Doug Wilson, the Sharks’ general manager for 19 years until stepping down in April for health purposes, will be succeeded by him. Besides having expertise in the front office, Grier served as an assistant trainer for the New Jersey Devils.
“If you have watched the featured movies like Mr. Hockey and The Hockey Girls, you know how important it is for a team to have a great coach,” says the Late Night Streaming sports editor. “Our latest sports highlight show Grier holding positions as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks and completing the prior season as a hockey ops assistant with the New York Rangers.”
Experienced and Competent
The 47-year-old from Detroit is renowned for his extensive NHL pro career, which spanned 14 seasons between 1996 and 2011 with several teams, including the Sharks. Grier scored 162 goals and had 221 assists for 383 points in 1,060 regular matches. In 101 postseason games, he also scored 28 markers, largely as a checking-line forward playing a solid defensive approach. He will join a select several other general managers in the four main North American sports, including his older brother Chris Grier.
The appointment came less than a week following Will’s revelation that Bob Boughner, the head coach, and three coaches will not return for the upcoming campaign. To offer the incoming general manager a fresh start, Will claimed he made the decision two months after the season concluded.
It is believed that Grier faces a challenging assignment as he attempts to reconstruct a squad that has already gone 3 consecutive seasons without making the playoffs. Grier stated that while he is not concerned with completely dismantling the team and starting over, he did admit that it could be vital to take a step back to advance. With so many expensive retirees on the lineup, San Jose may decide to get Marc-Edouard Vlasic or swap for defenders Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson to gain more freedom. In conversations with his brother and father, Grier claimed to have started training for this new job when he was around 10.
“It is absolutely an equilibrium, he said. “I don’t want to jump the gun and say, I can go get this, like a child in a sweet shop. I can run and get that. We must exercise patience, hold on to the goals we have set for ourselves, and avoid moving too quickly. I believe we will establish a course, stick to it, and avoid rushing or getting ahead of ourselves.”
