Assistant GM Jeff Kealty departs Predators to pursue position with Sharks

The Nashville Predators have lost one of their longest tenured staff members as Assistant General Manager Jeff Kealty has left the organization to pursue a similar role with the San Jose Sharks.

Kealty, who's been with the Predators since 2001, will serve as the third AGM on staff, joining Joe Will and Ryanne Clowe. He will oversee the Sharks' professional scouting staff and support General Manager Mike Grier in Hockey Operations.

"On behalf of the Predators organization, I want to thank Jeff Kealty for his 25 years of contributions to our franchise, including the last eight as assistant general manager," Predators President of Hockey Operations and GM Chris MacFarland said in a statement posted on X.

"Jeff made a considerable impact on the Predators, spending countless hours traveling the world to find the next talented player or fan favorite to add to our roster, either at the draft, in a trade or through free agency."

In his 24-season tenure with the Predators, Kealty helped add some of their franchise cornerstones like Filip Forsberg and Juuse Saros. Since his promotion to Director of Scouting in the 2018-19 season, he been responsible for 13 first round selections including, but not limited to, Matthew Wood, Fedor Svechkov, Brady Martin, and Wyatt Cullen, as well as Luke Evangelista and Ryan Ufko in the later rounds.

His departure follows the arrival of new faces in the Predators front office including AGM Vukie Mpofu and Assistants to the General Manager Jamie Langenbrunner and Dawson Sprigings. Kealty's absence will certainly be felt, but it'll only be a matter of time before the new wave takes the reins.

Thanks to Kealty, Nashville has constructed one of the best prospect pools in the league and a promising future to go along with it. In San Jose, he'll help to continue to add more top talent to arguably the league's best player pool.

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This article was originally published on predlines.com as Assistant GM Jeff Kealty departs Predators to pursue position with Sharks.