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ECHL joins hockey world in mourning loss of Jim Gregory

ECHL joins hockey world in mourning loss of Jim Gregory

Wednesday, October 30th

The ECHL joins the hockey community in mourning the loss of Jim Gregory, a Hockey Hall of Famer, former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and a League executive for four decades,who passed away today at the age of 83.

ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Patrick J. Kelly, who grew up near Gregory, offered the following statement.

"Jim Gregory and I go back many years. He was a great ambassador for the sport of hockey all over the world. Today is a sad day for all of hockey. Jim was a great man who will be missed tremendously."

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Gregory to coach Vancouver, their minor league affiliate, in 1967-68. He joined them as a scout in 1968 and a year later, at age 33, was promoted to general manager.

Gregory spent 10 years as GM in Toronto. Among his more notable moves were the acquisitions of future Hall of Fame players Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald.

The Maple Leafs qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs eight times during Gregory’s decade with the team, but he was let go after Toronto was swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the Quarterfinals of the 1979 playoffs.

The NHL quickly hired Gregory as its director of Central Scouting. He was named executive director of hockey operations in 1986 and later became Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations and Supervision.

Gregory also served as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s selection committee from 1998-2014, with the exception of a health-related absence in 2007, when the remaining members of the selection committee voted him into the Hall as a builder.