Shark Tale: Ryane Clowe’s homecoming to San Jose

Credit: © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Marleau. Evgeni Nabokov. Joe Pavelski. Joe Thornton.

Typically, these are the names you think of when envisioning the teal jerseys of the San Jose Sharks – and with good reason. All four are arguable hall of famers. Marleau’s number already hangs from the rafters of the SAP Center, and Thornton’s will head there in a couple weeks. But when you think of players synonymous with the Sharks, it’s hard not to have Ryane Clowe come to mind as well.

A sixth-round selection in the 2001 NHL Draft, Clowe arrived in the NHL with the Sharks following the 2005 lockout. Spending parts of eight seasons with the Sharks, Clowe became an integral part of a group that became one of the premier teams in the NHL during the late 2000s. With three consecutive 50 point-plus seasons between 2008 and 2011 – including his career best year in 2010-11, tallying 24 goals and 62 points – Clowe evolved into one of the more renowned power forwards in the early 2010s.

After being traded to the New York Rangers in 2012-13, Clowe would sign a five-year contract as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils that same summer. Injuries forced Clowe into an early retirement. He ultimately played just 56 regular season games with the Devils over two seasons, the last of which came in 2014-15.

Following retirement, Clowe sat down with then New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello about transitioning into an off-ice role. Clowe remained with the Devils even with the regime change to Ray Shero as GM, where he was given an opportunity to do pro scouting, spend time in the AHL with the Albany Devils and get time behind the bench at the NHL level as an assistant coach.

Spending a few years coaching under coach John Hynes in New Jersey, Clowe stepped away and moved to Florida. Coaching wasn’t something that was conducive with raising a young family, which is what prompted the career shift after a good few years in his post playing career.

After a few years away from the game, Clowe was hired by the Rangers and president of hockey operations and GM Chris Drury in 2022. As an advisor who reported directly to Drury, whom Clowe spent time as a player with during his brief stint with the Rangers, this is where the ball got rolling in a management capacity.

“I would go in a couple of times a month, spend time with the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL,” Clowe told Daily Faceoff. “Did some pro scouting, got to know the league and players on the pro side. I built a strong relationship with Chris Drury during my three years there. Chris and his staff were fantastic to work for.”

After getting a call from Sharks GM Mike Grier this past summer, Clowe made his return to the organization where it all started. He got an elevation in role, now holding the assistant GM title working under Grier, with whom he spent significant time playing with during both their days with the Sharks as players. Clowe’s day-to-day responsibilities as AGM include roster evaluation, forecasting roster construction and working with fellow AGM Joe Will to run the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL.

Touching a lot of different areas post retiring, Clowe knew he always wanted to transition to an off-ice role in some capacity; he wanted to stay in hockey. Ultimately ending up in a managerial role, it was a lifestyle choice that evolved into a passion.

“I leaned towards management initially because of my family responsibility,” said Clowe. “But once I got into it, I really started to enjoy it. The responsibility of building a team and player evaluation was something that intrigued me. Build a standard and culture of an organization; from a leadership standpoint it was intriguing.

“It’s something I’ve dug into and I’ve worked at.”

Having previously done scouting and coaching, the responsibilities have changed for Clowe now as an AGM. As opposed to coaching, where a lot of responsibilities are day to day, management requires a lot of foresight in where you want to go organizationally. Especially for a team like the Sharks in the midst of a rebuild, being able to look at the big picture and keep a long-term outlook is where Clowe’s new role differs from his past ones. With it being his first year in San Jose as AGM, Clowe is also learning the players of the organization.

As a younger executive at 42 years old and just getting his feet wet as an AGM, Clowe is joining a front office that is, relatively speaking, still in the early stages of its tenure. Led by Grier, who is entering his third season as GM of the Sharks, joining a new look front office steering the ship of a rebuild is exciting.

“Mike has done a great job putting a really good staff together; he’s very inclusive and values everyone’s opinions,” said Clowe. “I had prior relationships with AGMs Tom Holy and Joe Will; they were here when I was playing. There hasn’t been a challenge from that standpoint.

“It has been a seamless transition so far.”

The last time Clowe was a member of the Sharks, it was an organization knocking on the door of a Stanley Cup. He himself was a part of the team that went to several Western Conference finals, while the Sharks made a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2016 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins in a losing capacity.

Since the turn of the decade, the Sharks have, for the first time in nearly two decades, had to recalibrate their approach. Embarking on what figures to be a multi-year rebuild that will bring a lot of pain and suffering, restoring the Sharks to the organization’s past greatness from 10 to 15 years ago is something that Clowe, a player synonymous with the team, relishes being a part of.

“I take extra pride and responsibility being a part of rebuilding the Sharks,” said Clowe. “Mike is in his third year and he has started that process. He’s drafted some good players, moved out some contracts and brought back quality assets already. They’ve gotten a head start on that; I’m just going to come in and do my part. For me, the player evaluation part and bringing in players that will fit long term is exciting.

“It’s very exciting to join this, maybe not necessarily from the ground up, but still in the building phase.”

Clowe has touched many different aspects of hockey since wrapping up his post playing career, but management is clearly his niche. After 491 NHL games of experience, Clowe was involved with the AHL champion Wolf Pack team last season, already enjoying professional management success he can take with him to San Jose.

In somewhat of a homecoming, it makes all the sense for Clowe to be back in teal. A return to the Bay Area to restore the team that drafted him is somewhat of a fairy tale – or one may say, a shark tale.

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Shark Tale: Ryane Clowe’s homecoming to San Jose

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