It didn’t take Don Waddell long to replace Josh Flynn in the Blue Jackets’ front office.
“I have known Laurence for many years, and I am very excited to welcome him to the Columbus Blue Jackets,” Waddell said in a statement. “He is extremely knowledgeable about all facets of team and league operations, and his experience and personality will be a great addition to our hockey operations staff.”
Gilman will join a front office staff that includes senior advisor/alternate governor John Davidson, director of player personnel/Cleveland Monsters GM Chris Clark, director of hockey operations Rick Nash and senior manager of hockey operations Zach Abdou.
Gilman began his NHL management career with the original Winnipeg Jets in 1994, prior to their move to Phoenix as the Phoenix Coyotes, then Arizona Coyotes before a shift to Salt Lake City as the Utah Mammoth. He worked his way up the ladder with the Coyotes until 2007 before joining the Vancouver Canucks as vice president of hockey operations/assistant GM from 2008-2015.
Vancouver had a lengthy run of success with Gilman helping shape its rosters, including five straight Pacific Division titles (2008-13), back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy wins 2010-12 as the NHL’s best regular season team and an appearance in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
Gilman, who’s from Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, was most recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs for six seasons as assistant GM (2018-22) and senior vice president of hockey operations for the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate. The Leafs qualified for the playoffs in all four seasons he worked for the NHL team’s front office and the Marlies won the AHL North in 2022-23 under his stewardship.
“I’m very excited to join the Blue Jackets and want to thank Don for the opportunity,” Gilman said in a statement. “Columbus is a terrific market with great fans, and I look forward to working with everyone there and doing everything I can to help this team have success on the ice.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social