The Blues have named Kevin Maxwell, a longtime NHL scout, as the general manager of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, and a pro scout.
Maxwell succeeds Kevin McDonald, who left to become an assistant general manager with the Colorado Avalanche.
Maxwell, 62, most recently was with the New York Rangers for 14 years, the final 10 as director of professional scouting. He started his front-office career with the Philadelphia Flyers as a scout in 1988 (the team had a young forward at the time named Craig Berube) and after three seasons moved to the Hartford Whalers, where his jobs included director of scouting and director of player personnel. From there he spent 10 years with the New York Islanders and then two with the Dallas Stars as a scout before joining the Rangers.
That all came after an eight-season pro career as a player, spent mostly in the minors. A forward, he was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota North Stars in 1979, was traded to the Colorado Rockies and then moved with the team to New Jersey for another season. In all, he appeared in 66 NHL games and 390 AHL regular-season games.
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McDonald, who had been with the Blues since 2001, and Springfield played a key role in the Blues’ success last season. The team had to feed a steady stream of players to the NHL because of injuries and positive COVID tests. Many of those players who came to the NHL played significant roles for the Blues, while McDonald kept a winning team on the ice in the AHL.
Springfield reached the Calder Cup final before losing to Chicago.
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