Cheveldayoff, Nill, Zito named finalists for GM award
Published
Winnipeg Jets' Kevin Cheveldayoff, Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars and the Florida Panthers, Bill Zito have been named finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.
The voting for the award was conducted among NHL GMs, a panel of executives and media members with voting taking place after the conclusion of the second round of the playoffs.
A 55-year-old native of Saskatoon, Cheveldayoff just completed his 14th season at the helm of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets. His big in-season additions at the trade dealine were defenceman Luke Schenn and forward Brandon Tanev. This is a second nomination for Cheveldayoff, who was also a finalist in 2018.
Nill's Stars are in the Western Conference Finals for a third-straight season and fourth time in six years. A 67-year-old native of Hanna, Alta., Nill is in his 12th season on the job. After adding Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci in February, Nill made the biggest splash of the trade deadline by landing Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes. This marks the fifth time Nill has been a finalist for the award. He was the winner of the honour in both 2023 and 2024.
Zito and his Panthers are two wins away from a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. A native of Pittsburgh, Zito was named the GM of the Panthers in the fall of 2020 after several years in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. After losing a number of players from a team that won the Stanley Cup last season, Zito added the likes of Nate Schmidt and Jesper Boqvist in free agency before major trade acquisitions ahead of the deadline in the form of Seth Jones and Brad Marchand. This is the third consecutive finalist nod for Zito.