You might not know the names of all 31 General Managers, but even if you don’t, many are familiar.  When you look at the list of them, you’ll note that a lot of these men played hockey.  There seem to be three main routes to the executive suites in NHL teams: come off an NHL bench, have four years of NCAA hockey and presumably a degree in some useful field or be a lawyer that ended up working for a team at some time.

A lot of these men have been in charge of AHL teams or junior teams before they got the top job. And you will note that there is a lot of similarity in age and therefore era of playing career.  Lou Lamoriello is the only one whose playing career was in the sixties.

NHL General Managers as of June 1, 2017

TeamGeneral ManagerAgeHiredPro careerLeagues
Anaheim DucksBob Murray62November 12, 20081974–1990NHL
Arizona CoyotesJohn Chayka27April 11, 2016NoneNerdstown Nerds
Boston BruinsDon Sweeney50May 20, 20151984–2004NHL
Buffalo SabresJason Botterill47May 11, 20171997–2005ECHL/AHL
Calgary FlamesBrad Treliving47April 28, 20141990–1995ECHL/AHL
Carolina HurricanesRon Francis54April 28, 20141981–2004NHL
Chicago BlackhawksStan Bowman43July 14, 2009NoneDad's coat tails
Colorado AvalancheJoe Sakic47September 19, 20141988–2009NHL
Columbus Blue JacketsJarmo Kekalainen50February 13, 20131985–1995Finland/AHL
Dallas StarsJim Nill59April 29, 20131981–1990NHL/AHL/CHL
Detroit Red WingsKen Holland61July 18, 19971976–1985AHL
Edmonton OilersPeter Chiarelli52April 24, 20151987–1988NCAA
Florida PanthersDale Tallon66April 10, 20171970–1980NHL
Los Angeles KingsRob Blake47April 10, 20171989–2010NHL
Minnesota WildChuck Fletcher50May 22, 2009NoneDad's coat tails
Montreal CanadiensMarc Bergevin51May 2, 20121984–2004NHL
Nashville PredatorsDavid Poile67July 9, 19971970–1971AHL
New Jersey DevilsRay Shero54May 4, 2015NoneNCAA
New York IslandersGarth Snow47July 18, 20061994–2006NHL
New York RangersJeff Gorton49July 1, 2015NoneNASCAR
Ottawa SenatorsPierre Dorion44April 10, 2016NoneDad's coat tails
Philadelphia FlyersRon Hextall53May 7, 20141984–1999NHL
Pittsburgh PenguinsJim Rutherford68June 6, 20141969–1983NHL
San Jose SharksDoug Wilson59May 13, 20031977–1993NHL
St. Louis BluesDoug Armstrong52July 1, 2010NoneI got nothing clever
Tampa Bay LightningSteve Yzerman52May 25, 20101983–2006NHL
Toronto Maple LeafsLou Lamoriello74July 23, 20151960-1961NCAA
Vancouver CanucksJim Benning54May 21, 20141981–1992NHL
Vegas Golden KnightsGeorge McPhee58July 13, 20161978–1989NHL
Washington CapitalsBrian MacLellan58May 26, 20141982–1992NHL
Winnipeg JetsKevin Cheveldayoff47June 8, 20111989–1994AHL
Average age:53

No two NHL teams seem to use the same organizational structure.  Some, like the Leafs, have a president in Brendan Shanahan who is very involved in the team.  Some have other managerial positions above the GM, who aren’t hockey people and are largely not visible outside the team.

Some teams have a whole room full of Assistant Genaral Managers, and some fired them all and haven’t replaced any yet.  Which is fine, Buffalo. It’s fine to be a few days from the expansion draft and not really have a management team or a coach or anything.

We’ve included some assistants to the GM, not to be confused with AGM, just to show you how complex the divvying up of responsibility is.

Some ages were impossible to get, as the AGM ranks are where the lawyers start showing up.  They don’t have every bit of their vital statistics on the internet.  Some dates of hire have been rounded off for simplicity.

About those ages.  Were you expecting the AGMs to be a lot younger than the GMs?  Well, they aren’t.  Demographics may have something to do with that.  At 50 or so, you aren’t a baby boomer, so you’ve spent your career looking at the massive crowd of people just a bit older holding down all the jobs.

NHL Assistant General Managers as of June 1, 2017

Team NameTitleAgeHiredPro CareerLeagues
Anaheim DucksDave NonisConsultant to GM51July 3, 20151984-1990NCAA
Anaheim DucksDave BaseggioAssistant to the GM49June 23, 20141984-2000AHL/IHL
Arizona CoyotesSteve SullivanAssistant GM42May 18, 20171992-2013NHL
Arizona CoyotesChris O'HearnAssistant GM35June 1, 2015NoneN/A
Boston BruinsScott BradleyAssistant GM53June 27, 20141981-1984BCJHL
Buffalo SabresN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Calgary FlamesCraig ConroyAssistant GM45June 6, 20141990-2011NHL
Calgary FlamesBrad PascalAssistant GM46June 6, 20141992-1995ECHL
Carolina HurricanesMike VellucciAGM/Dir. Hockey Ops50April 29, 20141983-1995IHL
Carolina HurricanesRicky OlczykAssistant GM47June 20, 20141988-1992NCAA
Carolina HurricanesBrian TatumAssistant GM42April 28, 2014N/AN/A
Chicago BlackhawksNorm MaciverAssistant GM52May 7, 20121982-1999NHL
Colorado AvalancheCraig BillingtonAssistant GM50June 24, 20131983-2003NHL
Colorado AvalancheChris MacFarlandAssistant GM47May 21, 201590sUS College
Columbus Blue JacketsBill ZitoAssistant GM52August 12, 20131984-1987NCAA
Dallas StarsLes JacksonSenior Advisor to GM64July 6, 20001970-1977WIHL
Dallas StarsScott WhiteAssistant GM49September 1, 20161985-1994NCAA/ECHL
Dallas StarsMark JankoAssistant GM41September 1, 2016N/AN/A
Detroit Red WingsRyan MartinAssistant GM49June 15, 2010N/AN/A
Detroit Red WingsKris DraperSpecial Assistant to GM46September 1, 20111990-2011NHL
Edmonton OilersKeith GretzkyAssistant GM50August 2, 20161987-1993IHL
Florida PanthersWilliam TorreySpecial Assistant to GM82September 1, 20141953-1955NCAA
Florida PanthersEric JoyceAssistant GM38May 16, 20161998-2002NCAA
Florida PanthersSteve WerierAssistant GMMay 16, 2016N/AN/A
LA KingsLee CallansA2GM / Scouting Ops CoordSeptember 1, 2006N/AN/A
Minnesota WildBrent FlahrAssistant GM42September 1, 20091992-1996NCAA
Montreal CanadiensLarry CarrièreAssistant GM65September 1, 20101972-1980NHL
Montreal CanadiensScott MellanbyAssistant GM50September 1, 20141986-2007NHL
Nashville PredatorsPaul FentonAssistant GM57September 1, 20061982-1992NHL
New Jersey DevilsTom FitzgeraldAssistant GM48September 1, 20151988-2006NHL
New York IslandersDoug WeightAGM / Head Coach46May 26, 20111991-2011NHL
New York IslandersKerry GwydirAssistant to the GMN/AN/A
New York RangersJim SchoenfeldSenior VP / AGM64September 1, 20071972-1985NHL
New York RangersChris DruryAssistant GM40September 2, 20161998-2011NHL
Ottawa SenatorsRandy LeeAssistant GM55January 14, 2014N/AN/A
Ottawa SenatorsBryan MurraySr Hockey Advisor74April 10, 2016N/AN/A
Philadelphia FlyersBarry HanrahanAssistant GM49September 1, 2005N/AN/A
Philadelphia FlyersChris PryorAGM / Director of Hockey Ops56August 10, 20161985-1993AHL
Pittsburgh PenguinsBill GuerinAssistant GM46June 6, 20141991-2010NHL
San Jose SharksJoe WillAssistant GM52September 1, 1997N/AN/A
St. Louis BluesMartin BrodeurAssistant GM45September 1, 20141992-2015NHL
St. Louis BluesKevin McDonaldAssistant GMSeptember 1, 2009N/AN/A
St. Louis BluesAl MacInnisSenior Advisor to the GM53September 1, 20121982-2004NHL
Tampa Bay LightningJulien BriseBoisAssistant GM40September 1, 2010N/AN/A
Tampa Bay LightningPat VerbeekAGM / Director of Player Ops53September 1, 20121982-2002NHL
Tampa Bay LightningTom KurversSenior Advisor to the GM54September 1, 20111984-1996NHL
Toronto Maple LeafsKyle DubasAssistant GM30July 22, 2014N/AN/A
Toronto Maple LeafsMark HunterAssistant GM54August 22, 20161981-1993NHL
Toronto Maple LeafsBrandon PridhamAssistant to the GMAugust 19, 2014N/AN/A
Toronto Maple LeafsCliff FletcherSpecial Advisor81September 1, 2009N/AN/A
Vancouver CanucksJohn WeisbrodAssistant GM48August 4, 20151987-1993NCAA
Vancouver CanucksStan SmylSr Advisor 2 GM/Dir Player Dev59September 1, 20081978-1991NHL
Vegas Golden KnightsKelly McCrimmonAssistant GM56August 2, 20161980-1984NCAA
Washington CapitalsRoss Mahoney Assistant GM60September 1, 2014N/AN/A
Washington CapitalsDon FishmanAGM / Director of Legal Affairs47September 1, 2005N/AN/A
Winnipeg Jets*Craig HeisingerAGM/ Senior VP/Dir Hockey Ops54September 1, 2011N/AN/A
Winnipeg Jets*Larry SimmonsAssistant GM & VP44September 1, 2011N/AN/A
Average Age:51

If you find any glaring errors, let us know and we’ll correct them, but also, what do you see in these lists of the brains running all the teams?