Brewin Flames Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) San Jose Sharks hire Mike Grier as 1st Black GM in NHL history 7:38 AM ET ESPN Mike Grier has been named general manager of the San Jose Sharks, becoming the first Black man in NHL history to hold the position. The Sharks officially announced the hire Tuesday. Grier, 47, played 14 seasons in the NHL for four different teams, including the Sharks, before retiring in 2011. He spent this past season as the New York Rangers' hockey operations adviser and also worked as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2014 to 2018. Grier is the younger brother of Miami Dolphins GM Chris Grier, who has held that role since 2016. Grier will replace Sharks interim GM Joe Will, who took over in November when longtime GM Doug Wilson left the team because of medical reasons. Wilson officially stepped down in April after 19 seasons with the club. The Sharks hired Grier four days after firing head coach Bob Boughner and his staff. The firing came late in the NHL offseason for a coaching change, as eight other head-coaching vacancies already have been filled, but Will said in a statement that the new GM should "have full autonomy" to hire the next coach. Once a dominant force in the Western Conference, the Sharks have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, the longest drought in franchise history. San Jose has a veteran corps of players with various levels of trade protection in their contracts. San Jose is paying defensemen Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- all over the age of 32 -- a combined $26.5 million against the salary cap through 2025. Edited July 5, 2022 by Brewin Flames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 San Jose Sharks Hire Mike Grier JULY 5, 2022 AT 12:57 PM CDT | BY GAVIN LEE 2 COMMENTS After news broke yesterday that the San Jose Sharks would be hiring Mike Grier as their next general manager, the official news came today from the club. Grier himself announced the historic hire in a short video for fans: Really excited to get to work and be back in the Bay area. I know there have been lots of ups and downs but I’m ready to work hard, get at it, and get this thing back on the tracks. We’re going to start winning some games in the Shark Tank and get it going again. See you soon. Grier, who played three seasons for the Sharks during his long playing career, is the first Black general manager in NHL history. He isn’t the first Grier to hold a sports executive position like this though. His brother, Chris Grier, is currently the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, while his father Bobby Grier worked for years with the New England Patriots in various roles. Over a career that spanned 1,060 regular season games, Grier registered 162 goals and 383 points, while receiving Selke Trophy votes on five different occasions. The two-way winger retired in 2011 and a few years later was working for the Chicago Blackhawks as a scout, while also coaching at the high school level. In 2018 he was named an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils, and last season he served as a hockey operations coordinator for the New York Rangers. Though his front office resume isn’t that long, Grier’s name has been floated in searches for the last few years as his profile as a future general manager grew. Chris Drury, who brought Grier into the Rangers, gave a strong endorsement to Sharks’ president Jonathan Becher during the search, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic. He’ll now take over a franchise that has had just one full-time GM in nearly two decades. Doug Wilson, who led the team for the past 19 seasons, stepped away to focus on his health, leaving Joe Will there on an interim basis. Some would also say he’s coming into quite a mess, given the Sharks’ lack of recent success and huge, long-term contracts on the books. Five players carry at least a $7MM cap hit for the club and only one of them (the recently-extended Tomas Hertl) is under the age of 32. Timo Meier is heading into the final year of his current deal and will need a $10MM qualifying offer to be retained as an RFA next summer, and the team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019. There are other changes to the front office coming, according to Becher, and one would expect many to the roster and coaching staff as well. Just a few days ago the team fired head coach Bob Boughner, giving Grier “full autonomy” to make the staff. David Quinn, who has a connection to Grier through their shared alma mater of Boston University, has been floated in the early stages as a potential candidate. The roster though will be more difficult to rearrange. Eight different players hold some sort of trade protection in their contracts, including basically all of the expensive ones. The organization is also dealing with the uncertainty surrounding Evander Kane’s grievance, which is still not scheduled for another hearing and could take quite a bit of time to resolve. Grier will have his work cut out for him as he moves into this new position, starting with the team’s first-round pick later this week. The Sharks are scheduled to select 11th overall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) Congrats Mike Grier! Alright now! Let's see what he can do with this disjointed and aging San Jose roster! With Bob Boughner and his staff all gone, Grier can now install a new coaching core of his choosing.... good a place as any to try to jump start the San Jose Sharks. Edited July 5, 2022 by TropicalFruitGirl26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 First black GM.... Congrats to Grier. Why no black head coaches? Dirk Graham broke the glass ceiling nearly a quarter of a century ago are you telling me that no qualified candidate has come along who is black? NHL head coaches- the last Bastion of the white boys club.... And out on a limb, why no women bench coaches? None as head coach, none running special teams, none at all on the benches. I know there are a few teams patting themselves on the back for hiring women as the video review coach, but seriously, why none on the bench? (sound of me climbing off the soapbox, cursing loudly as I stub my toe on it while pushing it back in the closet). 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 18 minutes ago, yave1964 said: First black GM.... Congrats to Grier. Why no black head coaches? Dirk Graham broke the glass ceiling nearly a quarter of a century ago are you telling me that no qualified candidate has come along who is black? NHL head coaches- the last Bastion of the white boys club.... And out on a limb, why no women bench coaches? None as head coach, none running special teams, none at all on the benches. I know there are a few teams patting themselves on the back for hiring women as the video review coach, but seriously, why none on the bench? (sound of me climbing off the soapbox, cursing loudly as I stub my toe on it while pushing it back in the closet). For a bit, I was screaming about women being allowed to be refs and linesmen.... but then, after seeing what large, sizeable refs have to deal with when altercations occur (and THEY get beat around sometimes too), I backed off from that and realized, equal rights aside, most women aren't suited for that. The physics simply don't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 20 minutes ago, yave1964 said: First black GM.... Congrats to Grier. Why no black head coaches? Dirk Graham broke the glass ceiling nearly a quarter of a century ago are you telling me that no qualified candidate has come along who is black? NHL head coaches- the last Bastion of the white boys club.... And out on a limb, why no women bench coaches? None as head coach, none running special teams, none at all on the benches. I know there are a few teams patting themselves on the back for hiring women as the video review coach, but seriously, why none on the bench? (sound of me climbing off the soapbox, cursing loudly as I stub my toe on it while pushing it back in the closet). All joking and messing around aside, I would love it when we get to the day when we are well passed the "first INSERT RACE" coach/gm/ower" or "first INSERT GENDER" in the same. If the person can do the job, whether they sit or stand to use the restroom, or what country their family tree takes them back to shouldn't matter. Rooting for Mike Grier, NOT because he is a black man in the GM seat, but rather, because he has a chance to put yet another competitive NHL team back on the ice, and THAT is always good for the league. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: Why no black head coaches? Dirk Graham broke the glass ceiling nearly a quarter of a century ago are you telling me that no qualified candidate has come along who is black? NHL head coaches- the last Bastion of the white boys club.... My gut says Maxime Fortunus is on the starting blocks... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puck_Pun Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Something something town grier. Anyways, it'll be interesting to see if he starts with some major moves or sets up some picks in future years. Either way some sort of renewal is very needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Grier hired by Sharks, first Black general manager in NHL history Was hockey operations adviser for Rangers, played 14 seasons in Leaguehttps://www.nhl.com/news/mike-grier-hired-by-san-jose-first-black-gm-in-nhl-history/c-334806842 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Poole: Sharks' Grier born to be pioneer as NHL's first Black GM https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/sharks/sharks-mike-grier-born-be-american-pioneer-nhls-first-black-gm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Mike Grier becomes the first Black general manager in NHL history https://www.npr.org/2022/07/06/1110004459/mike-grier-nhl-first-black-general-manager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Interested to see how he does turning this franchise around all I gotta say is good luck yer gonna need it hahaha this is like Mission Impossible the Sharks literally have the worst roster on paper I've ever seen in real life or in video games... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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