Washington Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Washington Capitals, NHL or NHLPA
NHL Reveals The Finalists For The 2025 Jim Gregory General Manager Of The Year award
Photo credit: RMNB
The three finalists for the 2025 Jim Gregory General Manager Of The Year Award were revealed by the NHL in a press release today.
Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets, Jim Nil of the Dallas Stars, and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers were deemed to be the most deserving of the prestigious award for the best NHL general manager.
According to the NHL press release, the selections are done by, 'NHL general managers and a panel of league executives, print and broadcast media, at the end of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
GM Chris Patrick snubbed from selection
Noticeably absent from the list of finalists, however, were Washington Capitals' GM Chris Patrick and President Brian MacLellan, whose performances in the 2024 offseason, and their team's performance in the 2025-2026 season, were arguably deserving of a nod.
The Washington Capitals' execs were busy 2024, making significant changes to the team's roster, adding Logan Thompson, Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Matt Roy, and Brandon Duhaime.
These additions helped the Washington Capitals improve their 2025 season points total by 20 points over the 2024 season, propelling them to 1st in the Eastern Conference, and 2nd overall.
Chris Patrick and Brian MacLellan were certainly deserving of a nod for general manager of the year.
Yet, what may have hurt Chris Patrick, despite having a hand in the 2024 offseason signings and roster reboot, was his being only officially named the team's General Manger on July 8, when the moves had been already completed, prior to which MacLellan was acting as the Caps' GM.
Here's a brief history of the Jim Gregory General Manager Of The Year Award, as per the NHL press release.
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.
Good luck to the three finalist. May the best GM win.
| POLL | ||
MAI 24 | 19 ANSWERS NHL Reveals The Finalists For The 2025 Jim Gregory General Manager Of The Year award Who do you believe will win the 2025 Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award | ||
| Kevin Cheveldayoff | 13 | 68.4 % |
| Jim Nil | 2 | 10.5 % |
| Bill Zito | 4 | 21.1 % |
| List of polls | ||