John Ferguson Jr. (born July 7, 1967) is the current assistant general manager for the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). Ferguson previously served as the director of player personnel for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

and the general manager of their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Ferguson previously was the

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

from 2003 to 2008.

Playing career

Drafted by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, the team with which his father had played every one of his NHL games, in the 12th round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, Ferguson played four professional seasons at the

(AHL) level with the Canadiens and Senators organizations. He was alternate captain of the 1992

Fredericton Canadiens The Fredericton Canadiens, or the 'Baby Habs' were a professional ice hockey team in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Canadiens played their home games at the Aitken Centre. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1990 to 1999, and w ...

that won the AHL regular season championship. Ferguson was named the team's "unsung hero" in consecutive years (1991, 1992). He played his college hockey at

Providence College Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the local diocese, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs. It requires all of its undergradua ...

, where he served as an assistant captain, was an Academic All-American and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in business administration in 1989.

Post-playing career

Ferguson was a player agent responsible for negotiating player contracts, product endorsements and player recruitment. From 1993 to 1996 he was a member of the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

scouting staff as an amateur and professional scout. During that time he also spent the summers of 1994 and 1995 at the NHL office in the hockey operations and legal departments. Following his professional hockey career, he graduated cum laude with the degree of juris doctor from the

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...

and was admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar in 1996.

St. Louis Blues

Ferguson served as vice president and director of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues, and before that he was assistant general manager for the club for five seasons. In that role he evaluated players at the professional and amateur level and negotiated player contracts. Ferguson was also the president and general manager of the Worcester IceCats and was influential in the negotiation and acquisition of the Blues' top minor league affiliate. He is a former chairman of the AHL's Competition Committee and also served on the league's Legal Affairs Committee.

Toronto Maple Leafs

On August 29, 2003, at the age of 36, Ferguson became the 12th general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He succeeded Pat Quinn, who retained his duties as head coach after serving in a dual capacity for the previous four seasons. Leafs President Ken Dryden was given a seat on MLSE's board of directors and shuffled to the post of Vice-Chairman, where he was no longer in the Leafs management reporting hierarchy. During the 2005–06 season, the first after lockout, the Leafs narrowly missed the postseason. Quinn took the blame from the MLSE front office for the team's failure to make the playoffs and was let go as head coach. Quinn's firing upset some longtime Leaf fans, with many calling for the firing of Ferguson himself. The Leafs had finished the season 9-1-2 despite season-ending injuries to

Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals ...

, Jason Allison, Alex Khavanov and Ed Belfour, with TSN criticising Ferguson for signing these players. Many of the young players, who were key contributors to the Leaf's late-season run for a playoff spot, were drafted by Quinn prior to Ferguson's arrival. Ferguson also drew criticism for a trade which brought Mark Bell to the Leafs. Bell was convicted for a hit and run and driving under the influence while with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

; the NHL (which wanted to crack down on off-ice behavior) suspended Bell for his first fifteen Leafs games. Entering the 2007–08 season the Leafs had posted a .577 points percentage during Ferguson's tenure, establishing franchise records for points (103), wins (45-tie), home wins (26) and road wins (23) in a season. The team lost to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

in the first round of the 2003 playoffs, in seven games, and were again eliminated by the Flyers in 2004, in six games during the second round. The Leafs reached at least 90 points and 40 wins in each of the three seasons played. However, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two of the four seasons under Ferguson. The team was out of a playoff position at the time of his dismissal, near the bottom of the leagu

After weeks of media speculation, on January 22, 2008, Ferguson was informed his Leafs' contract would not be renewed when it expired on June 30, 2008. He was relieved immediately from his duties as general manager, and was replaced by returning former Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher.

Team Canada

In 2007 Ferguson served as a member of Team Canada management at the 2007 IIHF World Championship in Russia. He collaborated with

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing c ...

in selecting Canada's unbeaten gold medal roster, the youngest team to ever win a World Championship.

After the Leafs

At the 2007–08 NHL Season's trade deadline, Ferguson provided analysis of the trades as they came in for

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

. From 2008 to 2014, he served as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

of the NHL. On June 26, 2014, he joined the

as Executive Director of Player Personnel. On September 16, 2016, he was also given the position of general manager of Boston's

affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In 2021, he was hired as the assistant general manager of the

and the general manager of their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

Personal life

Ferguson is married to Providence College graduate, Stephanie Paiva. Ferguson is the son of former

forward John Ferguson, Sr., and was born in the city during his father's stint with the team.

References

External links

"Mystery Man" (Slam.ca column)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, John Jr. 1967 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Boston Bruins executives Canadian ice hockey forwards Fredericton Canadiens players Ice hockey people from Montreal Montreal Canadiens draft picks National Hockey League executives National Hockey League general managers New Haven Senators players Ottawa Senators scouts Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players Providence Friars men's ice hockey players St. Louis Blues executives San Jose Sharks scouts Sherbrooke Canadiens players Toronto Maple Leafs executives Winnipeg South Blues players