In graduate school I took a management course where we had to read canonical leadership books (most of which seemed to come from the 1960s and 70s).

I read THE PETER PRINCIPLE, which maintains that every employee within an organization rises to their level of incompetence. It sounds cynical, but the logic is that someone is good at their job so they get promoted. If they’re successful at the new position, they’ll get promoted again. If they’re not, they won’t get promoted anymore.

The book makes the case that you need to look at an employee’s skill set before you promote him, since being good at a job and being a good manager are often two very different things.

I think about this a lot because of the way the NHL works.

Great players tend to find their way into management positions, even though there’s really no correlation between the skill of scoring goals and the skill of managing an NHL franchise.

Steve Yzerman is now running the Tampa Lightning after a lengthy apprenticeship in the Detroit organization.

Presumably he’s learned the skills to be a successful GM, but could someone else have learned them more effectively? What if someone with a formal statistics background had had the same kind of apprenticeship as Yzerman? Which would be the stronger GM?

In Denver, there’s a small buzz Joe Sakic might be interested in beginning the process of learning to be an NHL GM.

Like Yzerman, Sakic was a gifted NHL player with a lot of insights into hockey. But does that guarantee he’ll be a good GM? Do the skills of playing well translate to managing well?

We could ask Calgary’s Darryl Sutter. He was a solid NHL player, a great NHL coach, and is now a GM. If you want to know how the skills of management have translated, all you need to know is that the Flames’ president is insisting Sutter take on some people to help him with his GM duties.

Obviously, being a great player doesn’t preclude anyone from being a great GM. But not being a great player, or a player at all, also doesn’t preclude anyone from becoming a great GM. And some of the NHL’s great GMs weren’t/aren’t great players. Guys like Punch Imlach, Bill Torrey, and Lou Lamoriello, to name a random few.

It’s great that the NHL has so much respect for its great players and it’s great that these players want to maintain a role in the league. But as GM duties become more complex, requiring skill sets beyond simply evaluating talent, maybe it’s time for teams to look beyond fame. Maybe it’s time for teams to train managers who can do more than score goals.

Just as the NBA and MLB are embracing managers with statistics/data analysis backgrounds, maybe it’s time for the NHL to do the same. Guys like Yzerman and Sakic might eventually make fantastic GMs, but there’s really nothing in their training to indicate that should be the case.

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Out in Denver, the Sharks are dealing with the fallout from Dan Boyle’s freak goal on his own team.

A day later, Boyle said he’s still not over the mistake, but he’ll have forgotten by tonight’s game.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan seems content to write the whole thing off as a freak accident, taking great pains not to blame anyone for what happened.

I also suspect in some ways, McLellan is happy for the distraction. Instead of everyone talking about how great Colorado goalie Craig Anderson played Sunday night, and instead of talking about how the Sharks have struggled to consistently score against Anderson, everyone is talking about a fluke goal.

The players are rallying around Boyle, worried about Boyle’s mental health but seemingly not too concerned about Anderson. So in a lot of ways, that freak goal might have taken a lot of pressure off of San Jose’s shoulders.

It should be a great game. Will the Sharks step-up and tie the series or will they collapse under all of the expectations and freak goals? I suspect the Sharks will take control of the series, just to silence all of the talk that they’re not a mentally tough team.

In fact, I suspect that at the end of the series, Colorado will wish they had scored their own goal in that overtime. I suspect Boyle’s goal might have been the series turning point that finally lights a fire beneath the Sharks.

McLellan also said he he expects Dany Heatley back in the line-up tonight. And that also has to help San Jose.

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I loved the end of last night’s Vancouver-Los Angeles game because the final few minutes were a microcosm of the Canucks’ season.

You had Mikael Samuelsson, an off-season acquisition, scoring in overtime, proving his playoff experience and ability to get into the slot made him a solid pick-up.

You had Henrik Sedin setting the goal up, which is perfect, because Henrik is an assist machine.

And best of all, the whole thing started behind an opponent’s net, where the Canucks have done so much damage this season.

If anyone asks you about the 2009-10 Canucks season, just show them a clip of that sequence.

Meanwhile, Vancouver is going to be a tough match-up for the Kings. First of all, the Canucks are shifty, and I’m not sure the young Kings team is prepared for all of Vancouver’s fakes and tricks and explosive moves.

Also, Vancouver is tough to defend in the offensive zone because they’re so good behind the net. Most coaches will tell players to ignore the guy behind the net, since he can’t score from there, but the Canucks and their precision passing make it a dangerous area. But if the Kings play the man behind the net, it opens up the slot area for Vancouver.

I’m guessing the Kings are going to focus on tight defense in the Cancucks’ zone and in the neutral zone, hoping to just keep Vancouver out of the offensive zone as much as possible. Or maybe using two guys down low, to take away the passing lanes out of the rear net area.

But for a team like Los Angeles, that doesn’t like to have too many players too deep in the defensive zone, the Canucks are proving to be a challenge.

Also, if you’re wondering why the San Jose Sharks have so much trouble in the playoffs, it might be because they don’t quite understand the purpose of the post-season.

The Sharks are refusing to call tonight’s game two against Colorado a must-win. Even though the Sharks are already down a game and even though they’re going to Colorado for the next two games and even though every game of the playoffs pretty much is a must-win.

I get that they’re trying not to put too much pressure on themselves, but someone within the Sharks organization really needs to step-up and recognize that the purpose of the playoffs is to win games. I can’t imagine the Avs are saying tonight is an optional win and they’re up a game. Why are the Sharks making winning optional when they’re already in the hole?

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Yesterday he posted some ideas on how to improve attendance.

It’s interesting stuff: brighter lights around the arena; classic rock music, rather than metal; and a high definition JumboTron screen.

Dater also talked to some players about the low attendance this season, with one player calling it “disappointing.

Dater’s suggestions are good, but the easiest way to improve attendance is to lower ticket prices. There are tons of hockey fans in Colorado. You don’t have to sell them the game. You just need to sell them the ticket. It makes attendance a much less complex issue, compared to markets where you have to get people into the game before you can even begin to get them to consider buying a ticket.

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The comments on Dater’s post are interesting. Some say attendance is low because the Avs play the same teams over and over.

Other people said it’s a marketing issue.

One poster said Avs fans are still put off by last season’s debacles.

I’m going to throw out another theory: fan fatigue over the course of a long season.

Right now, Colorado is leading the Northwest Division. Calgary is right behind them, but considering there are around 50 games left in the season, Calgary and Colorado will probably swap places a few times. But basically, as long as Colorado doesn’t have some kind of epic collapse, fans know Colorado is heading to the post-season. So why would a casual fan spend money on tickets if the game is going to be relatively meaningless? Casual fans need to be told why a game is important or exciting. Casual fans aren’t opposed to buying tickets, but they need some kind of reason to do so. The reason can be an opposing star, a significant game, or an important storyline, but you have to give them some kind of motivation to leave the house. Hardcore fans know why a given game matters, but the casual fan doesn’t.

This isn’t just a Colorado problem, either. Scotty Hockey said Madison Square Garden was pretty empty last night, although in that case, the Rangers had a sell-out. Fans just didn’t show up to claim their paid seats. But that probably has to do with the Rangers being horrible right now.

Hockey is a two-season sport: The regular season and the post-season. As more and more things compete for our time, my theory is that a decent number of hockey fans are focusing their time and money on the post-season. I have no doubt that come the playoffs, the Pepsi Center will be jam-packed with rabid fans.

And one final possible factor: Are hockey fans changing? Hemisphere Magazine, an in-flight magazine, sent me a link to an article on the NHL’s embrace of the Internet as a marketing tool. I was going to dash off some airline jokes and ask you to imagine I’m reciting them in front of a spotlit brick wall, but instead the article got me wondering if the NHL’s use of the Internet might be hurting regular season attendance a bit. Are these Avs fans home because they’d rather watch the game while posting on Twitter, with GameCenter Live on in the background, in case the Colorado game isn’t great? As amazing as a live game is, do these fans prefer the online experience in some way?

Also, as we close in on Christmas and pass Hanukkah’s halfway mark, please be aware you can buy a putter shaped like a hockey stick. I’m not being compensated for this plug. I just thought it was a funny product.

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Rather than being with the team full time, as goaltending coach Jeff Hackett was the past few seasons, Thibault still lives in Montreal and is spending occasional stretches with the team in Denver and on the road. He is empowered to pick up the phone and speak with either Anderson or backup Peter Budaj.

So is it me, or is Thibault getting paid to hang out with the team? And is he also getting paid to call his goaltending friends on the phone?

I guess this is my roundabout way of announcing my own goaltending consultancy. Email me if you’re an NHL GM or coach who’d like me to occasionally hang out with your team or call your goalies.

Although, the way Anderson is playing for the Avs, something must be right with this arrangement.

Speaking of odd arrangements, the Rangers are apparently considering allowing Wade Redden back on the powerplay.

Coach John Tortorella had kept Redden off of the powerplay to let him focus on his even-strength play. And, because with Redden on the point last season, the team gave up 14 short-handed goals, second only to the Flames eye-popping 15.

Now, the Rangers are ready to give Redden another shot, perhaps because defenseman Marc Staal has a shot that seems to take a good 45 seconds to get off.

Redden has responded very well to Tortorella’s coaching. His play has settled down a lot since last season and while Redden is still overpaid, most nights he’s no longer a liability. It’ll be interesting to see if more powerplay times leads to more confidence, of if it crushes the house of cards Tortorella built.

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Unfortunately, this wasn’t an across the board thing for the all of the franchises. While successful teams like Pittsburgh, Washington, and Chicago are doing great (as one might expect), other franchises like Nashville, Atlanta, the Islanders, and, of course, the Coyotes, are struggling. Here is the Forbes valuation chart.

One thing the article doesn’t mention that I’m curious about: the Stars and Avs, two seemingly successful franchises, lost $10 million and $11 million in value, respectively. I’m not sure if that’s a business loss of some kind that has nothing to do with the actual franchises, or if something else is going on.

Looking at the list of struggling franchises (and I’m assuming Dallas and Colorado aren’t actually struggling, that they just lost some value this year), you can’t help but wonder when the NHL is going to contract. You have wildly successful teams rubbing elbows with teams that can’t fill their arenas and can’t attract a buyer. Why not cut the fat and streamline league profits?

Speaking of value, the Blackhawks are about to see some return on their investment in Marian Hossa: he’s expected to begin contact drills this week, putting him one step closer to making his season debut. Like everyone else, I’m very curious how/if he’ll fit in with the rest of the team.

Also, here is my look at Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s demand to be made the starting goalie in Anaheim.

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Dater thinks Forsberg is going to give the NHL another go once he’s extensively tested his foot.

Do they not get NHL news in Sweden? Has Forsberg not seen the laundry list of strong, sturdy NHL players go down this season? Has he not seen that the NHL right now is ultimate fighting without the restraint?

I get that Forsberg is a competitor who didn’t get to leave the game he loved on his own terms. But at this point, given his age and his health, it seems downright irresponsible for Forsberg to try and return to the NHL and for the NHL to make it possible. It seems like no one in the league has taken the time to warn Forsberg off of what increasingly sees to be an obsession of his.

It’s very interesting how competitors react to their limitations. Last night, at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Brian Leetch said he retired because he was mentally drained from not making the playoffs for so long. And he seems to have walked away from the game without much anguish.

Maybe Leetch can talk to Forsberg about how great a real retirement is.

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According to Dater, a lot of fans reported ticket prices weren’t the only factor keeping them away from the Pepsi Center. Some fans reported problems with the Avs ticket office — strange ticketing policies and newer season ticket purchasers getting treated better than older ones. Apparently the music played in the Pepsi Center is pretty bad, too, and geared more toward teens than the older fans who probably make up a significant portion of the Avalanche fan base.

And this, to me, is the challenge of sports for the next few years. The NFL treats its fans like garbage, gouging them until there’s nothing left, operating with impunity, because if some fans get tired of the exploitation, there are usually plenty more ready for the opportunity (in most NFL markets, that is). But eventually sports run out of fans to gouge. In the NFL, you’re seeing it in Detroit and Jacksonville. In baseball, even the Yankees wound up dropping regular-season ticket prices when fans wouldn’t pay exorbitant prices for the good seats.

The challenge of sports, for the NHL in particular, is not just accommodating current ticket-buyers, which is huge, but also creating an environment inviting to non-ticket holders. It’s not enough to have your core audience taken care of. Successful teams will think about ways to get new fans into seats, too. Even if it means lowering ticket prices, so people who might not normally attend a game get the chance to experience the sport as a live event.

If teams don’t take care of current fans while simultaneously cultivating new fans, you have what happened Wednesday night in Denver: a first-place team playing in front of 11,012 fans, or a three-quarters full arena, in a previously hockey-mad city.

Keeping fans happy and finding new fans isn’t easy, but it’s crucial to the survival of teams. It takes just a few years for people to fall out of the habit of live hockey; for people to find some place else to take their families and to find another fun way to spend whatever extra cash they have.

Finally, the saddest part in all of this is that this is probably one of the largest crowds Phoenix has seen in a while.

Also, totally unrelated, but in case you somehow missed it, Puck Daddy interviewed Kevin Dallman about life in the KHL, and it’s a really great conversation. If you wonder about life in the KHL, and sadly, I do, this gives you a great sense of what life is like in the league.

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Jeff Gordon says he’s already hearing trade chatter from certain NHL GMs, with many already thinking about giving up their season and trying to dump salary.

What separates NHL GMs from most other sports, is that NHL GMs only seem to think about salary implications after a contract is signed.

Vinny Lecavalier, under attack in Tampa, has to be one of those names being whispered about (despite a strong game last night and despite a no-trade clause). People are surprised by Lecavalier’s struggle; I was surprised by his success.

Carolina will also probably be a fire sale, although the Hurricanes seem to alternate strong/awful seasons with a relatively static line-up.

The fact that there are GMs who have already given up on their season is pretty sad, though. Did no one in management see St. Louis’ miracle run last season?

On the flip side of dumping salary, if the play of the Avs continues to be strong, they’ll probably be buyers before the trade deadline. Terry Frei didn’t realize how good the Avs were until he went to Canada and saw the attention the Avalanche were garnering.

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