NJ Devils Promote Team's First Female Assistant General Manager

NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Devils hockey franchise celebrated a milestone promotion on Wednesday, naming Kate Madigan at its new assistant general manager.

Madigan – the sixth female assistant general manager in NHL history – is the first woman to hold the position with the Devils. She is part of a wave of female assistant general managers who were promoted this offseason in the NHL, including Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato (Vancouver Canucks), Meghan Hunter (Chicago Blackhawks) and Hayley Wickenheiser (Toronto Maple Leafs).

Before this year, just one woman had served as assistant general manager in NHL history, ESPN.com reported: Angela Gorgone with the Ahaheim Ducks in 1996-97.

“I am extremely honored to take this next step in my professional career,” Madigan said.

“I look forward to working with this group to make the New Jersey Devils better, each day, and bring back the consistent success our fans expect and deserve,” Madigan said. “I'm excited for the future of this team not only now, but for what it will be.”

Watch Madigan speak about her new job here.

Devils' Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald said Madigan is “an incredibly valuable resource to not only me, but to our entire hockey operations leadership staff.”

“This promotion is reflective of the duties and responsibilities that Kate has assumed within our organization during that time,” Fitzgerald said. “Her diligence, work ethic, attention to detail, ability to communicate with all staff, strategy and vision are qualities that I look for in our leadership.”

The Devils offered some background about the qualifications that earned Madigan the coveted position:

“Madigan is promoted from her role as Executive Director, Hockey Management/Operations, which she was in since the fall of 2020. She previously served as Assistant, Player Information/Video from 2017-19, and was Director of Pro Scouting Operations for two seasons (2019-20 and 2020-21). Previously, Madigan oversaw the scheduling and reports for the pro scouting staff, while working with the coaches, management, and video staff throughout the year. She orchestrated the logistics regarding the 2020 and 2021 NHL Draft and the Devils Draft Command Center in the Prudential Center including communicating with building operations, information technology, medical staffs, scouts, management, media relations and the NHL. Madigan holds a master's in accounting and a bachelor's in business administration from Northeastern University. She has lent her time to events for Women's Sports Foundation and Women in Sports & Events (WISE). She recently completed a TEDxBoston talk on her work in the Devils front office, titled: ‘In the Sports Management Suite, The Present is Female.’”

Some Devils fans questioned the move on social media:

• “Let me be the first misogynist here to say virtue signaling by promoting a woman will get us no closer to a playoff birth [sic] or a cup for that matter. But thank God we are woke otherwise our fan base would be so offended.”
• “If it helps us become competitive great, otherwise just a woke move.”
• “The Devil’s check every box except the one for being a competitive hockey team.”

But many other fans supported Madigan’s promotion – and called out their peers for their comments. Seen online:

• “Some of y’all are f****** ridiculous. This lady has a ton of accolades from her hockey playing days, she grew up around hockey from a young age because her dad was involved in hockey and scouting, and her degrees are in business and business management. She has the qualifications to do the job, this isn’t just a woke hire like a bunch of you braindeads are crying about.”
• “These comments do not pass the vibe check. You know there are female coaches in the NFL who have won the Super Bowl. Some of you are seriously misogynistic.”
• “Sometimes you ‘fans’ are a real embarrassment and make hockey worse.”

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