Jim Nill – CanucksBanter

Patrik Allvin of the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

The award has been presented annually since 2009-10 to the general manager, who has best excelled at his role during the regular season. It is voted on by the League’s general managers and a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Patrik Allvin

Allvin, in his third season with the Canucks, helped them finish first in the Pacific Division (50-23-9) and win a division title for the first time since 2013. Vancouver, in its first full season under coach Rick Tocchet, who was hired on January 22, 2023, improved by 12 wins and 26 points from last season to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Tocchet was named winner of the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year on Wednesday, two days after Vancouver lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the second round.

Vancouver signed defensemen Carson Soucy and Ian Cole as well as forwards Teddy Blueger and Pius Suter prior to the season. Each played on the penalty kill, which improved to tied for 17th (79.1 percent) after ranking last in 2022-23 (71.6 percent), and helped the Canucks finish tied for fifth in goals against per game (2.70) after finishing 25th in 2022-23 (3.61).

Vancouver acquired forward Sam Lafferty from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fifth-round draft pick on Oct. 8; defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames on Nov. 30 for two draft picks; and forward Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 31 for forward Andrei Kuzmenko, defenseman prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo and two draft picks.

The Canucks also signed Elias Pettersson to an eight-year contract on March 2; he could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Allvin, 49, a first-time finalist, would be the first Canucks GM to win the award since Mike Gillis in 2010-11.

Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet commented on the nomination:

“I’m very lucky,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “I got a little bit of a runway with knowing (team president) Jim (Rutherford) and Patrik (with the Pittsburgh Penguiins) with the personalities, how we mesh.

Even the way Patrik acts with our other coaches, it’s a tight group. He’s around enough to be around. He’s not in our faces and he loves the feedback, even feedback that he doesn’t want to hear, and he takes it very well. Sometimes he doesn’t — no (laughs) — but I just like the connection.

“I think you have to be connected to your GM and there’s going to be some bumpy days and stuff, but I think the communication is outstanding. The year and a half I’ve been here, you’re going to go through issues here and there, but I think the communication has been awesome. Probably the best I’ve ever had as a head coach. Definitely.”

Jim Nill

Nill, in his 11th season with the Stars, helped them finish first in the Central Division (52-21-9) and Western Conference this season.

Dallas signed free agent forwards Matt Duchene, Sam Steel and Craig Smith each to a one-year contract prior to the season. Duchene, who had his contract bought out by the Nashville Predators in the offseason, was tied for fourth on the Stars with 65 points (25 goals, 40 assists) in 80 regular-season games. Dallas also got contributions from 21-year-old forwards Wyatt Johnston (65 points) and rookie Logan Stankoven (14 points in 24 games) and has advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second straight season.

Prior to the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, the Stars acquired defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in a three-team trade also involving the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Tanev leads the playoffs in blocked shots (56) and is fourth in ice time per game (23:42) on the Stars.

Nill, 66, who won the award last season, is a finalist for the fourth time; he was third in voting in 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Stars Tyler Seguin comments on the nomination:

“I think this is part of his big-picture (vision) maybe when he got here was having a competitive team year after year and have a window that’s hopefully always open,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said.

“That’s the dream of the League, right? But I think when you look at our roster, just the different ages we have, the different levels of ages, I think the future’s bright here for many years, but obviously with this opportunity in front of us, we’d like to take advantage of it.”

Bill Zito

Zito, in his fourth season as Panthers GM, helped Florida reach the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight season. Florida (52-24-6) won the Atlantic Division this season.

After losing in the Stanley Cup Final last season, the Panthers signed forward Evan Rodrigues (39 points), defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson (32 points), Dmitry Kulikov (20 points) and Niko Mikkola (17 points), and goalie Anthony Stolarz. Stolarz ranked first in goals-against average (2.00) and save percentage (.927) among goalies to play at least 27 games.

Prior to the Trade Deadline, Florida acquired 2019 Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators for two draft picks, and forward Kyle Okposo from the Buffalo Sabres for a draft pick.

Zito, 59, was a finalist for the award last season and in 2020-21, finishing third in voting each time.

Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg comments on the nomination:

“It obviously it starts with Bill,” forward Ryan Lomberg said Thursday.

“Bill brings in guys that are high-character guys, good teammates and obviously good players.”

Source: nhl.com

By NHL Public Relations

May 23, 2023

NEW YORK (May 24, 2023) – Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the three finalists for the 2022-23 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the National Hockey League announced today.

Voting for this award was conducted among the NHL general managers and a panel of League executives, print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winner will be unveiled on Wednesday, June 28, during the first round of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft in Nashville (7 p.m. ET, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

The NHL General Manager of the Year Award first was presented in 2009-10. It was renamed in 2019-20 in honor of Jim Gregory, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who served as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and a League executive for four decades.

Following are the finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, in alphabetical order:

Jim Nill, Dallas Stars

Under Nill’s direction the Stars (47-21-14) posted 108 points, their highest total since 2015-16, and have advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second time in four seasons. Nill’s biggest offseason move was signing head coach Peter DeBoer, who earlier this month joined Scotty Bowman as the second head coach in NHL history to guide four franchises to the Conference Finals/Semifinals (NJD, SJS, VGK and DAL). Nill also inked left wing Mason Marchment and defenseman Colin Miller during the offseason; extended the contracts of goaltender Jake Oettinger and left wing Jason Robertson; and traded for right wing Evgenii Dadonov, center Max Domi and defenseman Nils Lundkvist. Several of Nill’s Dallas draft picks have made key contributions during their run to the Conference Finals, including leading scorer Roope Hintz (No. 49 overall in 2015); a trio of franchise-altering picks from 2017: defenseman Miro Heiskanen (No. 3), Oettinger (No. 26) and Robertson (No. 39); and recent Game 7 hero Wyatt Johnston (No. 23 in 2021). Nill, who in April marked his 10th anniversary as Stars GM, is a Jim Gregory finalist for the third time after finishing third in voting in both 2015-16 and 2019-20, the latter when the team last advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins

Sweeney oversaw a Bruins team (65-12-5, 135 points) that rewrote the NHL’s record book this season. Under 2022-23 Jack Adams Award finalist Jim Montgomery, an offseason Sweeney hire, Boston sat atop the Atlantic Division from start to finish – becoming just the fourth team in the League’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead wire-to-wire. The Bruins set NHL records for single-season wins (65) and points (135), including a League-record 14-game home winning streak from the start of the campaign. Boston also had a +128 goal differential (including shootout-deciding goals), the highest by any team since 1995-96 (DET, +144). The eighth-year Bruins GM bolstered his roster by re-signing center Patrice Bergeron, bringing back free agent center David Krejci and trading for center Pavel Zacha during the offseason. He then acquired right wing Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov (from WSH) as well as left wing Tyler Bertuzzi (from DET) prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline and signed right wing David Pastrnak (who had 61 goals and 113 points in 2022-23) to an eight-year extension. A previous winner in 2018-19, Sweeney is vying to join Lou Lamoriello (2019-20 and 2020-21) as the second GM to capture the Jim Gregory multiple times since it first was awarded in 2009-10.

Bill Zito, Florida Panthers

The Panthers (42-32-8, 92 points) have advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1995-96, continuing the upward trajectory that has defined Zito’s three years in South Florida. Building on the success of the 2021‑22 team, which captured the Presidents’ Trophy behind a franchise-record 58 wins and 122 points, Zito began a pivotal offseason by signing head coach Paul Maurice, who completed 2022-23 sixth on the NHL’s all-time coaching wins list (817) in 25 total seasons behind the bench. Exactly a month later Zito made a blockbuster trade to acquire and extend left wing Matthew Tkachuk, who went on to rank seventh in the NHL with 40-69—109 during the regular season, capture MVP honors in front his hometown fans at the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game, be voted a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and serve as a catalyst during the team’s run to the Conference Finals. Zito made several other significant offseason moves, including signing free agents Nick Cousins, Alex Lyon, Eric Staal, Marc Staal and Colin White. A Jim Gregory finalist for the second time in his first three years (a feat achieved by only one other GM: Marc Bergevin), Zito is seeking his first win after finishing third in voting following his first season at the helm of the team (2020-21).

Source: nhl.com