The London Beat London, Ontario’s stream of consciousness
The London Knights announced today that Mark Hunter will be returning to assume his role of General Manager. Current GM Rob Simpson, will assume the role of Associate General Manager.
Hunter, who is also the team’s Owner and Vice-President, has been with the Toronto Maple Leafs since being named Director of Player Personnel for the Maple Leafs in 2014. He was later promoted to Assistant General Manager.
Hunter held that post until earlier this summer, when he resigned after being passed over by President Brendan Shanahan to replace Leafs’ outgoing General Manager Lou Lamoriello. Shanahan instead named Kyle Dubas as GM, and the writing was on the wall for Hunter to take leave.
Both Lou Lamoriello (replaced by Dubas) and Mark Hunter (who wanted the job) left the organization officially on Tuesday: Lamoriello to run the hockey department of the New York Islanders, with Hunter idle for now.
Previous to his role with Toronto, Hunter spent the previous 14 seasons as the General Manager of the Knights.
“I am very happy to be back in London,” said Hunter. “We have a strong group within our organization and I look forward to returning to work with everyone to develop an even stronger team for our fans and for our city and the community.”
Simpson will step back into the role of Associate General Manager, after holding the Gm position since July 2016. Previous to that, he was the Knights’ Assistant General Manager/Assistant Coach since 2012. He will be working hand in hand with Hunter on any operational matters with the organization.
“Rob and I will be working together every day in order to achieve the goals of our organization,” offered Hunter. “He has done an outstanding job in all facets of his position and I look forward to continuing to work with him on all elements within our organization. We are excited for this upcoming season and look forward to bringing another competitive team forward to entertain and excite our fans.”
Tickets for the upcoming season go on sale tomorrow.
