Julien Brisebois

Julien Brisebois was named the eighth general manager in franchise history on September 11, 2018 and is beginning his fourth season in that capacity. BriseBois became the Lightning's second general manager to bring the Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay in 2020 and followed up with another Stanley Cup Championship in 2021, making the Lightning just the second team since the turn of the century to capture back-to-back Cups. He is responsible for all Lightning hockey operations, including the coaching and scouting staffs, player procurement and development, as well as minor league affiliations and operations. Also serving as alternate governor, he reports directly to chairman and governor Jeff Vinik.

Tampa Bay won its third Stanley Cup in franchise history and second in two seasons in 2020-21, despite missing superstar forward Nikita Kucherov for the entire regular season due to offseason hip surgery. BriseBois expertly navigated the NHL's salary cap, utilizing nearly every tool and dollar at his disposal, nearly down to the last cent, to continue to ice a championship roster. Despite being hamstrung by the salary cap, BriseBois made a blockbuster move at the trade deadline, acquiring defenseman David Savard from Columbus to strengthen the back end. The Lightning would shut out their opponent in all four series-clinching victories, a NHL record, during their 2021 playoff championship run.

In 2019-20, BriseBois' Lightning captured the franchise's second Stanley Cup with a 4-2 series victory over the Dallas Stars. BriseBois bolstered the Lightning's line-up with two key trades during the month of February, acquiring forwards Blake Coleman from New Jersey and Barclay Goodrow from San Jose. Both players played pivotal roles in the Lightning's run to the Stanley Cup. BriseBois was a finalist for the 2020 Jim Gregory Award, which is presented annually to recognize the work of the top GM of the Year.

Under BriseBois' guidance, the 2018-19 team became the first in Lightning franchise history to capture the NHL's Presidents Trophy for best regular season record, the Bolts finishing 21 points ahead of second place Boston and Calgary. Tampa Bay's 128 points were the fourth most in a single season in NHL history, and the Lightning matched the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the League record for victories (62) in a single season. The Lightning set franchise records for wins, points, home wins (tied with 2014-15), home points, road wins, road points, ROW, goals, goals per game, power-play percentage and longest win streak, among many others, in 2018-19.

Prior to being promoted to general manager, BriseBois spent eight seasons as assistant general manager under Steve Yzerman. In that position BriseBois assisted in all aspects of player personnel decisions, player development, analytics, contract preparation and negotiation, collective bargaining agreement interpretation and compliance, as well as salary arbitration for the Lightning and the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, for whom he also served as general manager. In that role BriseBois was also part of the AHL's competition committee and served as the chairman of the AHL Player Development Committee.

As general manager of the Lightning's top affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and the Norfolk Admirals before that, BriseBois has been the architect of teams that reached the Calder Cup Final on three occasions during his tenure, including most recently in 2017 with the Crunch, and won the AHL's championship in 2012 with Norfolk. Syracuse's recent success is evidenced by the team qualifying for the postseason in four of the previous five seasons. With the Lightning's emphasis on drafting and development, the Crunch play an integral role in Tampa Bay's success. During the 2011-12 season, BriseBois' Norfolk Admirals set a professional sports record with a 28-game win streak that propelled Norfolk to the AHL's best regular season record. The team's regular season success continued in the playoffs as the Admirals went on to win the organization's first Calder Cup, the first championship by a Lightning AHL affiliate. In 2010-11 the Hockey News recognized BriseBois as the top hockey executive under 40 years of age in their "Top 40 Under 40" listing.

Prior to coming to Tampa Bay, BriseBois, 44, spent nine seasons with the Montreal Canadiens after joining the organization on September 1, 2001 as director of legal affairs. In July of 2003 he added director of hockey operations to his duties before being named vice president of hockey operations on July 24, 2006. In this capacity, BriseBois oversaw the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs went on to win the 2007 Calder Cup during the first season under BriseBois' direction. On August 23, 2007 BriseBois was named the general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs, making him the youngest in the AHL at the time. During that time he retained his position with the Canadiens.

A native of Greenfield Park, Quebec, BriseBois was employed by the Heenan Blaikie law firm before joining the Canadiens. During that time he worked in the field of sports law, where he represented several NHL and Major League Baseball clubs in arbitration cases as well as acting as an advisor in contract negotiations. BriseBois also participated in the reform of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

BriseBois is a graduate of the University Of Montreal Faculty Of Law and earned a Master's degree in business administration from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. He is a member of the Quebec Bar, the American Bar Association and the Sports Lawyers Association.