Daily Faceoff is thrilled to welcome Chris Gear, former Vancouver Canucks Assistant General Manager and Chief Legal Officer, to the team as a contributor effectively immediately.



Gear will regularly contribute stories and columns to DailyFaceoff.com that draw on his legal expertise and experience gained in the Canucks’ front office.



The bilingual Montreal native’s duties under Jim Benning included player and staff contract negotiations, Collective Bargaining Agreement compliance, as well as assisting with roster and salary cap management, and governance of the team’s AHL affiliates in Utica and Abbotsford.



Prior to migrating over to the hockey operations side of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, Gear joined the franchise is 2010 as vice president and general counsel. In that senior executive role, Gear oversaw the legal department of the business, including venue management, leasing, sponsorship, licensing and merchandise, intellectual property, claims and litigation, IT and labor and employment.<div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="145"></div>



Gear continued to oversee the Canucks’ business end of the legal department while taking on an increased role in hockey operations.



Gear, 49, grew up in Lennoxville, Quebec, played varsity football and earned his law degree at Queen’s Univ. in Kingston, Ont., where he was a two-time conference All-Star at wide receiver and Queen’s 1997 team MVP. He has called Vancouver home since 1998, where he lives with his wife and two kids.