Jets’ Cheveldayoff, Stars’ Nill, Panthers’ Zito named finalists for GM of year
The Presidents’ Trophy winner and two conference finalists are represented among the NHL’s general manager of the year finalists.
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The Presidents’ Trophy winner and two conference finalists are represented among the NHL’s general manager of the year finalists.
Winnipeg’s Kevin Cheveldayoff, Dallas’s Jim Nill and Florida’s Bill Zito are the three finalists for the award, the league announced on Friday.
Cheveldayoff’s Jets topped the NHL standings this season before falling in six games to the Stars in Round 2.
While he didn’t make major moves during the season, Cheveldayoff built his roster over time — acquiring the likes of Gabe Vilardi and Alex Iafallo from the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade and drafting Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor.
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The 55-year-old Cheveldayoff has not won GM of the year since being hired in 2011.
However, Winnipeg was ultimately felled by Nill’s Stars, who supplemented their core with a major mid-season move by trading for Mikko Rantanen.
Rantanen, picked up from the Stars at the trade deadline, carried Dallas past the Colorado Avalanche with a third-period hat trick in Game 7 and continues to lead the NHL in playoff points (20) and goals (nine).
Nill, 67, has been named GM of the year for each of the past two seasons.
Zito’s Panthers, meanwhile, have followed up consecutive Stanley Cup Final runs with a return to the East final, where they lead the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0.
Coming off a title last season, Zito augmented Florida’s core at the trade deadline by adding defenceman Seth Jones and forward Brad Marchand.
The 60-year-old is looking for his first individual hardware as GM.
