Page 89 of Play to Win

He hired him to replace my uncle Mark, who he fired.

“You have other ideas?You wanted to replace Joe right from the start.Who did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking about Ben Gardner.”

My jaw drops.“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I like him.”

I rub my forehead.“Grandpa, he got fired by the Blades for running an illegal sports gambling ring.”

“He did?”Grandpa’s eyebrows draw together.

I give him a long, searching, incredulous look.“You had to know about that.The whole sports world knew about that.”

“Right, right.”He shakes his head.“Okay, never mind him.”

Okay.Jesus.

“When is Scott starting?”

“Monday.”

I hired an assistant GM the other day, after talking to a bunch of candidates and doing a lot of research.Then Scott flew to L.A.and we had lunch, which turned into nearly three hours because we got along so well.I can’t wait till he gets here and I’ve got someone I can delegate things to, someone who thinks the same way I do I can bounce ideas off.He also has tons of experience managing an AHL team and a few years working in the NHL as assistant GM in Vancouver.

I get back to work in my office.I’m starting to put the puzzle pieces together.The contracts we want to negotiate and the ones we don’t.

There are ten players I need to figure out what kind of future they have with us.Bertelson and Bell are definite cornerstones and we need to offer them big contracts.Bell has proven himself as a top four defenseman and will also need to be paid as one.The other guys are all well regarded in the club, but there are better established players ahead of them, and up-and-coming prospects behind them.I’ve been watching video of our farm team too, and I’m impressed with a few of the young guys.

Then there are the bigger contract veterans.To be honest, some of those contracts now seem at best cumbersome when it comes to the salary cap, at worst, terrible deals for us.I’m already looking at trading at least a couple of those contracts to make room for pending restricted free agent deals.

It’s complicated as fuck, but I love putting the big picture together, moving things around, adding up the numbers and making it all work.I’m not there yet.But I will be.

I immerse myself in my spreadsheets, plugging in numbers to see the impact, and time flies by.But I’ve set an alarm on my phone to remind me when to go home.

I’ve never done that before.In the past, I’d stay in the office all night.Hell, that’s why I had a couch in my office—so I could grab some sleep, saving time by not having to drive home and back to do so.

But Lacey’s at home.And that makes me happy to go there.

It’s Friday night and I told her I’d pick up pizza and beer and wine on the way home.I grab my phone and check it as I walk out of the arena.

Oh for ...I have a text message from Emma.

I still can’t believe you’re married.

My feet come to a halt.I frown at my phone.I can’t believe Emma is texting me.Why is she doing this?Did I not make it clear to her that night at Mom and Dad’s that I wasn’t interested in resuming things with her?

As usual, I sort through various options in my head.Do I reply and tell her not to contact me anymore?Do I ask her what she wants from me?Do I ignore her and hope she gets the message?What is up with her and JP?

I still don’t know what to do.My usual problem-solving skills don’t seem to be working at optimum capacity when it comes to my brother and his love life.So for now I choose to do nothing.

But when I’m starting my car, another message arrives.

I miss you.

Ignore.

Do you miss me too?Remember the good times we had ...

---