John Ferguson Jr.

John Ferguson Jr. (born July 7, 1967) is the current assistant general manager for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ferguson previously served as the director of player personnel for the Boston Bruins and the general manager of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Ferguson previously was the vice president and general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2003 to 2008.

Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, the team with which his father had played every one of his NHL games, in the 12th round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, Ferguson played four professional seasons at the American Hockey League (AHL) level with the Canadiens and Senators organizations. He was alternate captain of the 1992 Fredericton Canadiens that won the AHL regular season championship. Ferguson was named the team's "unsung hero" in consecutive years (1991, 1992).

He played his college hockey at Providence College, where he served as an assistant captain, was an Academic All-American and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in business administration in 1989.

Ferguson was a player agent responsible for negotiating player contracts, product endorsements and player recruitment. From 1993 to 1996 he was a member of the Ottawa Senators scouting staff as an amateur and professional scout. During that time he also spent the summers of 1994 and 1995 at the NHL office in the hockey operations and legal departments.

Following his professional hockey career, he graduated cum laude with the degree of juris doctor from the Suffolk University Law School and was admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar in 1996.

Ferguson served as vice president and director of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues, and before that he was assistant general manager for the club for five seasons. In that role he evaluated players at the professional and amateur level and negotiated player contracts. Ferguson was also the president and general manager of the Worcester IceCats and was influential in the negotiation and acquisition of the Blues' top minor league affiliate. He is a former chairman of the AHL's Competition Committee and also served on the league's Legal Affairs Committee.

On August 29, 2003, at the age of 36, Ferguson became the 12th general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He succeeded Pat Quinn, who retained his duties as head coach after serving in a dual capacity for the previous four seasons. Leafs President Ken Dryden was given a seat on MLSE's board of directors and shuffled to the post of Vice-Chairman, where he was no longer in the Leafs management reporting hierarchy.

During the 2005–06 season, the first after lockout, the Leafs narrowly missed the postseason. Quinn took the blame from the MLSE front office for the team's failure to make the playoffs and was let go as head coach. Quinn's firing upset some longtime Leaf fans, with many calling for the firing of Ferguson himself. The Leafs had finished the season 9-1-2 despite season-ending injuries to Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Alex Khavanov and Ed Belfour, with TSN criticising Ferguson for signing these players. Many of the young players, who were key contributors to the Leaf's late-season run for a playoff spot, were drafted by Quinn prior to Ferguson's arrival.