Stephane Quintal tabbed to head NHL's Department of Player Safety
Stephane Quintal has been tabbed to replace Brendan Shanahan as the NHL's chief disciplinarian and leader of the Department of Player Safety.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
Stephane Quintal has officially been named the NHL’s Senior Vice President of Player Safety. He takes over for Brendan Shanahan who left the post in April for a position with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Quintal has been acting as the senior VP since Shanahan departed.
More from the NHL’s announcement of Quintal’s promotion:
Following an extensive evaluation process that included interviews with many qualified candidates, it was determined that the goals and objectives of the Department of Player Safety would be served best under Quintal’s continued leadership.
“Stephane Quintal has been dedicated to the mission of the Department of Player Safety since its creation for the opening of the 2011-12 season and has demonstrated over the last several months that he is uniquely suited to lead the department going forward,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.“Brendan Shanahan established and built a highly-functioning and well-run department in his three years at its helm. Among his most important decisions was hiring Stephane Quintal to be part of his supervisory team.
“Tasked with running the department last spring during the most intensely-competitive and closely-scrutinized part of our season – the final regular-season weekend and the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs – Stephane proved that he clearly was up to the challenge. I am confident that he is the right man for the job.”
Quintal was one of Shanahan’s first additions to the Department of Player Safety in 2011. Though it's impossible for everyone to agree on the decisions the department makes, Quintal's experience should help maintain as much a level of consistency as is possible in that complicated job.
Quintal spent 16 seasons in the NHL and racked up 1,320 penalty minutes over his career, which included stints with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks.
