The Columbus Blue Jackets have named veteran NHL executive Laurence Gilman as their Vice President of Hockey Operations, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced Tuesday.
Gilman will assist Waddell in all aspects of the club’s hockey operations, per the team's official release.
“I have known Laurence for many years, and I am very excited to welcome him to the Columbus Blue Jackets,” said Waddell. “He is extremely knowledgeable about all facets of team and league operations, and his experience and personality will be a great addition to our hockey operations staff.”
Gilman, who turned 61 on Tuesday, was most recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He joined the Leafs in 2018 as an assistant general manager to replace Kyle Dubas, who had been elevated to the general manager role.
"Laurence provides terrific experience to our management team," said Dubas in 2018. "His 20-plus years in the NHL have seen him manage nearly every type of department in professional hockey and have success doing so."
Gilman then served as the senior vice president of hockey operations for the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies from 2022 until 2024.
Prior to his time in Toronto, Gilman also had long stints with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes organization, as well as with the Vancouver Canucks.
He began his NHL management career with the Jets in 1994 and remained with the organization when the club relocated to Phoenix in 1996. There, he served as director of hockey operations for the Coyotes from 1998-01, vice president of hockey operations and Assistant general manager from 2001-05, and senior vice president of hockey operations and Assistant general from 2005-07.
Gilman was then named vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager for the Canucks organization in 2008, a position he held until 2015.
“I’m very excited to join the Blue Jackets and want to thank Don for the opportunity,” said Gilman.
“Columbus is a terrific market with great fans, and I look forward to working with everyone there and doing everything I can to help this team have success on the ice.”
FIRST THOUGHTS:
This seems like a fantastic addition for Columbus, especially following the departure of assistant general manager Josh Flynn, who left the organization last month to join Jarmo Kekalainen's staff in Buffalo.
Flynn was an expert in salary cap management, and Gilman is of that same vein. That is of particular importance for the Blue Jackets, who have several young players that are going to be due big paydays in the near future.
When Gilman left the Maple Leafs organization in June of 2024, it was a mutual decision according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. Make no mistake about it — the Winnipeg native likely could've had a job immediately, if he wanted. But there's a history of Gilman taking time away between jobs: when he left the Jets/Coyotes organization in 2007, he took a year off before joining the Canucks. Then, he took three seasons off prior to joining Toronto in 2018.
Vancouver and Toronto were both perennial playoff teams when Gilman was with the organization, and a good front office usually leads to a good product on the ice.
