NHL officially names former defenceman Stephane Quintal head of player safety

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Former NHL defenceman Stephane Quintal is the NHL’s new senior vice-president of player safety.

He’s been doing the job on an interim basis since Brendan Shanahan left the position in April to become president of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The league says it interviewed many qualified candidates but determined the player safety department 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,” commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “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.”

Bettman said Quintal proved himself during last season’s playoffs.

“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,” said Bettman. “I am confident that he is the right man for the job.”

During his 16 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, Quintal recorded 63 goals and 180 assists with 1,320 penalty minutes in 1,037 career games.