NHL community plagued with tragic passing of former hockey legend

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Joshua Deeds
August 14, 2024 (7:31 PM)

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The NHL made a major announcement as a former Quebec Nordiques GM of 11 seasons has passed away.

Gilles Leger, at age 83 has passed away , and spent 11 seasons with the Quebec Nordiques as GM.

Prior to his arrival in the WHA he spent 5 years with St. Francis University as head coach from 1967-1972. He would make stops in Ottawa and Toronto, before heading to Birmingham in 1976-1979.

His first NHL role would be with the Nordiques overseeing player development, before taking over as GM in 1984 to 1995.

He would later finish his professional career, as a scout for the Edmonton Oilers from 1998-2000, and ending it in New York, as a scout from 2000-2020.

Leger is most famous for scouting the Stastny brothers from Slovakia and building the Stastny line in the WHA, after a 3 year trek to sign them.

After Gilles Lèger scouted them in 1976, he began a three-year effort to obtain the Stastny brothers for the WHA. When Lèger was hired as the Nordiques director of player development in 1979, Aubut entrusted him with «The European Project,» signing the Stastny line. They drafted the youngest, Anton, in the fourth round that year.

Source: The Pink Puck
This Day in Hockey History - August 24, 1980 - Slovakian Stastny Siblings