NEW YORK -- The NHL has decided to keep Stephane Quintal in his role as the league's senior vice president of player safety, dropping the interim tag for the former defenseman.
Quintal replaced Brendan Shanahan when he left the position in April to become president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The league says Monday that it interviewed many qualified candidates and decided the player safety department would be "served best under Quintal's continued leadership."
Commissioner Gary Bettman says Quintal "has demonstrated over the last several months that he is uniquely suited to lead the department going forward."
Quintal played 16 seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, He had 1,320 penalty minutes in 1,037 career games.