Aarif Deen
Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland is a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced on Tuesday. The voting is completed by NHL general managers and a panel of league executives, along with some print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the first round.
Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek and Minnesota Wild’s Bill Guerin are the other finalists.
This is the first time since 2022 that Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill can’t win the award. The last winner before Nill’s three year run was Joe Sakic, who was rewarded for building the Stanley Cup championship Avalanche team that year. He was elevated to president of hockey operations, handing the GM reins to MacFarland shortly after that.
This is also the first season where the award is voted on at the conclusion of the first round rather than the second.
MacFarland is credited for building this year’s version of the Avs, a team that is largely under contract for the upcoming season, too.
He made the gutsy Mikko Rantanen trade last January that has paid off, with the additions of both Martin Necas and Jack Drury, along with cap space this season for additional depth.
The Avs went on to win the Presidents’ trophy during the regular season.
Other highlights of his time at the helm include acquisitions of centers Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, and Nic Roy. He also brought in Sam Malinski as a college unrestricted free agent, traded for a whole new goalie tandem in Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood, and he showed calculated patience with both Gabe Landeskog’s knee injury rehab and Valeri Nichushkin’s off-ice issues. Both are playing a part in this year’s playoff run.