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Grier retired from the NHL in 2011 after a
14-season career during which he appeared in 1,060
regular-season games with the Edmonton Oilers, Washington
Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and Sharks.
Speaking at his introductory news conference, Grier said he felt
great pride in being the NHL's first Black general manager and
hopes to pave the way for other minorities.
"Since my playing days the league itself has gotten more and
more diverse, there's more Black players in the league and more
minorities in the league," Grier told reporters.
"For me my job is to be the best I can for the San Jose Sharks
organisation. If I do that hopefully it opens the door to give
other opportunities to other minorities to get into front office
positions and maybe lead a team down the road as well."
Since retiring as a player, Grier has been a scout for the
Chicago Blackhawks, an assistant coach with the New Jersey
Devils and last season served as a hockey operations adviser for
the New York Rangers.
Grier, whose older brother Chris is general manager of the
National Football League's Miami Dolphins, will now help to turn
around a Sharks team that were a perennial contender for much of
the last 18 years but missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of
the last three seasons.
Grier replaces Joe Will, who took over on an interim basis last
November when Doug Wilson stepped away for medical reasons.
Wilson announced in April that he would be leaving the Sharks
after 19 seasons.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
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