Nashville is handing the keys to a man who has spent decades in the league’s inner circle and knows how front offices really work. Rob Blake arrives with the kind of credibility that matters when a team is trying to sharpen its identity and clean up the margins that separate contenders from also-rans. The Predators are signaling that this is not a cosmetic hire, because this job puts one of hockey’s most recognizable decision-makers in charge of the big levers.

Brett Peterson just missed the big chair in Nashville, and now Florida has a decision to make. Assistant GM jobs can be comfortable until they are not, and this one has a little more heat on it than usual given the timing. The Panthers know how valuable front-office continuity can be, but they also know other teams will sniff around a respected executive who was in the mix for a GM opening.