Why Every NHL Team Needs a Chief of Staff
The Most Important Position 31 Teams Don't Have
The NHL Has Changed
As organizations grow, complexity grows with them.
The challenge becomes ensuring everyone is moving in the same direction.
20 Years Ago
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General Manager
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Assistant General Manager
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Coaching Staff
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Amateur Scouts
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Pro Scouts
Today
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Analytics Departments
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Player Development Staffs
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Sports Science Teams
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Mental Performance Resources
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Video Departments
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Data Engineers
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Performance Consultants
What does a Chief of Staff Do?
The Chief of Staff ensures the all the decision makers in hockey operations have the right information to make the right decisions at the right time.
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A good Chief of Staff helps the key decision makers in hockey operations look good. By allowing the "Hockey People" to spend more time on the "Hockey Tasks" the CoS allows every person to play to their individual strength.
In hockey, especially as organizations become more complex, there are often gaps between hockey operations, coaching staff, analytics, player development, sports science, business operations, ownership, and technology. The Chief of Staff lives in those gaps.
Strategic Advisor to the GM or President
The Chief of Staff should be helping leadership focus on the most important priorities.
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What are the organization's top 5 priorities this season?
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Are we actually making progress?
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What projects are falling behind?
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Instead of the GM spending time chasing updates, the Chief of Staff is constantly monitoring organizational health.
Let the Hockey People do the Hockey Tasks
Project Management Across Hockey Operations
Most NHL teams have dozens of initiatives running simultaneously:
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Draft preparation
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Amateur scouting process changes
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Pro scouting systems
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Analytics projects
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AI implementation
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Player development initiatives
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Sports science programs
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AHL alignment projects
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Technology rollouts
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A lot of NHL organizations are good at generating ideas but weaker at execution.
Information Flow & Cross Department Alignment
One of the biggest challenges in NHL organizations:
Everyone knows something. Nobody knows everything.
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Examples:
The development staff knows:
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Prospect progress
Analytics knows:
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Performance trends
Medical knows:
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Injury concerns
Scouts know:
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Character and fit
Coaches know:
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Usage and deployment concerns
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The Chief of Staff helps ensure information reaches the right decision-makers.
Executive Communications
The GM and President are constantly communicating with:
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Ownership
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League offices
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Agents
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Coaches
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Staff
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The Chief of Staff often helps prepare:
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Board updates
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Ownership reports
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Strategic plans
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Season reviews
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Off-season plans
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The way that Head Coaches rely on Video Coaches to be prepared, Presidents & GM's rely on Chiefs of Staff to be prepared for their day to day.
Driving Technology & AI Adoption
This is the biggest growth area for the modern NHL team.
Many teams have:
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Video systems
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Analytics tools
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AI tools
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Reporting systems
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Databases​
But they are often fragmented.
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The Chief of Staff can become: Head of Hockey Innovation
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Questions:
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Can AI save staff time?
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Can scouts become more efficient?
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Can player development become more personalized?
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Can we reduce administrative work?
Most teams have no one fully accountable for this.
Special Projects
Every NHL team has projects that don't fit anywhere.
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Building a new practice facility
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Hockey operations restructuring
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Coaching searches
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Technology implementation
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AI strategy
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Draft process redesign
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Player development audits
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The Chief of Staff often becomes the point person for the "random" tasks that happen within an organization.
What Can Hockey Learn
From The NFL & NCAA Football?
For years, many of the most successful NFL and NCAA football programs have utilized Chiefs of Staff and similar leadership positions to help manage increasingly complex organizations.
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As coaching staffs, support staffs, analytics departments, recruiting operations, player development programs, technology platforms, and business operations have expanded, football organizations recognized a simple reality:
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Elite leaders cannot manage everything themselves.
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The role of a Chief of Staff emerged to help leadership teams focus on strategy while ensuring organizational priorities are executed effectively.
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The NFL Model
In the NFL, Chiefs of Staff often serve as strategic partners to the Head Coach, General Manager, or Team President.
Responsibilities frequently include:
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Organizational Alignment
Ensuring communication and collaboration between:
Coaching Staff
Personnel Department
Analytics
Sports Science
Player Engagement
Football Operations
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Strategic Projects
Leading initiatives such as:
Staff restructuring
Technology implementation
Facility planning
Football operations process improvements
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Executive Support
Helping leadership teams:
Prioritize objectives
Prepare for key meetings
Coordinate departmental efforts
Track organizational initiatives
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Operational Efficiency
Creating systems that improve communication, accountability, and execution across the organization.
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The NCAA Football Model
Major college football programs have embraced the Chief of Staff role even more aggressively.
Many Power Four programs now employ Chiefs of Staff as key members of the leadership team.
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Their responsibilities often include:
Program Operations
Managing the day-to-day coordination of:
Coaching staffs
Recruiting operations
Player personnel departments
Football administration
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Staff Management
Helping coordinate large support staffs that may include dozens of employees.
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Recruiting & Personnel Coordination
Ensuring alignment between recruiting, player evaluation, player development, and program objectives.
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Strategic Planning
Supporting Head Coaches with:
Program growth initiatives
Operational planning
Resource allocation
Long-term program development