Predators Media Guide - Nashville Predators - NHL.com

Management & StaffManagementpaul fenton ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGERPaul Fenton is now inhis 12th season withthe Predators and hisfourth as assistantgeneral manager. Afterserving as the directorof player personnelfor the Predators’first eight seasons,Fenton was promotedto assistant generalmanager on June 5,2006.Fenton oversees thePredators’ amateurplayer development, manages the team’s professionaland amateur scouting staffs and advises GeneralManager David Poile on all player trades and signings.He has been in charge of all player acquisitionssince joining the Predators, and managed the club’sEntry Draft efforts from 2003-07. Fenton alsoserves as general manager of the Predators’ primarydevelopmental affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals ofthe American Hockey League.Fenton joined the Predators after spending fiveseasons in the Anaheim Ducks’ hockey operationsdepartment. He served as a scout during his firstthree seasons with the Ducks and as the chiefprofessional scout the last two years. A numberof players drafted during Fenton’s run with theDucks – such as Paul Kariya, Steve Rucchin, RuslanSalei and Mike LeClerc – led Anaheim to the 2003Stanley Cup Finals. The Springfield, Mass., nativealso helped facilitate one of the Anaheim franchise’slargest trades, the February 1996 acquisition ofTeemu Selanne.Fenton played eight seasons in the NHL beforejoining the scouting ranks. He amassed 100 goalsand 83 assists in 411 NHL contests while playingfor seven different NHL teams, including San Joseduring the Sharks’ inaugural season (1991-92). In1989-90, the former Boston University Terrier scoredan NHL career-high 32 goals for the Winnipeg Jets,and his impressive playing resume also includesthree selections to AHL and IHL All-Star teams.Paul and his wife, Nona have two sons, P.J. andOwen. P.J. was the San Jose Sharks’ sixth selection,162nd overall (fifth round), in the 2005 NHL EntryDraft and in 2008-09, he played in 52 games withSan Jose’s AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks.Michael santos DIRECTOR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONSMichael Santosenters his fourthseason as directorof hockey operationsin Nashville with 21years of experience inthe hockey industry.His responsibilitiesinclude negotiatingplayer contracts, salaryarbitration preparationand research, andnegotiating andoverseeing minor leagueaffiliation agreementswith the MilwaukeeAdmirals and Cincinnati Cyclones. He is also involvedwith fiscal and strategic planning, evaluating proplayers and managing the club’s payroll, salary capand compliance with the CBA as well as the day-to-daybusiness operations of the hockey department.Santos began his career with the NHL’s New Yorkoffice in 1988 before working for the AHL’s NewHaven Nighthawks from 1989-91. He returned to theNHL and spent six seasons as the league’s managerof special events, establishing both the SuperSkillsand Heroes of Hockey programs, in addition tooverseeing arena operations for All-Star Weekend,the Entry Draft and the Stanley Cup Finals.Santos went to work for the New York Islanders in1997 and became assistant general manager anddirector of hockey operations before leaving andbecoming director of hockey operations and corporatecounsel for the Florida Panthers in 2002. He wasnamed commissioner and president of the NorthAmerican Hockey League in 2003 and led the Junior“A” league through three seasons of unprecedentedgrowth before arriving in Nashville.Born in Boston and a native of Lowell, Mass., Santosis a 1986 graduate of Boston College. He receivedhis Master’s Degree from the United States SportsAcademy in 1989, earned his Juris Doctorate fromSt. John’s University School of Law in 1998, hasbeen a member of the New York state bar since1999 and serves on USA Hockey’s junior and legalcouncils.nashvillepredators.com 11