Former Oiler Mike Grier becomes NHL's first Black GM
The San Jose Sharks named Mike Grier as the NHL's first Black general manager on Tuesday.
He replaces interim general manager Joe Will, who took over in November when Doug Wilson stepped away for medical reasons. Wilson officially retired in April.
Grier, 47, spent last season as the hockey operations adviser for the New York Rangers and previously worked as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks (2014-18) and assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils (2018-20) following a 14-year playing career, which included a stint in San Jose.
"I'm really excited to get to work and be back in the Bay Area," Grier said in a brief video posted to the team's Twitter account. "I know there's been lots of ups and downs, but I'm ready to work hard and get at it and get this thing back on the tracks. We're gonna start winning some games in the Shark Tank and get it going again."
Grier, whose older brother, Chris, is the GM of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, takes over a Sharks franchise that has missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
The franchise fired head coach Bob Boughner last week.
Grier accumulated 383 points (162 goals, 221 assists) and 510 penalty minutes in 1,060 games with the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and Sharks from 1996-2011.
He had 78 points (35 goals, 43 assists) in 221 games over three seasons with San Jose (2006-09).
--Field Level Media
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Feds quietly change rules to allow one-time ArriveCAN exemption at land border crossings
The Canada Border Services Agency is temporarily allowing fully vaccinated travellers a one-time exemption to not be penalized if they were unaware of the health documents required through ArriveCAN.

Agent: Rushdie off ventilator and talking, day after attack
'The Satanic Verses' author Salman Rushdie was taken off a ventilator and able to talk Saturday, a day after he was stabbed as he prepared to give a lecture in upstate New York.
Average rent up more than 10% in July from previous year, report says
Average rent in Canada for all properties rose more than 10 per cent year-over-year in July, according to a recent nationwide analysis of listings on Rentals.ca.
More than 10,000 Canadians received a medically-assisted death in 2021: report
More Canadians are ending their lives with a medically-assisted death, says the third federal annual report on medical assistance in dying (MAID). Data shows that 10,064 people died in 2021 with medical aid, an increase of 32 per cent over 2020.
LAPD ends investigation into Anne Heche car crash
The Los Angeles Police Department has ended its investigation into Anne Heche's car accident, when the actor crashed into a Los Angeles home on Aug. 5.
Canadian literary figures double down on free speech following Salman Rushdie attack
Canadian writers, publishers and literary figures doubled down on the right to freedom of thought and expression on Saturday, one day after an attack on award-winning author Salman Rushdie that left him hospitalized and on a ventilator.
FBI seized 'top secret' documents from Trump home
The FBI recovered documents that were labelled 'top secret' from former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the unprecedented search this week.
Parent of child with rare form of epilepsy distressed over N.S. ER closures
Kristen Hayes lives close to the hospital in Yarmouth, N.S., but she says that twice in the past month, her son, who has a rare form of epilepsy, has been taken by ambulance to the emergency room there, only to be left waiting.
140 lightning-caused wildfires detected in B.C. over last 3 days, service says
Lightning has sparked more than 100 new wildfires in British Columbia since Wednesday, as thunderstorms rolled through the provincial Interior.