Nonis follows Burke to Leafs

Dave Nonis succeeded Brian Burke as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, then followed his mentor to the Anaheim Ducks.

Now he's followed Burke to Toronto.

Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Saturday that Nonis has been named senior vice-president of hockey operations of the team.

"David Nonis brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our hockey staff," said Burke. "We have successfully worked together in the past, and he has a deep understanding of contractual, legal and financial matters as well as scouting and roster management. He'll be an asset to our organization in several areas."

Nonis, 42, recently stepped down after a seven-month stint as the Ducks' senior adviser of hockey operations

Nonis joined the Canucks in 1998 as senior vice-president, director of hockey operations, after serving four seasons as the National Hockey League's manager of hockey operations. With the NHL, Nonis helped craft the 1994 Collective Bargaining Agreement and worked with the league's arbitration team, assisting clubs in preparing for arbitration, researching salaries and interpreting contract language.

In Vancouver, he worked under Burke for six years and became the Canucks' GM in 2004, when Burke left for Anaheim.

A native of Burnaby, B.C., Nonis played hockey for the University of Maine and he served as the Black Bears' captain for two seasons, leading the team to back-to-back NCAA championship tournaments and graduating in 1988. He played one season professionally in Denmark before returning to Maine in 1989 to serve on the coaching staff of his alma mater.

He earned his masters of business administration degree from Maine in 1990 before joining the Canucks staff that year working with corporate contracts, computer scouting and team services. Nonis became the Canucks' chief negotiator of player contracts and assumed responsibility for Vancouver's minor-league affiliate agreement with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

He directed all areas of the Canucks' hockey operations department before being tapped as the ninth, and youngest-ever, general manager of the club May 6, 2004.