Today the New York Rangers announced that they have hired John Lilley to be their Director of Amateur Scouting & Director of Player Personnel.

John Lilley Named Dir. of Player Personnel & Dir. of Amateur Scouting

Lilley has worked in the Toronto Maple Leafs Scouting department since 2006, four years after his playing career ended with the WCHL Long Beach Ice Dogs, which included 33 games with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Lilley worked his way up from amateur scout to being in charge of all US scouting for the Maple Leafs, and after the front office was reorganized following Mark Hunters departure, Lilley become Director of Amateur Scouting.

Leafs promote from within, naming John Lilley Director of Amateur Scouting

Lilley had had a big say with Dubas and Shanahan about the past four drafts and we can cheer him for Nick Robertson and Rasmus Sandin, and hopefully more gems will be revealed from his reign as head scout.

You can see his Q&A on his final Leafs draft below:

The Maple Leafs currently have not made an announcement about his departure or successor.

Tim Speltz is currently the Head Amateur Scout, and has been with the Leafs since 2016. He previously held the position of GM of the WHL Spokane Chiefs for 26 years.

Ari Vuori is the head of European Scouting, and joined the Leafs one year earlier in 2015, and has worked in NHL Scouting since 1996.

Either could be possible contenders for the top amateur spot or the Leafs could bring in someone from outside the organization.