John Carl 'Jack' Button (1940 – July 31, 1996) was a professional

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

executive with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. The Jack Button Award, given to the top prospect for the

, was created in his honor. He died of leukemia in 1996."Jack Button", ''The Capital'', Sunday, August 04, 1996, Annapolis, Maryland, United States Of America

NHL clubs

Button served as an assistant general manager while with the Penguins from 1969 until 1974, when he was named as the franchise's third

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. At the end of the 1974-75 season, the Penguins entered bankruptcy. The new owners included

Wren Blair Wren Alvin Blair (October 2, 1925January 2, 2013) was a Canadian ice hockey coach, scout and executive in the National Hockey League. Biography Early life Blair was born in Lindsay, Ontario, the son of Audrey and Alvin Blair. The family moved t ...

as a minority partner, who took over the managerial reins. In

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Button was highly regarded as a scout and he was credited with discovering

Peter Bondra Peter Bondra (; born 7 February 1968) is a Ukrainian-born Slovak former professional ice hockey player. He was the general manager of the Slovakia national team from 2007 to 2011. A two-time 50-goal scorer, Bondra became the 37th player in Nati ...

, Jim Carey,

Sergei Gonchar Sergei Viktorovich Gonchar ( rus, Серге́й Ви́кторович Гонча́р, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪdʑ ɡɐnʲˈtɕar; born 13 April 1974) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and a former assistant coach f ...

, Michal Pivonka and

Brendan Witt Brendan Witt (born February 20, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, and New York Islanders in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Witt's NHL care ...

. He was a part of the Capital franchise from 1979 until his death in 1996. During the 1996–97 season, the Capitals wore a memorial patch for Button which showcased his initials and a bulldog.

Minor league clubs

Button was public relations director of the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

from 1964 until 1966, then moved to the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

office as the league's PR director. He also served as league secretary. In 1968, the

appointed him general manager of their

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

affiliate, the Amarillo Wranglers. The club played only one season, after which Button was promoted to the Penguins' front office.

League work

Button founded the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...

and served as its first director from 1975 until 1979.

Family

Jack is the father of

Craig Button Craig J. Button (born January 3, 1963) is currently a ice hockey analyst for TSN and a former National Hockey League (NHL) executive. Early life and hockey family Born in Rochester, New York, Button entered the world of hockey at birth. His fa ...

, a former executive with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

and

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, as well as a former pro scout with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. His other son Tod is the Flames' current director of scouting.

References

A to Z Hockey" Jack Button
{{DEFAULTSORT:Button, Jack 1940 births 1996 deaths American ice hockey coaches People from Rushville, New York Pittsburgh Penguins executives Washington Capitals executives Washington Capitals scouts Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.