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Culture Change - Oct. 14, 2022 – Vol. 76, Issue 5 - Ian Kennedy

MIKE GRIER’S hiring as GM of the San Jose Sharks marked an historic moment for the NHL, and a monumental step forward for equity and diversity in the game of hockey. As the league’s first Black GM, Grier was immediately placed alongside names like Willie O’Ree.

Grier, however, is accustomed to being the first. When he broke into the NHL in 1996, Grier was the first Black NHL player to train exclusively in the United States. He played more than 1,000 NHL games across stints with the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks. He spent three seasons with the Sharks, making his hiring a homecoming of sorts. “It’s very exciting, I really enjoyed my time in San Jose,” Grier said. “The height of the playoff success and playing in the ‘Shark Tank’ was great. I really loved it. When I got the opportunity to come back and get the team back to those winning ways, it was a great feeling and something I’m very passionate about. I’m lucky to be in this position.”

According to others in the NHL, the Sharks, who have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, are lucky to get Grier. One of those voices is his longtime teammate Chris Drury, currently the GM of the New York Rangers. Grier and Drury played together in the NCAA at Boston University, on Team USA and in the NHL. Last year, Drury hired Grier to serve as a hockey-operations advisor with the Rangers.

“It didn’t surprise me how much he picked up right away when he came to work for the Rangers,” Drury said. “He was in scouting, development and coaching, and he is a very smart guy. It didn’t take long before I thought that this is going to happen for him sooner rather than later, and it did.”

Prior to New York, Grier served as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks and an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils. He was also involved in the selection of the U.S. team for the 2022 World Championship.

Serving a management role in professional sports is not new to his family. His father, Bobby Grier, worked in the NFL as a director of pro scouting and vice-president of player personnel for the Houston Texans and New England Patriots. In 2016, older brother Chris was named GM of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. “They were great for me during this whole process,” Grier said. “I definitely leaned on both of them for advice and guidance. From preparing for the interview and how to handle the interview, free agency, dealing with ownership, team building, I don’t think there’s anything that goes into management that I haven’t talked to them about. They’ve been super supportive, and I owe them a lot. They’ve been there for me and preparing me for this job since I was 10 years old, whether they knew it or not.”

Grier’s father and brother chose football, but by the time Mike had entered high school, playing prep hockey at St. Sebastian’s School in Massachusetts, he’d fallen in love with hockey, and he knew his path would be unique. “I loved football and thought I’d play it at some point, but by the time I was in high school, I’d fallen in love with hockey and was having a lot of success,” Grier said. “It was my passion. For me, it was something different, it was my own thing. Hockey was my niche, something I had for my own. At the same time, for my dad, I think it was nice as well. He’d come home from a long day of football non-stop and want to talk to me about hockey. I think he kind of enjoyed I was doing something different. I loved football, but hockey was just my own thing.”

Following high school, Grier, who was born in Detroit, went to Boston University, where he helped the Terriers win a national title in 1995, a season that saw him named a first-team all-American and represent the U.S. at the World Junior Championship. Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1993, Grier’s rights were later traded alongside goaltender Curtis Joseph to the Oilers, where Grier began his NHL career.

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At the NHL level, Grier totalled 383 points in 1,060 games. At times as a player, he faced racism, including one notable incident in 1997 while playing for Edmonton when Capitals winger Chris Simon hurled a racist slur at Grier. While this incident made headlines, it was not unique. He’d faced slurs before in college and in youth sport. Each time, Grier wanted to fight, but instead, he let his talent and competitiveness speak.

On the ice, his leadership was always valued; he served as an assistant captain with both the Oilers and Sharks. Now, Grier will utilize those skills to rebuild a winning culture in San Jose. He hopes to bring an approach fostering respect, a team-first mentality and a focus on treating people well.

Having made the playoffs 21 times since entering the NHL in 1991-92, the organization has come close but has yet to win a Stanley Cup. San Jose has advanced to the conference final five times and the Stanley Cup final once.

To begin his tenure, Grier traded Brent Burns, signed his first free agents and hired a new coaching staff. He’s putting his stamp on the roster and hopes it will soon translate into wins. “There’s some good pieces here to build around, and it’s my job, and our coaches’ job, to come in here and change the culture,” he said. “It’s not something that can necessarily be changed quickly, but we’re going to try to mold this group into what I think wins in this league. Hopefully soon, our culture will be living and breathing through the locker room, we’ll be competing for the Stanley Cup, and make the Shark Tank once again into a place where no opponent wants to come and play.”

As the NHL’s first Black GM, however, his hiring and role in the NHL is about more than mere wins and losses. It’s also about representation in sports and opening doors for the next generation. “It’s an honor for me,” Grier said. “It’s a responsibility I take very seriously. Since I started in the NHL, the game keeps growing and growing and getting more inclusive and diverse on the ice, as well as off the ice, whether it is as coaching, scouting or front-office opportunities. I’m just glad to see the game growing that way. Hopefully, I can do a good enough job to open up doors for others to come after me. For Black or minority youth, for women out there that have dreams, sometimes those dreams aren’t just to play in the NHL. I think kids have dreams to work in the front office or coach or scout, and it’s important for them to see someone who looks like them getting this opportunity.”

Prior to O’Ree becoming the first Black NHL player in 1958, other Black hockey stars including Wilfred Harding, Art Dorrington and Herb Carnegie came close. For Bernice Carnegie, Herb’s daughter, who continues to work to remove barriers for people of color, Grier’s hiring was overdue and an important step forward. “We had hoped that things would progress much faster than they have, and it’s a commentary on our humanity that those opportunities weren’t afforded much sooner,” Carnegie said. “In saying that, however, there always must be a first, and there always has to be someone who opens the door. I commend the San Jose Sharks for taking a look at Mike and saying, ‘You’ve got the qualifications, we’re going with you.’ Instead of just talking about it, they actually did something about it.”

To someday look back on his career and see not only on-ice success but the impact he had, and the ability to serve as a role model for others, specifically Black youth, is an opportunity Grier holds dear. “It would mean the world to me to have my kids and their kids look back and say it was something I was able to do and something they can be proud of as well.”

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From The Archive: Culture Change