The NHL announced Friday that Dallas Stars’ Jim Nill, Florida Panthers’ Bill Zito, and Winnipeg Jets’ Kevin Cheveldayoff are the finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.
Voting was conducted by NHL GMs and a panel of league executives and print and broadcast media after the second round of the playoffs concluded.
Nill seeks his third consecutive GM of the Year Award. His Stars have reached the Western Conference Final for the third straight season.
The veteran executive made the biggest splash at the trade deadline by acquiring Mikko Rantanen, who leads all playoff skaters with 20 points this postseason. Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci have also become important additions to the Stars’ roster.
Zito earns his third straight finalist nomination as his Panthers compete in their third consecutive Eastern Conference Final.
He rebuilt Florida’s defense after losing Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the offseason, signing Nate Schmidt last summer and trading for Seth Jones midseason. Zito also made a notable deadline acquisition in Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins.
Cheveldayoff is a finalist for the second time in his career, previously nominated in 2017-18.
Under his management, the Jets captured their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history.
Cheveldayoff’s key moves over the past year include hiring head coach Scott Arniel, extending Alex Iafallo, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Neal Pionk, while adding Brandon Tanev and Luke Schenn at the trade deadline.
