Newark, NJ – The New Jersey Devils named their first female assistant general manager, making Kate Madigan the sixth woman to hold that title in the NHL.
General Manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the promotion on Wednesday, the day before the NHL draft.
“Kate has been an incredibly valuable resource not only to me, but to my entire hockey operations leadership team, especially over the past three years, as part of key hockey decisions,” Fitzgerald said. “This promotion reflects the duties and responsibilities that Kate assumed within our organization during that time.
“Her diligence, work ethic, attention to detail, ability to communicate with all employees, strategy and vision are qualities I look for in our leadership,” he added.
The NHL has seen several women promoted to assistant general manager in the past month, with Hayley Wickenheiser getting the job in Toronto this week and Meghan Hunter being promoted in Chicago last month.
The Vancouver Canucks has two women serving as Assistant General Managers, Emily Castongway and Cammy Granato. Angela Gorgon was the first woman to hold the title in the NHL in 1996.
Madigan was serving as the team’s executive director for hockey management/operations. The 30-year-old also worked for two years in the video/player information operation before being promoted to Professional Scout Operations Manager in 2021. During the pandemic, her work in administration/operations overlapped with her role in Scouting.
She described the promotion as an exciting opportunity.
“I look forward to working with this group to make the New Jersey Devils better, every day, and bring back the continued success our fans have come to expect and deserve,” she said. “I’m excited about the future of this team, not just now, but what it will be like.”
Madigan will work as part of the small group that Fitzgerald will rely on for key input, strategy and decision-making, which includes roster building at the professional and amateur level, transactions, hockey staff decisions, team operations, facilities management, budgeting, and as part of the team management travel event.
Madigan holds a master’s degree in accounting and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northeastern University. She worked for two years as an accountant at Deloitte before changing her profession.
