Is Vancouver Giants new GM Glen Hanlon up to the task?

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      The last time new Vancouver Giants general manager Glen “Carrot” Hanlon was at the helm of a professional hockey team in North America, he was booed off the ice.

      Chants of, “Fire Hanlon!” serenaded the then-Washington Capitals coach after a 5-1 home loss against the Atlanta Thrashers.

      Yes, the Atlanta Thrashers. It was that long ago.

      The day after, the Capitals fired Hanlon and made Bruce Boudreau their interim head coach. At the time, Washington was in last place in the league. They ended up winning their division.

      In the years since, Hanlon has bounced around, acting as Vancouver Giants assistant coach under Don Hay and spending some time overseas coaching both the Belarus and Swiss national teams.

      Now he’s back in Vancouver as general manager of the Giants. It was announced on Wednesday (May 18) that majority owner Ron Toigo had decided on Hanlon, a former Canucks goaltender, after a lengthy search that began when Scott Bonner resigned in December of last year.

      Since Hay left to coach the Kamloops Blazers at the end of the 2013-2014 regular season, the Giants have finished last in the Western Conference twice in a row while rifling through four different head coaches. One of the first tasks on Hanlon’s agenda will be to solve that problem.

      As the Giants move home rinks, from the Pacific Coliseum to a new fan base at the Langley Events Centre, they’ll be doing so with Hanlon—who has no previous general manager experience—in the hot seat. Hanlon is only the second GM in team history.

      In parts of four seasons with the Capitals, Hanlon never had a winning record. 

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