| Born: | February 14, 1950 | Draft: | Undrafted |
| Hometown: | Toronto, ON | Position: | C |
| Known For: | Winningest GM in NHL history | Shoots: | Left |
| National Team: | USA/Canada | Current Team: | Nashville Predators (GM) |
David Poile (born February 14, 1950) is the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. He is the son of the former NHL hockey player, coach, and executive Bud Poile.
Poile was a successful hockey player at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, still holding the record for most career hat tricks with 11. While at Northeastern Poile was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. Poile began his career in the NHL as an Administrative Assistant with the then expansion Atlanta Flames in 1972. Five years after joining the Flames organization he was named as the assistant general manager.
Poile left the Flames to become the vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals. He served in that capacity for fifteen years. During his time in Washington, he was quite successful and the Capitals amassed a 594-454-124 record under his control.
After working in Washington, Poile took the position with the then-expansion Nashville Predators in 1997. He has proven to make many shrewd moves and has created a competitive team with a limited budget, and has been the team’s only general manager in the franchise’s history to date.
Poile served as general manager of the 1998 and 1999 U.S. National Team for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships. Poile also served as the general manager for the men’s hockey team at the 2014 Olympics, though he was unable to attend the games in Sochi due to a hit in the face with an errant puck during a Nashville Predators morning skate just days prior to his planned departure.[2] He has since not been able to see out of his right eye.
He was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 2001, making him and his father Norman ‘Bud’ Poile one of six father-son combinations to win the award. In 2017, he won the NHL’s General Manager of the Year award after the Predators reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.
On March 1, 2018, David Poile became the most successful general manager in NHL history, as the Nashville Predators defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2, giving him his 1,320th win as a general manager, surpassing Glen Sather who had won 1,319 games.
David Poile Statistics
Front Office History
- Atlanta Flames (Assistant General Manager) 1977-1980
- Calgary Flames (Assistant General Manager) 1980-1982
- Washington Capitals (General Manager/VP of Hockey Operations) 1982-1995
- Nashville Predators (General Manager/Ex VP of Hockey Operations) 1997-2007
- World Championship Team USA (Assistant General Manager) 2009, 2010, 2013
- Winter Olympics Team USA (Assistant General Manager) 2010
- Winter Olympics Team USA (General Manager) 2014
- Nashville Predators (General Manager/President of Hockey Operations) 2007-present
Deeper Dive
- Nashville Predators | Revisiting David Poile’s Drafts – 2013
- Nashville Predators | Revisiting David Poile’s Drafts – 2012
- Nashville Predators | Revisiting David Poile’s 2011 Draft
- Nashville Predators Rewind: Revisiting David Poile’s 2010 Draft
- Nashville Predators | Revisiting David Poile’s Drafts – 2002
- Nashville Predators | Revisiting David Poile’s Drafts – 1999
- Nashville Predators | Revisiting David Poile’s Drafts – 2008
- Path to 1,320 Wins for Predators’ Poile
Achievements
- NHL Contribution to U.S. Hockey (Lester Patrick Trophy) (2001)
- Olympic Silver Medal (2010)
- World Championship Bronze Medal (2013)
- NHL General Manager of the Year (2017)
- United States Hockey Hall of Fame | Builder (2019)