Mike O ' Connell Michael Thomas O ' Connell ( November 25 , 1955 , in Chicago , Illinois ) is Director of Pro Development for the Los Angeles Kings . O ' Connell was also a former professional player and general manager . He played 860 NHL regular season games between 1977 and 1990 and later served as the general manager of the Boston Bruins from 2000 until 2006 . He is the son of former National Football League quarterback Tommy O ' Connell and brother of former World Hockey Association player Tim O ' Connell . Playing career . Amateur . O ' Connell was raised in Cohasset , Massachusetts and grew up playing hockey and football at Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree He moved to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League Kingston Canadians as a teenager following the recommendation of Bruins GM Harry Sinden and was promptly named best OMJHL defenceman in 1974 – 75 . Professional . Mike O ' Connell was chosen with the 43rd pick overall by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft . His professional career for the Hawks began in the minors with the CHL Dallas Black Hawks in 1976 – 77 . He became the first Chicago native to play for the Chicago Black Hawks in 1978 , but most of his career was spent in his adopted home state of Massachusetts with the Bruins , who obtained him in a trade for Al Secord in 1980 . An excellent skater , O ' Connell was a solid all - around player , being both reliable in the defensive zone and consistently effective on offense , with a hard , accurate shot from the point . His best years were spent in Boston , helping to make up an impressive defensive squad that included Brad Park and Ray Bourque . He played in the 1984 NHL All - Star Game while with the Bruins and also represented the United States at the 1981 Canada Cup and 1985 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments . O ' Connell finished his NHL career as a penalty killer and defensive specialist with the Detroit Red Wings in 1989 , who had obtained him in a trade for Reed Larson in 1986 . Management career . Following retirement as a player , O ' Connell served as head coach of the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League in 1990 – 91 before rejoining the Bruins organisation . He coached the Bruins ' top farm team the Providence Bruins between 1992 and 1994 . He was named Boston assistant general manager in 1994 , also became vice president of hockey operations in 1998 , and alternate governor in 2000 . The Bruins named O ' Connell vice president and general manager on November 1 , 2000 , and signed a five - year contract extension on June 21 , 2002 . He was however fired from the job on March 25 , 2006 following a controversial number of player trades that did not work out well for the Bruins . Notably , O ' Connell took part in the decision that allowed high - scoring center Adam Oates to leave the team . In 2003 - 2004 season , under his direction , the Bruins finished 1st in the Northeast Division , 2nd in the Eastern Conference , and 4th overall in the NHL with 104 points . The NHL locked out the players for the 2004 - 05 season and the Bruins lost five players previously acquired by O ' Connell ( Michael Nylander , Brian Rolston , Sean O ' Donnell , Mike Knuble and Sergei Gonchar ) to free agency . Many blame the owners of the Bruins for the decision to not re - sign the free agents . In 2005 , he traded away top center Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks . The Bruins received players Brad Stuart , Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau ; Thornton went on with the San Jose Sharks to win the Hart Trophy as the league ' s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion . In trading Thornton , however , Boston freed up the necessary cap space to sign or re - sign free agents such as Zdeno Chára , Andrew Ference , Chuck Kobasew and Marco Sturm . He was replaced in his position as general manager by Peter Chiarelli . Many important players on the Bruins roster are products of O ' Connell ' s drafting , including Patrice Bergeron , Mark Stuart , P . J . Axelsson , David Krejci . O ' Connell is currently Director of Pro Player development with the Los Angeles Kings .