Mike O'Connell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Mike O'Connell (born November 25, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former professional ice hockey player who was also the general manager of the Boston Bruins of the NHL from 2000 until 2006. He was raised in Cohasset, Massachusetts. He was fired from the job on March 25, 2006.

He was a solid all-around player, being both reliable in the defensive zone and consistently effective on offense, with a hard, accurate shot from the point. While he also played for the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings, his best years were spent with the Boston Bruins, helping to make up an impressive defensive squad that included Brad Park and Ray Bourque. Unfortunately, his playing career will likely be overshadowed by his disastrous career in the Boston Bruins front office. He took part in the decision that allowed high-scoring center Adam Oates to leave the team. Most notably, as General manager of the team in 2005, he traded away top center Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks in what many consider to be one of the worst deals in professional sports history: the Bruins received players Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau; Thornton went on with the San Jose Sharks to win the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion.

Peter Chiarelli replaced Mike O'Connell as general manager of the Boston Bruins.

Preceded by Harry Sinden

General Managers of the Boston Bruins 2000 - 2006

Succeeded by Jeff Gorton

Boston Bruins Head Coaches
Ross • Denneny • F. Patrick • Weiland • Clapper • Boucher • L. Patrick • Schmidt • Watson • Sinden • Johnson • Guidolin • Cherry • Creighton • Cheevers • Goring • O'Reilly • Milbury • Bowness • Sutter • Kasper • Burns • Keenan • Ftorek • O'Connell • Sullivan • Lewis