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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on which GM had the best year.
Todd Cordell
Julien BriseBois.
After last year’s shocking sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, it would have been easy to overreact and make sweeping changes. I think plenty of GMs would have. BriseBois didn’t.
He smartly kept the core of the roster in place and, over the year, gave them more support by tinkering around them. He added Blake Coleman, an effective 5v5 scorer and penalty killer known for hounding opposing puck carriers. He added Barclay Goodrow, a versatile defensive forward who can handle himself against top competition. He added real quality without giving up anything on the roster.
And he just may be rewarded with a Stanley Cup.
Michael Stuart
Julien BriseBois should win the GM of the Year award, in large part because he wasn't afraid to pull the trigger on bold and effective moves at the trade deadline. It's no secret that the Tampa Bay Lightning had a good team before BriseBois took over as General Manager, but his awareness of the team's flaws and action plan to address them has made this Lightning group a real threat in the 2020 postseason.
As an example, consider his acquisitions of Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the trade deadline. The cost to acquire was high, but BriseBois saw that his team needed a bit more quality forward depth if it was going to make a run. The results have been overwhelmingly positive, with both of those players combining with Yanni Gourde to form one of the more dominant lines in these playoffs.
Sean Maloughney
For me it's Joe Sakic.
The GM of the Year is one of those awards that seems to have lost it's meaning and just ends up going to the President's Trophy winner or something like that. I want to base it off of the moves that were made by the GM that year to improve the team. Sue me.
Let's look at what Sakic did this year:
- Acquired Namestnikov at the deadline for a 4th rounder (went 4-2-6 in 9 games)
- Acquired Michael Hutchinson for Calle Rosen who ended up playing in some key games in the post season when Grubauer went down.
- Traded Kerfoot and Barrie for Kadri who became the second line centre the Avs needed. Also had 18 points through 15 playoff games.
- Traded a 2nd and 3rd round pick for Burakovsky who had a career year and is only 25 years old.
To wrap all that up, the Avs have most of their key guys locked up for the next few seasons and currently have over 22 million dollars in cap space. Colorado finished second in the West with 92 points. Sakic actively improved his team this season and no GM is more deserving.
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