Bill Guerin of the Minnesota Wild, Chris MacFarland of the Colorado Avalanche and Pat Verbeek of the Anaheim Ducks are this year’s finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the NHL announced Tuesday.
First presented after the 2009-10 season, the award is given to the NHL GM who excelled most in his role during the regular season. It is voted on by the league GMs and a panel of other executives and media members.
Guerin’s Wild and MacFarland’s Avalanche are facing each other in the Western Conference semifinals, with the first-place Avs holding a 3-1 series lead after a Game 4 win Monday night.
Guerin orchestrated the biggest trade in the NHL this season, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster deal that instantly made the Wild a contender.
MacFarland’s extensive additions at the trade deadline included re-acquiring Nazem Kadri to bolster an already formidable Colorado team that has been the Stanley Cup favorite all season.
Verbeek’s Ducks, meanwhile, are in the second round after a long playoff absence, the result of a successful youth movement Verbeek oversaw, which culminated this season with Anaheim becoming one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams.
All three candidates are from the Western Conference, with top Eastern Conference candidates Eric Tulsky of the Carolina Hurricanes and Kent Hughes of the Montreal Canadiens not garnering enough support.
Previously, finalists for the award were chosen after the second round of the playoffs. This season, the finalists were chosen after the first round, as most candidates selected had been GMs whose teams had advanced to the conference finals.
Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill won the previous three seasons. Nill and Lou Lamoriello are the only executives who’ve won the award more than once.
Previous GM of the Year Award winners
2025: Jim Nill, Dallas Stars
2024: Jim Nill, Dallas Stars
2023: Jim Nill, Dallas Stars
2022: Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
2021: Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders
2020: Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders
2019: Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins
2018: George McPhee, Vegas Golden Knights
2017: David Poile, Nashville Predators
2016: Jim Rutherford, Pittsburgh Penguins
2015: Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning
2014: Bob Murray, Anaheim Ducks
2013: Ray Shero, Pittsburgh Penguins
2012: Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues
2011: Mike Gillis, Vancouver Canucks
2010: Don Maloney, Phoenix Coyotes
