Bill Guerin officially replaces Stan Bowman as USA Hockey GM

While the prospects of NHL players attending the Olympics seem more and more bleak, USA Hockey is preparing for the best-case scenario.

Bill Guerin was announced as the general manager for the U.S. Olympic team and the official replacement for Stan Bowman, who was removed from the seat after his role in the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault cover up and scandal.

Steven Ellis of The Hockey News was the first to report the official hiring:

New York Rangers GM Chris Drury was also appointed a role as the assistant general manager.

Once a national-level player himself, Guerin is currently at the reins of the Minnesota Wild, who lead the Pacific Division with 19 wins from their first 28 games.

Guerin was made available after the news was made official, and answered questions on variety of Olympic-related topics. Most notably, he did not rule out the possibility of selecting Jack Eichel, who has not appeared in a game this season after a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights facilitated his desire to receive a preferred neck surgery.

Guerin also said Tuesday that the team will be chosen from a pool of 55 players already identified by USA Hockey. He will honour the first three selections to the team made by Bowman: Auston Matthews, Seth Jones and Patrick Kane.

Like Bowman's role previously, Guerin's selection isn't without controversy. The United States Center for SafeSport is currently investigating the general manager for his role in the Pittsburgh Penguins' handling of a sexual assault case involving former minor-league coach Clark Donatelli in 2018. Guerin denied mishandling the information presented to him at the time by former assistant coach Jarrod Skalde, who alleged that his wife was repeatedly assaulted by Donatelli, maintaining that he reported the claims to higher ups.

Both the Wild and USA Hockey have stood by Guerin through the investigation.

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