The San Jose Sharks announced Friday that general manager Doug Wilson will be taking a temporary medical leave from his day-to-day activities.
Assistant GM Joe Will will handle the team’s day-to-day operations in the interim. Wilson has been the Sharks GM since May 13, 2003, making him the second-longest tenured GM in the league.
During his time as GM, the Sharks have won one Presidents’ Trophy (2009), appeared once in the Stanley Cup Finals appearance (2016) and made 14 playoff appearances.
Wilson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame earlier this month.
When Wilson received his Hockey Hall of Game induction call from chair Lanny McDonald, he replied: “I’m not even a Hall of Famer in my house. It’s my wife.”
Wilson continued that theme from the dais during his induction Nov. 15 in Toronto, looking at wife Kathy, surrounded by some of their six grandchildren (a seventh is on the way), and calling her the heartbeat of a swelling family.
“This weekend is more about you than anyone else,” Doug said.
Wilson — the 1982 Norris winner and most prolific blue-line scorer the Chicago Blackhawks have produced – remembered the people who helped him but could not be at the induction ceremony: mentor Tony Esposito, first roommate Stan Mikita, and his father.
Growing up in Ottawa, Wilson’s parents encouraged him to play all sports and “find the one that you love.”
–With files from Luke Fox
[relatedlinks]
