Top 10 General Managers?

[Voight]

My top 5 would be Poile, Chiarelli, Bowman, Lombardi, Holland in no particular.

To round out a top 10 I'd have Armstrong, Nill, Yzerman, Bob Murray and Snow.

Wanted to put Yzerman in the top 5 but Poile has been making shrewd moves a lot longer and the other four have accounted for 6 of the last 7 Stanley Cup Champs.

I find people forget he was Washington's GM from 82 to 97 and made some good trades and draft picks in that time.

 

[Aceonfire*]

I like how people are taking pot shots at MacT when in reality he hasn't been the worst GM considering the team he inherited.

Questionable decision making for sure, but he has made some solid moves.

IMO Sakic is the worst GM so far but it is early in his career.

 

[Seedling]

I like how people are taking pot shots at MacT when in reality he hasn't been the worst GM considering the team he inherited.

Questionable decision making for sure, but he has made some solid moves.

IMO Sakic is the worst GM so far but it is early in his career.

So you trust him to manage our guys and get the most out of possible trades involving guys like Eberle and Yakupov or others?

Sorry, MacT has made some good moves but he's also made some terrible moves. Mostly terrible IMO.

 

[Honey Bear]

Bowman is a bottom 10 GM. Don't be fooled, he inherited a good team and probably made it slightly worse.

 

[The Macho King]

I like how people are taking pot shots at MacT when in reality he hasn't been the worst GM considering the team he inherited.

Questionable decision making for sure, but he has made some solid moves.

IMO Sakic is the worst GM so far but it is early in his career.

Yeah, bringing in Nikitin and Purcell, leaving Draisatl to rot instead of sending him back down...

He's been fantastic!

 

[Voight]

Bowman is a bottom 10 GM. Don't be fooled, he inherited a good team and probably made it slightly worse.

Yea he made the team so bad they won the Stanley Cup two years ago and the conference finals last year.

He had to dismantle the 2010 team yet three seasons later he was back on top.

He was given a strong nucleus but he's made some pretty good moves in his time. The 2010 team Ill give to Tallon but the 2013 one was his.

 

[rypper]

Steve Yzerman has done an awesome job in Tampa. Has he made a bad move in his time there?

 

[Caged Great]

Brad Treliving has been okay, but there's not much of a playbook on him.

Almost all of his UFA signings and his first trade have sucked badly this year.

Bollig - Waste of a 3rd and a roster spot
Engelland - 3 million for 3 years on a 7th defenseman
Raymond - 3 mill for 3 years on a guy that has only been marginally better than Devin Setoguchi this year.
Setoguchi - Low risk/reward signing. He's already in Adirondack.

Only Jonas Hiller and the Shore-Knight trade have been good moves thus far.

 

[AssaultPK]

Maybe an HM to Kevin Chevyldayoff? Gets no recognition because he has yet to make a true player for player trade, but sometimes that's not always the best thing for a team and probably would have made the Jets worse as the roster is finally starting to come together.

The moves he has made have been awesome, picking up players for next to nothing (Frolik, Perrault)

Also, everyone was pegging the Jets to be a disguised lottery team with the likes of Pavelec in net. But instead of pulling the plug and buying out pavelecs contract (which was highly criticized) and compromising the roster for another starting goalie, he was patient with Pav, and knew what he had up in coming in Hutchinson (who he also acquired for nothing)

Yes he acquired the Atlanta roster with a core in place, and has yet to make any player moves. But he acquired it with a plan in mind and stuck to that plan. Sometimes patience is key and a lot of other GMs would have screwed it all up.

Also I'm sure everyone can agree all of Winnipeg's draft picks have been on point so far. It shows when they snagged Trouba at 8th and also had the most prospects playing in this years world juniors in Montreal.

Maybe in a couple of years Chev will make all your lists

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Doug Wilson has never missed the playoffs as gm. His team has also never won a championship.

Probably belongs somewhere between 5-9.

 

[Machinehead]

Doug Wilson has never missed the playoffs as gm. His team has also never won a championship.

Probably belongs somewhere between 5-9.

Don't forget, this is HF where you suck if you don't win the Cup and you play 82 exhibition games.

 

[DFC]

Steve Yzerman has done an awesome job in Tampa. Has he made a bad move in his time there?

Lindback.

 

[Dave is a killer]

Is Poile a Top 5 GM ? ... I think he has to take his team to the SCF or win the Stanley Cup to solidify him as a Top 5 and this is coming from a Preds fan ... seems like he's really good at building a team, but unfortunately he has yet to pull in the proper pieces at the very end to put the team over the top.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Don't forget, this is HF where you suck if you don't win the Cup and you play 82 exhibition games.

29 teams choke every year.

 

[Jumptheshark]

dave nonis is 30th.

have you met the mess called the Oilers?

 

[Stuzchuk]

I'll give it a shot...

1. Dean Lombardi (LAK)
2. Steve Yzerman (TBL)
3. David Poile (NSH)
4. Stan Bowman (CHI)
5. Marc Bergevin (MTL)
6. Bob Murray (ANA)
7. Garth Snow (NYI)
8. Peter Chiarelli (BOS)
9. Jim Nill (DAL)
10. Jim Benning (VAN)

i agree with you here but not quite sure what nill did so far to get in that list

 

[Aceonfire*]

So you trust him to manage our guys and get the most out of possible trades involving guys like Eberle and Yakupov or others?

Sorry, MacT has made some good moves but he's also made some terrible moves. Mostly terrible IMO.

He has made both good and bad decisions. You also have to wonder how many of those bad decisions were actually his to make.

Right now the good outweighs the bad, but he is trending south. The Draisaitl thing was overblown. Handing Petry a 1 year deal was worse.

Yeah, bringing in Nikitin and Purcell, leaving Draisatl to rot instead of sending him back down...

He's been fantastic!

Nikitin was on Howson. And Purcell has been more effective this year than Gagner was the year he was traded. Purcell actually plays on the PK and isn't a defensive liability.

Like I said, both bad and good. If Katz/Lowe stayed out of everything the team might actually stand a chance.

 

[islesfan3913]

Garth Snow is interesting. The guy has been a disaster trade wise but his scouts (or maybe himself) have drafted very well. That alone has made the Islanders into a really good team with a young core. Is it Garth Snow? Or is it the scouts?.

Montreal has employed Trevor Timmins for many years now, he's been around when Gainey and Gauthier were GMs of this team. Both Gainey and Gauthier were a disaster yet Timmins drafted very well.

I'm not willing to give Snow credit for their draft picks, which in my opinion still makes him one of the worst GMs in the league. Expect another terrible trade from him soon.

As for best GMs. It's hard to make a top 5 list in order, but I feel we have to include Yzerman (TB) , Lombardi (LA) , Poile (NSH), Holland (DET) and Nill (DAL). Outside contenders are Bergevin (MTL), Bowman (CHI) and Armstrong (STL)

The only real complaint about Snow I see is about his trading yet there really isn't any proof of him being poor when it comes to trading. Why do you expect a terrible trade from him again?

People cite the Vanek/Moulson situation but fail to realize that Snow was actually trying to improve the team under a tight budget through the trade and make a playoff run. In a way it did work because it gave the Isles the best line in hockey for a couple months and it also allowed us to trade back into the 1st round for Ho-Sang. It ultimately didn't hurt the team in anyway and we could still come out better if Ho-Sang reaches his potential.

The Nino/Clutterbuck trade is another one that people like to bring up. Niederreiter was going to be a cancer on this team. He complained about not being in the NHL and asked to be traded. The Islanders look for character players and Nino didn't fit that mold so Snow moved him for a solid bottom six forward that filled a need. Nothing is wrong with that trade at all.

And when it comes to drafting, you either give credit to Snow or to the scouts that Snow hired. Either way it is directly linked to him. There's a reason why the Isles found zero late round players before Snow came in.

 

[Jeti]

To add to the post above on Cheveldayoff without quoting the whole thing: The first year, the Jets third line was Glass-Slater-Thorburn. Yes, worse than their current fourth line. Yes, worse than their current fourth line even if they had an injury or two. The second line was basically just Kane creating everything himself. That's now his job on the third line.

Despite seemingly doing nothing, he quietly added an entire second line of talent in the last few years. The Thrashers had no prospects either. Now the roster is way deeper and the prospect pool is worth getting excited about.

 

[oconnor9sean]

Nill has missed on some things, but none of them really have long term implications.

 

[oconnor9sean]

i agree with you here but not quite sure what nill did so far to get in that list

Pulled off arguably the biggest coup in the past 5 years, and followed it up with landing Spezza. Those two things completely changed the complexion of the Stars going forward, regardless if they miss the playoffs this year.

 

[Brooklanders*]

Lombardi is great.

Yzerman has been wonderful.

Sather deserves credit.

Bowman need be mentioned.

Bergevin also.

 

[Brooklanders*]

Garth Snow is interesting. The guy has been a disaster trade wise but his scouts (or maybe himself) have drafted very well. That alone has made the Islanders into a really good team with a young core. Is it Garth Snow? Or is it the scouts?.

Montreal has employed Trevor Timmins for many years now, he's been around when Gainey and Gauthier were GMs of this team. Both Gainey and Gauthier were a disaster yet Timmins drafted very well.

I'm not willing to give Snow credit for their draft picks, which in my opinion still makes him one of the worst GMs in the league. Expect another terrible trade from him soon.

As for best GMs. It's hard to make a top 5 list in order, but I feel we have to include Yzerman (TB) , Lombardi (LA) , Poile (NSH), Holland (DET) and Nill (DAL). Outside contenders are Bergevin (MTL), Bowman (CHI) and Armstrong (STL)

Your wrong about Snow.

He signed Kulemin and Grabovski as UFA.
Traded a fourth for Halak.
The Leddy and Boychuk trades have been great so far.
The Nino trade wasn't so bad because Clutterbuck has solidified the fourth line and every team would want a player like that. I still think that trade bothers me the most for many other reasons. Its still not good asset management.
The Vanek deal was really his only bad trade.
Snow also got two picks for Andrew MacDonald and another pick for Streit.

The Visnovsky trade has turned out pretty well also.

He picked up Grabner, Strait and Hickey off waivers.

Drafting he's tremendous and works the draft well with trades to get guys like Bailey, HO-Sang and DeHaan.

 

[Whileee]

Maybe an HM to Kevin Chevyldayoff? Gets no recognition because he has yet to make a true player for player trade, but sometimes that's not always the best thing for a team and probably would have made the Jets worse as the roster is finally starting to come together.

The moves he has made have been awesome, picking up players for next to nothing (Frolik, Perrault)

Also, everyone was pegging the Jets to be a disguised lottery team with the likes of Pavelec in net. But instead of pulling the plug and buying out pavelecs contract (which was highly criticized) and compromising the roster for another starting goalie, he was patient with Pav, and knew what he had up in coming in Hutchinson (who he also acquired for nothing)

Yes he acquired the Atlanta roster with a core in place, and has yet to make any player moves. But he acquired it with a plan in mind and stuck to that plan. Sometimes patience is key and a lot of other GMs would have screwed it all up.

Also I'm sure everyone can agree all of Winnipeg's draft picks have been on point so far. It shows when they snagged Trouba at 8th and also had the most prospects playing in this years world juniors in Montreal.

Maybe in a couple of years Chev will make all your lists

I agree. I think that over the next few years Chevy is going to be seen as a pretty savvy GM for sticking with a patient and effective draft and develop approach.

Right now the Jets are firmly on track for a playoff birth and they have two 21-year olds at #2 and #3 center positions (Scheifele, Lowry), a 20-year old as one of their top D (Trouba), and a rookie leading the league in save% (Hutchinson). These are all Chevy "adds".

He has built up one of the NHL's best prospect lists from almost nothing, with several high-end players waiting in the wings (Ehlers, Morrissey, Hellebuyck).

He's added a couple of effective forwards playing in the Jets' top-6 in Perreault and Frolik for the grand sum of a 3rd and 5th round pick.

He's added all of these prospects and new players without having to trade away any of a solid core of under-30 players.

I think his performance has been underrated.

 

[PernellsWhiteAmi]

I don't know about whether he's at the top, but JR has been great for the Pens. I think his tenure as the Canes GM brings him down a lot though.

The best GM off the top of my head easily is Yzerman. After that, it becomes much closer.

Really? I don't think it was very smart of him to sign Fleury to an extension before these next playoffs. What happens if he is off his game in the playoffs? I suppose the Perron and even the Ehrhoff signing is a good move, but if that first round pick is a star in the league, or if Perron signs somewhere else after next season (without the Penguins winning a cup in either of the two seasons). I'm sure Perron would like to stay in Pittsburgh, especially if he keeps playing like he has been, but it should definitely be noted as a possibility.