SAN JOSE – Ryane Clowe announced Sunday that he has resigned from his job as the San Jose Sharks’ assistant general manager after just one season.
Clowe, 42, did not give a specific reason for stepping down, but said in a statement released by the Sharks that the decision was best for his family.
“Recently, I had to make the extremely difficult decision to resign from my position as assistant general manager with the San Jose Sharks,” Clowe’s statement said. “I truly loved being back in San Jose and working with (general manager) Mike Grier and his entire team, but at this point, this decision is in the best interest of my family.
“The franchise has an exciting future ahead and is set up to be successful for a long period of time, and I am grateful to Mike and (team president) Jonathan Becher for giving me the opportunity to return to San Jose.”
Clowe’s decision comes just over a year after he left his job as a senior advisor to New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury to join Grier, his former teammate in San Jose, in the Sharks’ front office.
Clowe’s duties included working with the Sharks’ scouting and development staffs, Grier and fellow Sharks assistant general managers Tom Holy and Joe Will, helping to oversee all aspects of the Sharks’ hockey operations department.
“I was part of a great organization, a great team that (just finished) making a run in the playoffs,” Clowe said in July 2024 of his time with the Rangers. “Once I spoke with Mike, and (we) went through it, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down.”
It was not immediately clear if the Sharks would move to hire a replacement for Clowe. San Jose’s training camp begins in less than two weeks, with the team’s regular season starting on Oct. 9 at home.
Will, who is entering his 15th season as a Sharks assistant GM and is in his 13th year as the Barracuda’s top hockey executive, works closely with Grier on all daily departmental functions. Holy is in his fourth year as an assistant GM and oversees the Sharks’ analytics department, staff budgeting, and contracts.
Clowe was drafted by the Sharks in 2001 and over eight years became one of the team’s most popular players. In 423 regular-season games with the Sharks from 2005 to 2013, Clowe had 271 points and 567 penalty minutes. He also had 45 points in 68 playoff games with the Sharks, helping the team advance to the Western Conference final in 2010 and 2011.
Clowe was traded to the New York Rangers in April 2023, and later that year, as an unrestricted free agent, Clowe signed a five-year, $24.25 million contract with the New Jersey Devils. Concussions, though, prematurely ended Clowe’s playing career during the 2014-15 season.
At that time, though, Clowe was given an opportunity by then Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello to be around the team’s front office. That duty continued when Ray Shero took over as the Devils’ GM in May 2015.
Clowe worked as an assistant coach on John Hynes’ staff with the Devils from 2016 to 2018 before he became the head coach of the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers. Clowe, a St. John’s, Newfoundland native, had to step down midway through the 2018-2019 season due to concussion-related issues.
Clowe was hired by the Rangers during the 2021-2022 season as a hockey operations advisor and was promoted to senior adviser for Drury in Aug. 2023.
Originally Published: September 7, 2025 at 10:22 AM PDT