NHL Announces 2025-26 GM of the Year Finalists

The National Hockey League announced Tuesday that Bill Guerin of the Minnesota Wild, Chris MacFarland of the Colorado Avalanche and Pat Verbeek of the Anaheim Ducks are the finalists for the 2025-26 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

The award recognizes the general manager who demonstrated the greatest excellence during the regular season. Voting was conducted among the league's general managers, a panel of NHL executives and members of the print and broadcast media following the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. All three finalists are first-time nominees, and each led their team to the second round of the postseason.

Guerin, who has served as the Wild's general manager since 2019, orchestrated a blockbuster December trade that brought defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. The 2024 Norris Trophy winner set Minnesota franchise records for assists and points by a defenseman, bolstering a team that finished third in the Western Conference with a 46-24-12 record. Guerin also secured a long-term contract extension for forward Kirill Kaprizov, the franchise's centerpiece player. Under his leadership, the Wild have reached the playoffs in five of...