Jim Gregory

James Michael Gregory (November 4, 1935 – October 30, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and executive. Born in Port Colborne, Ontario and raised in Dunnville, Ontario, Gregory attended St. Michael's College School in Toronto where he became involved with the school's ice hockey teams, first as a trainer, eventually moving to management and coaching positions. He went on to coach and manage the Toronto Marlboros, winning two championships. He then moved to the National Hockey League's (NHL) Toronto Maple Leafs, serving as their general manager between 1969 and 1979. He led the team to eight playoff appearances during his ten-year tenure. He then moved to the NHL head offices, becoming the director of central scouting, and later took a directorship position in the hockey operations department, which he held until his death.

Early life Gregory was born in 1935 in Port Colborne, Ontario, and raised in the nearby town of Dunnville, Ontario. His father was born in England and was a Royal Canadian Air Force World War II veteran. In 1961, he took a management position with the team, winning the Memorial Cup in that same year. The following hockey season however, the Majors hockey team withdrew from their league, and Gregory relocated to another high school team, the Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons, winning a championship. When the Maroons were merged into the Toronto Marlboros in 1964, the organization retained Gregory. He coached the club to a Memorial Cup victory that year. Later assuming the management duties as well, he guided the Marlies to another Memorial Cup in 1967.

Gregory was hired in 1967 by the Vancouver Canucks (an affiliate of the Maple Leafs) of the Western Hockey League as head coach. He remained there for one season, compiling a 26–41–5 record, for 5th place in the league. The following year, he became a scout for the Maple Leafs. In spring of 1969, when Punch Imlach was fired as general manager, Gregory was named as his replacement. He was one of the first managers to turn to Europe as a source of NHL talent, recruiting defenseman Borje Salming and winger Inge Hammarstrom, in 1973, to play for the Leafs. Gregory was also responsible for introducing a scouting system within the organization, hiring five full-time scouts. Gregory learned of the news when he received a call from an NHL executive offering him the directorship of the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, unaware that Ballard had fired him. Gregory remained until 1986, when he was named Executive Director of Hockey Operations for the NHL. In 1998, he was named chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee and Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations of the NHL. Considered to be a vital part of the NHL's Hockey Operations and Officiating Department, he was known for introducing goal reviews.

Personal life Gregory was married to Rosalie and they had four children: Andrea, Valerie, Maureen and David. Father Bauer performed the wedding ceremony for the couple.

In 2007, Gregory was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder, while he was on a hiatus from the selection committee due to ill health. He was awarded the Order of St. Michael from his alma mater, St. Michael's College School, in 2012. In that same year, the annual Player of the Game awards in the Canadian Hockey League's top prospects games were named after him in recognition for his support of the league.

On February 27, 2009, Gregory was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack, from which he later recovered. In 2011, he was treated for amyloidosis, a blood disorder. He died at his Toronto home on October 30, 2019, five days before his 84th birthday.