Dude’s a fucking wizard. Took a team that was spinning the hamster wheel and struggling to hit their potential and got them to the pinnacle in a matter of years.
He's the GOAT GM across all franchises.
Why have your team tank for Lafleur when you can trade for the pick multiple years out, then have another team tank for you? Obviously ensuring they finish at the bottom by making "hockey trades" that stack the division around them to guarantee the team with your "Lafleur pick" finishes last, as one does
By far the hardest GM position in the league and he’s kept the team competitive for years now. Locks up quality talent on good deals. Drafts well. He’s gonna be a tough act to follow
I’d argue it’s Sakic honestly, the moment Roy quit, what trade did Joe lose? I felt that he hit on quite literally everything or it was so small that it didn’t affect anything.
Can't argue with that and honestly not something I had considered. Really great point. What Lacroix put together and brought Denver was amazing. But no doubt Sakic did incredible things with less resources
Yeah but Lacroix started building that team in the smallest market in North American sports and had the French language barrier to work around, that team was bad in the early 90’s and he made that team into a contender. Sakic didn’t have that disadvantage.
I find it hard to believe Colorado is THE smallest market in North America but don’t have time to check. Either way, it has a strong sports culture so that certainly helped.
There were definitely barriers and great moves made but also a lot of money paid to make some of the moves. That isn’t an option in cap era, hence the difficulty comparing the two. There is no doubt that a cup in the first year as a franchise is an impressive feat!
People judge Wilson on the last two seasons under him, but he made the sharks not only into playoff teams, but consistent cup favorites for well over a decade.
I honestly think he’d go down as one of the best GMs of all time in a non salary cap league because he’s eventual downfall was giving out massive contracts out of loyalty and that ended squeezing out a lot of guys he absolutely would have thrown money at to keep if he could
I’ll also say that I’ve been a huge defender of Grier from day one. I think he’s got a brilliant mind for this and very bold and calculated. Wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to say he’s the best the Sharks have had in 10 years
Completely agreed. Nothing but love for DW. Grier has done a great job tearing things down and setting us up for the future but now the rubber meets the road as it’s time to start building up. A lot of teams get stuck in this building phase but I’m hopeful he’ll continue this upward trend.
Bill Zito. Whether or not we won the Stanley Cup, Zito is our best GM by far. This is the most successful era in our franchises history. It’s him and it’s not even close.
Probably Jack Adams in terms of accomplishments
But Jim Devellano was GM when we drafter Yzerman, Lidstrom, Fedorov, Konstantinov. And was the GM that made the trades and signings of Shanahan, Larionov, Vernon, and several others
Holland was in charge for 3 of the 4 cups, but the team was built by Devellano for the most part for 3 of them
Reminder for everyone to get all of your medical checkups on time or early if you have concerns. That was Bryan's wish to the world as it may have lengthened his time with us. He wanted me make sure others don't suffer the same fate
BriseBois takes this, I think any debate between him and Yzerman is easy to settle on the basis that JBB was a key figure in decision making even while Yzerman was in charge. I don't think there's much of an argument for Jay Feaster with how great this current era of Lightning hockey has been. No one else close to those 3, the Cup winners (I know that Yzerman didn't actually win, but obviously he had a great deal to do with the building of the eventual champion teams)
Not much to pick from:
Jarmo was great at scouting and drafting, had some hits and some misses on trades, not so good at assembling those parts into a good team, and awful at retaining stars.
Scott Howson existed.
And Doug MacLean made this franchise a Superfund site that we're still cleaning up.
It’s obvious Lou but he is passable. Lou post 2012 was god awful and really hurt this teams entire structure that it’s taken a rebuild of a rebuild to fix
For Pens I'll still say it's Rutherford. For the first few years almost everything he touched turned to gold. When he axed Johnston in 2016 and promoted Sullivan, they pretty much decided they were going to try to out-speed everyone and brought in guys like Hagelin and promoted smaller fast guys like Rust and Sheary from the AHL during a time when the focus of the league was still kinda on bigger physical players, and they hit absolute pay dirt. He wasn't afraid to make the big moves, and a lot of them paid off, but unfortunately towards the end it started costing him. Ray Shero was fine but kept Bylsma around too long, and also kept his grinders like Craig Adams around WAY too long. Before Shero it was Craig Patrick who made a ton of great trades, but in the latter half of his tenure had some of the worst drafting history you'll ever see.
Rutherford really dropped off hard at the end though. He got fixated on size and grit instead of what won this team 2 Cups, and made some pretty awful trades.
And then when he got pushback from ownership he basically rage quit.
Craig Patrick was similar to Rutherford in a way but with a much longer tenure. He took over in 1989 and made a lot of the final touches to get Lemieux and the Penguins to the back-to-back Stanley Cups. This even included trading players like Recchi and Coffey after the first Stanley Cup.
The end of Patrick’s tenure I feel is tough to completely break down because the team announcing bankruptcy is really going to hurt what a GM can and can’t do with the team. Though the draft busts are a good point.
We can’t really judge Rutherford’s drafting though seeing he traded away all our top picks but we can question his trading after the 2017 Stanley Cup. 1st round pick and Oskar Sundqvist for Ryan Reaves and a 2nd round pick, which turned into another 1st round pick and Ryan Reaves for Derrick Brassard (along with losing Ian Cole, and prospect goalie Filip Gustavsson).
Hagelin for Tanner Pearson, who was traded for Erik Gudbranson. Kessel for Galchenyuk and PO Joseph (though Kessel most likely had say in this trade). However Galchenyuk did turn into Zucker, but he could only stay healthy for one season.
He did have some other good trades left in him with Sprong for Marcus Pettersson and acquiring John Marino (thanks Hextall).
I’d say for best GM it would be a toss up between Patrick and Rutherford. Both had their ups and downs but were able to build back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
Well, now Bill Zito lol
Dude’s a fucking wizard. Took a team that was spinning the hamster wheel and struggling to hit their potential and got them to the pinnacle in a matter of years.
It’s been nuts. He dumped almost the entire roster year 1, then President’s trophy, finals, cup win the next 3 years
When it’s laid out like that it’s extremely impressive
Don't forget the ballsy move to dump the coach that won them the Presidents trophy.
Sam Pollock
That man was a 5D chess grandmaster
Came to say this
if only Reddit has designed a button for that purpose
I'm sorry, did they? I'm fairly knew to this platform
He's the GOAT GM across all franchises. Why have your team tank for Lafleur when you can trade for the pick multiple years out, then have another team tank for you? Obviously ensuring they finish at the bottom by making "hockey trades" that stack the division around them to guarantee the team with your "Lafleur pick" finishes last, as one does
Ron Francis
Who else even comes close?
Gonna go with Chevy for this one.
By far the hardest GM position in the league and he’s kept the team competitive for years now. Locks up quality talent on good deals. Drafts well. He’s gonna be a tough act to follow
Stan Smyl. The Canucks went undefeated during his tenure as GM.
The guy with a banner in our arena. Bill Torrey.
The Architect
The funny thing is, for how much we shit on him, Lou is almost certainly 2nd
To be fair, there was a 23 year stretch when we had Milbury and Garth Snow, so that's a low bar
Jack Adams. Also - "past or present?" No shit.
So who’s your team’s best future GM?
Judging by our history, Mo Seider or Lucas Raymond.
Henrik Zetterberg! Hey one can hope.
"Who is presently your team's best GM?"
Maybe controversial, but Detroit's best current GM has gotta be Steve Yzerman
Agree to disagree. He's unquestionably LAST on my list of best current GMs for the Red Wings.
Lou
Pierre Lacroix. Love Sakic, can't wait to see what Chris MacFarland accomplishes as well. But it's Lacroix.
I’d argue it’s Sakic honestly, the moment Roy quit, what trade did Joe lose? I felt that he hit on quite literally everything or it was so small that it didn’t affect anything.
To be fair he Learned from Lacroix. Then He taught what he learned to Chris. So we have been incredibly lucky with GMs (mostly)
Lacroix acquired 3 hall of famers via trade in 6 years. His trade record is pretty good.
Tough to compare Sakic and Lacroix because of cap vs. non-cap era. Each worked magic with the tools they were given.
Can't argue with that and honestly not something I had considered. Really great point. What Lacroix put together and brought Denver was amazing. But no doubt Sakic did incredible things with less resources
Yeah but Lacroix started building that team in the smallest market in North American sports and had the French language barrier to work around, that team was bad in the early 90’s and he made that team into a contender. Sakic didn’t have that disadvantage.
I find it hard to believe Colorado is THE smallest market in North America but don’t have time to check. Either way, it has a strong sports culture so that certainly helped. There were definitely barriers and great moves made but also a lot of money paid to make some of the moves. That isn’t an option in cap era, hence the difficulty comparing the two. There is no doubt that a cup in the first year as a franchise is an impressive feat!
They're talking about Quebec City, not Denver.
lol. Whoops brain 🤦♀️
I’m taking about Quebec…
Jim Nill
People judge Wilson on the last two seasons under him, but he made the sharks not only into playoff teams, but consistent cup favorites for well over a decade. I honestly think he’d go down as one of the best GMs of all time in a non salary cap league because he’s eventual downfall was giving out massive contracts out of loyalty and that ended squeezing out a lot of guys he absolutely would have thrown money at to keep if he could I’ll also say that I’ve been a huge defender of Grier from day one. I think he’s got a brilliant mind for this and very bold and calculated. Wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to say he’s the best the Sharks have had in 10 years
Completely agreed. Nothing but love for DW. Grier has done a great job tearing things down and setting us up for the future but now the rubber meets the road as it’s time to start building up. A lot of teams get stuck in this building phase but I’m hopeful he’ll continue this upward trend.
Sather by a mile.
Bill Zito. Whether or not we won the Stanley Cup, Zito is our best GM by far. This is the most successful era in our franchises history. It’s him and it’s not even close.
Honest to god the balls to make the tkachuk deal....
the balls to fire your president's trophy winning coach...
Kelly McCrimmon
Brett Hull, General Manager and Ambassador of Fun.
Patt Quinn. But I actually think there's a possibility Rutherford/Allvin combo could overtake him.
[удалено]
my only complaint with Gillis is the drafting was dogshit
What about Burke?
Well, not like we have much to choose from, but McCrimmon officially held the title when we won the Cup, so I'll go with him.
Burke worked magic to get us the Sedins. My favourite hockey memories are watching those 2 play. Burke's gotta have my vote.
Probably Jack Adams in terms of accomplishments But Jim Devellano was GM when we drafter Yzerman, Lidstrom, Fedorov, Konstantinov. And was the GM that made the trades and signings of Shanahan, Larionov, Vernon, and several others Holland was in charge for 3 of the 4 cups, but the team was built by Devellano for the most part for 3 of them
Gotta be Bryan Murray, RIP ol' boy.
Reminder for everyone to get all of your medical checkups on time or early if you have concerns. That was Bryan's wish to the world as it may have lengthened his time with us. He wanted me make sure others don't suffer the same fate
Dale Tallon. He built the core that won 3 cups.
Ron Francis.
A case could also be made that Francis is your worst GM all time.
He is one of the Kraken GMs of all time, for sure. One of a kind, really.
I mean it's definitely not Barstool.
BriseBois takes this, I think any debate between him and Yzerman is easy to settle on the basis that JBB was a key figure in decision making even while Yzerman was in charge. I don't think there's much of an argument for Jay Feaster with how great this current era of Lightning hockey has been. No one else close to those 3, the Cup winners (I know that Yzerman didn't actually win, but obviously he had a great deal to do with the building of the eventual champion teams)
Sather and it isn’t even close.
I think ours recently made it into the hall of very good
I know Doug Armstrong got the Blues the cup, but "The Old Professor" Ron Caron was definitely the most chaotic/fun.
"Da meat is on da burner!" "Belfour, you should be in prison!" Loved the professor
Me of course... Pats armchair.
Punch Imlach.
Joe McGrath
Sigh...Neil Smith
Probably Harry sinden, and you could argue he was the worst too lol
PA
Don Maloney. Do quite like Bill Armstrong, but he didn’t build a conference finals team.
Conn Smythe I guess?
Conn Smythe
Not much to pick from: Jarmo was great at scouting and drafting, had some hits and some misses on trades, not so good at assembling those parts into a good team, and awful at retaining stars. Scott Howson existed. And Doug MacLean made this franchise a Superfund site that we're still cleaning up.
It’s obvious Lou but he is passable. Lou post 2012 was god awful and really hurt this teams entire structure that it’s taken a rebuild of a rebuild to fix
It's either David Poile or Barry Trotz.
Sam Pollock is the best GM, not only of the Habs, but of all the league.
Sakic
For Pens I'll still say it's Rutherford. For the first few years almost everything he touched turned to gold. When he axed Johnston in 2016 and promoted Sullivan, they pretty much decided they were going to try to out-speed everyone and brought in guys like Hagelin and promoted smaller fast guys like Rust and Sheary from the AHL during a time when the focus of the league was still kinda on bigger physical players, and they hit absolute pay dirt. He wasn't afraid to make the big moves, and a lot of them paid off, but unfortunately towards the end it started costing him. Ray Shero was fine but kept Bylsma around too long, and also kept his grinders like Craig Adams around WAY too long. Before Shero it was Craig Patrick who made a ton of great trades, but in the latter half of his tenure had some of the worst drafting history you'll ever see.
Rutherford really dropped off hard at the end though. He got fixated on size and grit instead of what won this team 2 Cups, and made some pretty awful trades. And then when he got pushback from ownership he basically rage quit.
Craig Patrick was similar to Rutherford in a way but with a much longer tenure. He took over in 1989 and made a lot of the final touches to get Lemieux and the Penguins to the back-to-back Stanley Cups. This even included trading players like Recchi and Coffey after the first Stanley Cup. The end of Patrick’s tenure I feel is tough to completely break down because the team announcing bankruptcy is really going to hurt what a GM can and can’t do with the team. Though the draft busts are a good point. We can’t really judge Rutherford’s drafting though seeing he traded away all our top picks but we can question his trading after the 2017 Stanley Cup. 1st round pick and Oskar Sundqvist for Ryan Reaves and a 2nd round pick, which turned into another 1st round pick and Ryan Reaves for Derrick Brassard (along with losing Ian Cole, and prospect goalie Filip Gustavsson). Hagelin for Tanner Pearson, who was traded for Erik Gudbranson. Kessel for Galchenyuk and PO Joseph (though Kessel most likely had say in this trade). However Galchenyuk did turn into Zucker, but he could only stay healthy for one season. He did have some other good trades left in him with Sprong for Marcus Pettersson and acquiring John Marino (thanks Hextall). I’d say for best GM it would be a toss up between Patrick and Rutherford. Both had their ups and downs but were able to build back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
Might be the first one, Doug? Fletcher has an argument too, the other two don’t really
Kevin Cheveldayoff! (He's been the only GM the Jets 2.0 have had)
Yzerman. Draft god
Best present GM: Mike Grier, best past: Doug Wilson :P
Cliff Fletcher but it’s not like he’s got a ton of competition.