Official site of the Grand Rapids Griffins: Front Office 2

Bob McNamara

General Manager

Biography:

Bob McNamara embarks upon his 14th season as the Griffins’ general manager, having constructed teams that have posted aggregate records of 557-375-118 (0.587) during the regular season and 45-47 (0.489) during the playoffs. Over the last 10 regular seasons, the Griffins have earned a pair of regular season championships – including the AHL’s 2005-06 Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, when they posted the best record in Grand Rapids pro hockey history at 55-20-1-4 – while accumulating the most division titles (five) and second-most wins (445) and points (975) of any Triple-A hockey team.

After presiding over the Griffins’ successful three-year affiliation with the Ottawa Senators (1999-2002), McNamara, 48, served as a key architect of the team’s original five-year affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings, as well as the extension that runs through the 2011-12 season.

Since the Griffins’ inaugural 1996-97 campaign, McNamara’s teams have helped establish the franchise’s reputation for excellence both on and off the ice. After being named Grand Rapids’ director of hockey operations on Jan. 26, 1996, he forged a fledgling International Hockey League club that won 40 games and came within one playoff victory of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, all without the benefit of an expansion draft. For his efforts that season, McNamara was recognized by his peers as the first recipient of the IHL’s General Manager of the Year award.

In 1999-2000, the Griffins finished first in the IHL’s Eastern Conference and earned a berth in the Turner Cup Finals, before claiming the IHL’s final regular season title in 2000-01.

During their first AHL campaign, the Griffins won the inaugural Bud Poile Trophy as 2001-02 champions of the West Division. They won another title as members of the Central Division in 2002-03, posting the best record (48-22-8-2) in the Western Conference and falling one win short of the Calder Cup Finals. Grand Rapids claimed its third AHL division crown in 2005-06, finishing atop the North Division.

McNamara has shown an extraordinary eye for coaching talent, as two head coaches he hired - Bruce Cassidy in 2000 and Guy Charron in 1998 - won league Coach of the Year awards during their second seasons in Grand Rapids before moving on to the NHL. In 2008 he hired Curt Fraser, who led the Griffins to their first-ever postseason upset during the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs.

McNamara came to the Griffins after a four-year stint in Cleveland, where he served as the IHL Lumberjacks’ assistant GM and added to the experience he had gained as both a player and an assistant coach. McNamara even took a turn behind the Griffins’ bench in 1997-98, guiding the team to a 8-6-6 mark and a playoff berth while serving as head coach during the regular season’s final 20 games.

A native of Toronto, McNamara earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame in 1983. While in South Bend, he demonstrated that athletic prowess and academic success are not mutually exclusive, as he was the starting goaltender for the Fighting Irish hockey squad for four seasons.

Upon graduation, McNamara signed with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and spent three seasons with their AHL affiliate in Rochester. He moved to the IHL in 1986, logging two seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals, the second one as a player/assistant coach.

The McNamara name is well known in hockey circles. Bob’s father, Gerry, was the general manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs from 1982-87, while his brother, Dave, is a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition, his late uncle, Hal, was a defenseman for the IHL’s Grand Rapids Rockets during 1951-52 and served as an off-ice official during the Griffins’ first two seasons.

McNamara and his wife, Kathy, are the parents of sons Daniel and Jake, and daughter Alix.