadline, we had our sights set on him.

My defensive corps was always a weakness of the Canadiens and we knew we could really build something around a man like Doughty if we could land him.

What was nice was how low-key we were in his pursuit given all the hot air coming from the Windy City about Doughty's intentions to sign in Chicago!

It wasn't just Doughty, of course; you also added Justin Braun and Max Pacioretty as free agents, and picked up Tyler Toffoli and Jake Allen via trade. Is it officially "Cup or Bust" in Montreal this season, or would you be satisfied with a return to the playoffs?

Well, when we acquired Toffoli in the off-season, we believed that we were building towards a contender, or at least a more competitive team compared to last season.

Signing Patches and Braun helped us in landing Doughty as he saw the commitment we were making to strengthening the franchise after a dismal 17-18 campaign.

Even in trading Toffoli for Allen, we believed we had the pieces to move on something to make our team better, if we can make the playoffs, we have a good chance of doing something special!

Speaking of championship aspirations, you're clearly committed to building a successful AHL team. Do you think your Laval Rocket have a shot at their first-ever Calder Cup in 2018-19?

I believe the pieces are there to be very successful, [Maxime] Lagace has done a very good job taking over the starting role from Reto Berra after doing a marvelous job for us getting us through the first round last season in the playoffs.

While we didn’t lose much of the core from last year, aside from dealing away Agostino, we think we have a real good chance of going far

Your farm affiliate also enjoyed plenty of on-ice success for three seasons as the St. John's IceCaps. What made you decide to move the team to Quebec?

It was time for a change, having the team closer to Montreal was better for everyone involved.

My daughter also hated being that far away from Papa so she may have had a hand in persuading daddy to relocate the franchise to Laval.

Over your time in the league, which trade have you pulled off that you're most proud of?

Trading Niskanen for Marchand.

Any trades you wish you could take back?

Toss up between trading Giroux away and trading for Mrazek instead of Hellebuyck

What advice would you give to a GM just joining the EHE?

Come prepared, there are some real solid GMs in this league, moreso compared to when the league first started that have really made this place something special and have really made the place worth getting into!

Grab your crystal ball and look at the state of the Montreal Canadiens five years from now. What do you see?

Me and Peter Laviolette still trying to figure out how this works.

Previous entries in the series;

Shaun Stephens, St. Louis Blues (December 2018)

Cisco Valle, Detroit Red Wings (January 2019)