Gerald Marcus Meehan (born September 3, 1946) is a
Canadian former professional
ice hockey left winger and the former
general manager and
Senior Vice President of the
Buffalo Sabres.
Playing career
Meehan was born in
Toronto,
Ontario and raised in
Newmarket, Ontario. He played minor hockey for St. Michael's College School and junior for the Toronto Marlboros. He played for the 1966–67 Marlboros that won the
Memorial Cup.
Meehan was drafted by the
Toronto Maple Leafs in the
1963 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1963 NHL Amateur Draft was the first NHL Entry Draft. It was a draft to assign unaffiliated amateur junior-age players to NHL teams. It was held on June 5 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. It was the first amateur draft, which ...
, fourth round, 21st overall. He played for the
National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs,
Philadelphia Flyers,
Buffalo Sabres,
Vancouver Canucks,
Atlanta Flames,
Washington Capitals, as well as the
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...
's
Toronto Marlboros,
American Hockey League's
Rochester Americans,
CPHL's
Tulsa Oilers,
Western Hockey League's
Phoenix Roadrunners,
Seattle Totems, and the
World Hockey Association's
Cincinnati Stingers. He served as captain for both the Sabres and Capitals.
One of Meehan's career highlights as a Sabre remains a lowlight to Flyers fans. In the last game of the 1971–72 regular season, the Flyers needed a win or a tie against the Sabres to beat out the
Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot. The score was tied, but with just four seconds on the clock, Meehan took a shot from away that somehow got by Flyers goalie
Doug Favell – ending the Flyers' season.
Retirement
After completing his undergraduate degree from
Canisius College
Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...
in Buffalo, Meehan graduated from the
University at Buffalo School of Law in 1982. He practiced sports, corporate, and immigration law with the firm Cohen, Swados, Wright, Hanifin, Bradford and Brett, including working on player contracts with
Scotty Bowman, then the Sabres' coach and general manager. Meehan had joined the firm hoping to work with the Sabres.
General Manager and VP
In 1984, the team made Meehan the first former Sabre to serve in a front-office position, as assistant general manager under Bowman. During the 1986–87 season, Bowman stepped down, and Meehan was promoted to general manager. With the departures of Bowman and superstar
Gilbert Perreault, the Sabres finished the season in last place overall that year, but rebounded the next year as NHL's most improved team, with a record of 37–32–11 – and 21 points higher in the standings.
Meehan's years as a general manager were marked by the addition of a number of top-caliber players, including No. 1 draft pick
Pierre Turgeon, Soviet defector
Alex Mogilny,
Dale Hawerchuk,
Pat LaFontaine, and
Dominik Hašek. In 1993, Meehan was named the executive vice president of sports operations, taking a more active role in the organization's business and legal affairs.
In 1996, Gerry left the Sabres organization and founded GMM Consulting Services, now Cardinal Consultants Ltd., which provides a wide variety of consulting services to sports teams, leagues, associations, and athletes.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
External links
*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.comThe Gerry Meehan Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meehan, Gerry
1946 births
Living people
Atlanta Flames players
Buffalo Sabres captains
Buffalo Sabres executives
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Canisius College alumni
Cincinnati Stingers players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Memorial Cup winners
National Hockey League executives
Philadelphia Flyers players
Seattle Totems (WHL) players
Sportspeople from Newmarket, Ontario
Sportspeople from Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Toronto Marlboros players
Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players
Vancouver Canucks players
Washington Capitals players