The 34-year-old retired captain of the United States national team that won a gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics will work under new senior vice president, player development and performance Dr. Angus Mugford and with vice president, athletic care Chris Stackpole. She was named manager, player development May 29, 2021.
"In just one year, Meghan has already proven what a valuable asset she has been to our hockey operations department, instilling her work ethic and expertise into our player development staff," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "She will absolutely flourish with the new responsibilities in this role."
Duggan's previous role took her to Newark, New Jersey, the Ontario Hockey League and Utica of the American Hockey League to study prospects and help with their life cycle, and provide resources like skating and skills coaches, cognitive health and a sports psychologist catering to individual talents and needs. The Devils were 27-46-9 this season and have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in nine seasons, a five-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2018 Eastern Conference First Round. Their foundation is built around captain Nico Hischier and center Jack Hughes, the respective No. 1 picks in the 2017 NHL Draft and 2019 NHL Draft.
New Jersey also owns the No. 2 pick in the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8.
"When you think about development, as people and as players, there's a lot of different transformations and rediscovery and changes you have to make, and I learned a lot about how to do that in sport during that time period," Duggan
told NHL.com on March 27
. "We're focused on everything that goes into making an athlete, where you can get one percent better and how you can grow in every single area both on and off the ice. That's a period of time in my life that I draw from in my role with the Devils."
Duggan twice helped the United States win a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics before defeating Canada in 2018 to win gold. She is president of the Woman's Sports Foundation, a member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association and advocate for color, gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights, educating about diversifying leadership at the NHL and in hockey operations.
Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 10, the Vancouver Canucks named Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato as the second and third women assistant general managers in NHL history; Angela Gorgone was assistant to the GM of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 1996-97 season. Patrik Allvin was hired by the Canucks on Jan. 27 to make him the first Sweden-born GM in NHL history.
"We've come a long way," Duggan said. "Ten years ago, we were nowhere near this. I don't think there was any women in hockey operations. I would be remiss not to mention how far we have come, but I look forward to a day where it's not a huge news flash, where it's not a gender thing, where people are being hired because they're qualified and effective."
Mugford arrives from the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was vice president, high performance for seven years.
"Supporting the development of our players from the moment they join our organization and guiding their individual journeys to become successful NHL players is paramount," Fitzgerald said. "We have a young, evolving core in New Jersey, on the verge of taking another leap forward, and more exciting talent on the horizon. These moves continue our commitment to providing them all with best-in-class personnel, infrastructure, and resources on and off the ice."
