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Vegas to name GM tomorrow -- will it be George McPhee? (Updated)

George McPhee, Troy Brouwer

George McPhee, Troy Brouwer

AP

Las Vegas owner Bill Foley has scheduled a press conference for 1 p.m. PST on Wednesday, to announce the first-ever GM in franchise history.

So who’s it going to be?

TSN’s Bob McKenzie, while not “officially” reporting anything, said he would put his money on ex-Caps GM George McPhee being the guy. And based on what was said yesterday, McPhee would fit within the parameters of Foley’s ideal candidate.

“I can tell you the people we talked to are all well-known in the hockey community and are well-respected,” Foley said Monday, per the Review-Journal. “They’re all very smart and they’ve done different things for different teams.

“Some are strong on the (salary) cap. Some are strong when it comes to assessing talent. But they all have strong backgrounds.”

McPhee, 58, is currently serving as Garth Snow’s advisor with the Isles. Prior to taking that gig, McPhee was the longtime GM in Washington and, prior to that, served as Pat Quinn’s assistant with the Canucks.

McPhee also served alongside Calgary GM Brad Treliving as part of the managerial squad for Canada’s gold medal-winning entry at the world championship.

That vast experience alone would seemingly put McPhee in the conversation -- only we don’t know what that conversation has entailed thus far. Foley has been pretty tight-lipped about candidates for Vegas’ GM gig, and most reports have only identified executives that weren’t in the running.

Two of those would be current Florida Panthers president Dale Tallon and current Blackhawks assistant GM Norm Maciver. Tallon, who was “promoted” from the GM role in Florida this offseason, was allowed to speak with the Vegas group after Foley was granted permission by Panthers owner Vincent Viola.

But Foley never reached out.

As for Maciver -- “considered one of the top hockey minds in the league,” per the Review-Journal -- he wasn’t contacted by Foley either.

Maciver, who appeared in over 500 games as a player, has been Stan Bowman’s assistant in Chicago since 2012 and reportedly interviewed with Pens CEO David Morehouse about Pittsburgh’s GM gig three years ago -- a job that eventually went to Jim Rutherford.

Update: Per multiple sources, including ESPN, McPhee will indeed be announced as Vegas’ GM tomorrow.