Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks began to craft the future of the team’s front office on Wednesday, bringing back former team executive Norm Maciver as the new Associate General Manager for the franchise.
Welcome back Norm! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GmIt0vwuVW
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 9, 2022
Maciver served as Chicago’s assistant general manager for eight seasons in addition to holding roles including Director of Player Personnel and Director of Player Development during his 14-year tenure with the Hawks from 2006 to 2020.
Maciver departed from the Blackhawks to accept the Director of Player Personnel role with the expansion Seattle Kraken, which he began on Jan. 5, 2021.
Maciver will report directly to Davidson, and Davidson is excited to have Maciver back in the fold in Chicago.
“I think it is important in this new hockey operations department to balance really strong knowledge in hockey with new and innovative thinking,” Davidson said in a press release. “Norm brings that institutional knowledge and is one of the best talent evaluators in the business—pushing the boundaries on new methods and techniques that we need here at the Blackhawks. Norm has been a big help to me throughout my career personally, but he also isn’t afraid to share his opinion and that is something that I respect most about him. He’s a great first step in building this out.”
According to Davidson, Maciver will oversee the entire Blackhawks scouting operation, which includes having scouts in six countries, 12 states and six Canadian provinces for a total of 10 professional scouts and 13 amateur scouts.
“Kyle and I have a great relationship and I believe in his vision for the team and the future of our hockey operations department,” Maciver said in the release. “I’m thankful to the Blackhawks for this opportunity and I’m anxious to get back to work in a place that has become home. In addition, I would like to thank Ron Francis and the Seattle organization for allowing me to be a part of the Kraken inaugural season.”
Prior to his front office experience, Maciver enjoyed a successful 12-year NHL playing career that saw him play in a total of 501 games before spending five years as a coach, starting as an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for three years and then two seasons as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins.