Ducks Promote McNab to Assistant GM : Hockey: Director of player personnel will assume post of departed Gauthier.

ANAHEIM —  Moving swiftly, the Mighty Ducks on Tuesday promoted David McNab to assistant general manager. He replaces Pierre Gauthier, who resigned Monday to become the Ottawa Senators’ general manager.

McNab, 40, will continue to supervise the Ducks’ scouting and player development departments until the end of the season, when he will assume the assistant GM duties full time.

He was responsible for the Ducks’ 1994 and ’95 drafts as director of player personnel, joining the team after four seasons with the New York Rangers’ scouting staff. He also has scouted for the Hartford Whalers and Washington Capitals.

McNab’s father, Max, was a general manager in the NHL and spent 48 years as a player, coach and executive in professional hockey. His brother, Peter, played 14 seasons in the NHL.

Max McNab, then general manager of the Capitals, gave David his first scouting job. Certainly, the price was right. Only 22 and afraid of what others might say about nepotism, David took the job for nothing, living off an expense account to make ends meet.

“He was excited because he knows this is what I’ve wanted for a long time,” David McNab said of his father.

“My father was a GM for years and years, so I know the pressures that come with winning and losing. I understand that end of it. I understand the work ethic it takes.”

McNab acknowledged that he needs to learn more about the business side of hockey.

“All of a sudden, I’ve got to start dealing with agents,” he said. “My dealings have been mostly positive. Now, I have to flip it around and start dealing with them in another manner [negotiating contracts].

“Obviously, I have a lot to learn, but I’ve got a great teacher.”

Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira, a former scout, has known McNab for many years, traveling to remote hockey outposts with him to find top prospects.

Over the years, few have been able to keep pace with McNab, who once drove 800 miles just to watch a Canadian junior game. Once, he turned in a rental car on a $100 weekend deal with 3,000 miles on it. Another time, he drove from his home in Minneapolis to Boston in 26 hours. And he put 275,000 miles on a 1978 Oldsmobile before selling it in 1991.

“I think anybody’s who’s ever scouted knows what a great job, what a fun job it is,” McNab said. “To be successful [as an assistant GM] you have to have scouted for a long time. You can’t just go from being a player in the NHL to a job like this.”