The NHL announced on Tuesday that Bill Guerin of the Minnesota Wild, Chris MacFarland of the Colorado Avalanche, and Pat Verbeek of the Anaheim Ducks have been selected as finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. This honor, first awarded after the 2009-10 season, recognizes the league’s top general manager during the regular season, as voted by fellow GMs, along with a panel of executives and media members.
Guerin engineered the most significant trade of the NHL season, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster deal that instantly elevated the Wild into contender status. The Wild and MacFarland’s Avalanche are currently battling in the Western Conference semifinals, with Colorado holding a 3-1 series lead following a Game 4 victory on Monday night. MacFarland bolstered his already formidable roster at the trade deadline, notably re-acquiring Nazem Kadri to strengthen a team that has been the Stanley Cup favorite all season. Meanwhile, Verbeek guided the Ducks to the second round after a lengthy playoff drought, driven by a successful youth movement that culminated in Anaheim becoming one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams this season.
All three finalists come from the Western Conference, as top Eastern Conference candidates like Eric Tulsky of the Carolina Hurricanes and Kent Hughes of the Montreal Canadiens failed to gather enough votes. Previously, finalists were selected after the second round of the playoffs, but this year they were chosen after the first round, with most candidates representing teams that had advanced to the conference finals.
Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill, who won the award in each of the previous three seasons, and Lou Lamoriello are the only executives to have won the award multiple times.
**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