Майкл О’Коннелл: Хоккейші, жаттықтырушы және бас менеджердің өмірі мен мансабы

American ice hockey player, coach and executive

Michael Thomas O'Connell (born November 25, 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey player and general manager who currently serves as the Director of Pro Development for the Los Angeles Kings. He played 860 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games between 1977 and 1990 and later served as the general manager of the Boston Bruins from 2000 until 2006. He is the son of former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Tommy O'Connell and brother of former World Hockey Association (WHA) player Tim O'Connell.

O'Connell was raised in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and grew up playing hockey and gridiron football at Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree. He moved to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League's Kingston Canadians as a teenager, following the recommendation of Boston Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden and was promptly named best OMJHL defenceman in 1974–75.

O'Connell was chosen in the second round, 43rd overall, by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft. His professional career for the Hawks began in the minors with the Central Professional Hockey League's Dallas Black Hawks in 1976–77. He became the first Chicago native to play for the Black Hawks in 1978, but most of his career was spent in his adopted home state of Massachusetts with the Boston Bruins, who obtained him in a trade for Al Secord in 1980. An excellent skater, O'Connell was a solid all around player, being both reliable in the defensive zone and consistently effective on offense, with a hard, accurate shot from the point. His best years were spent in Boston, helping to make up a defensive squad that included Brad Park and Ray Bourque. He played in the 1984 NHL All Star Game while with the Bruins, also representing the United States at the 1981 Canada Cup and 1985 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments. O'Connell finished his NHL career as a penalty killer and defensive specialist with the Detroit Red Wings in 1989, who had obtained him in a trade for Reed Larson in 1986. He also served as an alternate captain during his time with the Red Wings.

Following retirement as a player, O'Connell served as head coach of the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1990–91. Despite a losing record, Harry Sinden hired his protégé to coach the Bruins' top minor league affiliate, the Providence Bruins. O'Connell was then named the Bruins' assistant general manager in 1994, also becoming vice president of hockey operations in 1998 and alternate governor in 2000. The Bruins named O'Connell vice president and general manager on November 1, 2000, and he later signed a five year contract extension on June 21, 2002. He was however fired from the job on March 25, 2006 following a controversial number of player trades that did not work out well for the Bruins. Notably, O'Connell decided to trade high scoring center Joe Thornton. In 2003–04 season, under his direction, the Bruins finished first in the Northeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the NHL with 104 points. The NHL then locked out its players for the 2004–05 season and the Bruins lost five players previously acquired by O'Connell (Michael Nylander, Brian Rolston, Sean O'Donnell, Mike Knuble and Sergei Gonchar) to free agency. O'Connell blamed Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs for the decision to not re sign the free agents. In 2005, O'Connell traded Bruins star center Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks, receiving Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau in exchange. Thornton would ultimately win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion at the conclusion of the 2005–06 season. Many important players on the Bruins roster were drafted during O'Connell's tenure as general manager, including Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí, centerpieces of the team's Stanley Cup victory in 2011. O'Connell was the director of professional player development with the Los Angeles Kings. In this role he has won 2 Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. O'Connell was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers in August of 2021 as a senior advisor to the General Manager.

Team Year Regular Season Post SeasonWonLostTiedOTLWin %Finish Won Lost ResultBOS2002 033330.500 3rd in Northeast Division 1 4 Lost In First Round (NJD)Total3330.5000 DivisionChampionships 1 4 0 Stanley Cups

Regular season   Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1973–74Kingston CanadiensOHA Jr.7016435981————— 1974–75Kingston CanadiensOMJHL501855734781348 1975–76Dallas Black HawksCHL7063743501028108 1976–77Dallas Black HawksCHL631553683051450 1977–78Dallas Black HawksCHL62645517513111128 1977–78Chicago Black HawksNHL61122————— 1978–79New Brunswick HawksAHL355202521————— 1978–79Chicago Black HawksNHL48422262040004 1979–80Chicago Black HawksNHL78822305270110 1980–81Chicago Black HawksNHL345162132————— 1980–81Boston BruinsNHL481022324231342 1981–82Boston BruinsNHL8053540751122420 1982–83Boston BruinsNHL80143953421735812 1983–84Boston BruinsNHL751842604230000 1984–85Boston BruinsNHL781550656451560 1985–86Boston BruinsNHL638212947————— 1985–86Detroit Red WingsNHL1317816————— 1986–87Detroit Red WingsNHL7752631701614514 1987–88Detroit Red WingsNHL486131938100448 1988–89Detroit Red WingsNHL66115164160004 1989–90Detroit Red WingsNHL664141822————— NHL totals 860 105 335 440 605 82 8 24 32 64