Playing career
Before becoming an executive, Poile played three years with the Northeastern Huskies of ECAC Hockey. He had successful time with the Huskies and was able to set the Northeastern record for most hat-tricks with 11.
He was not drafted by an NHL team. During the 1970–71 season, Poile joined the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). He only played here games with the Americans and recorded 3 penalty minutes. After that, he joined the Braintree Hawks of the New England Hockey League (NEnHL). With the Hawks, he scored 44 goals and recorded 40 assists. He ultimately decided to retire from playing professional ice hockey in 1971.
Executive career
In 1972, Poile joined the newly-formed Atlanta Flames as an administrative assistant. He was later promoted to becoming the Atlanta's assistant general manager in 1977. Poile stayed with the team when they relocated to Calgary to become the Calgary Flames.
In 1982, Poile joined the Washington Capitals as their new general manager. The Capitals were able to make the playoffs for the first time in their first year with Poile. On September 9, 1982, Poile made an important trade in Capitals history when he traded Rick Green and Ryan Walter to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis, Rod Langway, and Craig Laughlin. The trade brought in Langway and he helped the Capitals reach the playoffs many times during his career there.
On July 9, 1997, Poile took a job to become the first general manager of the new expansion team, Nashville Predators. In 2001, he was honoured with the Lester Patrick Trophy for providing outstanding service to hockey in the United States. During the 2017 playoffs, the Predators were able to find lots of success. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Anaheim Ducks to reach the franchise's first ever Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, the Predators eventually lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two. On March 1, 2018, the Predators defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4–2. With this win, Poile became the most winningest general manager in the history of the league. On June 30, 2023, Poile decided to retire as the general manager of the Predators. He was replaced as general manager by Barry Trotz.
On November 11, 2024, Poile was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category.
