Top 5 best GMs currently

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Don Sweeney should be in the top 5. 700 games into his tenure, his team has the best record.

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Inherited perfection line, no?

Always a roster with flaws and depended on a core already in place.

More than comfortable wasting years of Krejci with no RW so he and Debrusk were a two man line.

Nowhere close to my top 5. Average.

 

[BLONG7]

What have they proven they can do but put together a losing team? Anyone can be bad and draft players

These guys are just getting going for gods sake.....if you can't see what they have done, so be it.

 

[Xirik]

Inherited perfection line, no?

Always a roster with flaws and depended on a core already in place.

More than comfortable wasting years of Krejci with no RW so he and Debrusk were a two man line.

Nowhere close to my top 5. Average.

Every year like clockwork since 2017 people have thought Boston was going to trend downwards and become a basement team yet they always manage to make the playoffs.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Brisebois? The guy who traded an entire drafts worth of picks for Jeannot? Top 5? lmao

 

[Xirik]

These guys are just getting going for gods sake.....if you can't see what they have done, so be it.

Exactly, so they shouldn't be on the list.

They did their first steps as a baby and didn't hurt themselves and that is good. It doesn't mean that they deserve an Olympic medal.

 

[BLONG7]

Exactly, so they shouldn't be on the list.

They did their first steps as a baby and didn't hurt themselves and that is good. It doesn't mean that they deserve an Olympic medal.

I am thinking, if you were a fan of either team, you would feel differently......both thesse GM;s were left a huge mess......anyhow.

Not a big deal no matter how you slice it.....

 

[Xirik]

I am thinking, if you were a fan of either team, you would feel differently......both thesse GM;s were left a huge mess......anyhow.

Not a big deal no matter how you slice it.....

Do you think the Devils didn't go through a rebuild? Fitz did wonderful as a GM and has only been on the job for two years more then Hughes. I don't think Fitz is a top 5 GM though as hasn't earned it yet.

Hughe's has honestly done great but you really won't know how good the roster he created is until they make the playoffs where you find out who are the boy's and who are the men.

 

[Laus723]

What? How?

He took Calgary behind the woodshed and won a presidents trophy and Cup recently. Is it a Toronto thing?

Of course it is, the Panthers took TO behind the woodshed after those Calgary trades.

 

[A Loyal Demidog]

I'll definitely come across as a homer here, but in no particular order:

Zito, Hughes, Grier, D. Armstrong, Nill.

Trotz could be there too. Possibly B. Armstrong soon. I feel like I'm forgetting someone major too.

Hughes is doing a lot of good, for sure, but picking Reinbacher over Michkov was, and still is, a choice. Perhaps even a disaster. He's damn lucky Demidov fell in his lap this year, but imagine what would have been with BOTH Michkov and Demidov on the Habs roster... Right now, that blunder alone leaves him firmly out of the top 20 GMs for the moment. What remains to be seen is what type of player Reinbacher turns out to be, because this could be one of the biggest draft blunders ever. And they can't use the "I didn't know better" card, because everyone, including my 98-year-old grandma knew Michkov was not just BY FAR the BPA, but a potential superstar/franchise player. I know Reinbacher's looking good, but "good" isn't going to cut it, when Michkov might be a franchise player, setting the league on fire. I hope I'm proven wrong, and that Reinbacher isn't only the real deal, but a hell of a 1D.

 

[TBF1972]

Sure. No order:

Nill, Fitsgerald, McCrimmon, Trotz, Sakic (I think it is really him still running the team)

you mean the devils fitzgerald. he hasn't proven anything either. one great regular season doesn't make you top 5 gm.

maybe i am a little bit biased as a devils fan

 

[Peasy]

In no order I'd say:

Nill
McCrimmon
Cheveldayoff - think he would have way more success if he GM'd in any other market
Sweeney
Zito

I really like what Trotz has been doing, but hes only been a GM for like 2 full seasons. Also like what BA has been doing.

 

[CanadienShark]

The article that states that the leadership group of the CBJs said that the best way to improve the lockeroom was to remove Laine from it?

There's a reason why Montreal got assets to take him.

The person interviewed cited a year the Laine wasn't even on the team. That group of "leaders" were mostly gone pretty quick. There's a ton of flaws with this "article."

There are plenty of direct quotes from players that say otherwise, as opposed to blind speculation by someone who can't even get their own facts straight.

 

[Haatley]

There's certainly more to building a team than you seem to realize. It's about building the right culture and setting up the cap long term, as well as acquiring talent. You wouldn't know that that looks like.

Bringing in Laine, a guy who was just run out of Columbus, is not building the "right culture."

 

[CanadienShark]

Bringing in Laine, a guy who was just run out of Columbus, is not building the "right culture."

You clearly don't follow much about Laine. That's ok. Feel free to share any anonymous sources of yours.

 

[bobholly39]

Not sure how people could put GMs that have only done a rebuild or part of one in the top 5 lmao. Gathering picks and assets is the easiest thing to do in this league. Insane you can say a gm is top 5 when they haven't even accomplished anything of recognition. Just because you got a bunch of high picks doesn't mean it will turn directly into success.

I mean I somewhat agree. Picking GM's who won first round picks because of the core they're assembling (ie Grier) seems silly. You have to seem them build a team who will contend and hopefully win, do big trades, etc.

But at the same time - if there are enough good trades and moves, you have to consider it. I'm a Habs fan and think Hughes has been batting close to a 1000 since taking over. Almost all of his signings and trades have been great. So I very much think he is top 5, or very close.

 

[Laus723]

Hughes is doing a lot of good, for sure, but picking Reinbacher over Michkov was, and still is, a choice. Perhaps even a disaster. He's damn lucky Demidov fell in his lap this year, but imagine what would have been with BOTH Michkov and Demidov on the Habs roster... Right now, that blunder alone leaves him firmly out of the top 20 GMs for the moment. What remains to be seen is what type of player Reinbacher turns out to be, because this could be one of the biggest draft blunders ever. And they can't use the "I didn't know better" card, because everyone, including my 98-year-old grandma knew Michkov was not just BY FAR the BPA, but a potential superstar/franchise player. I know Reinbacher's looking good, but "good" isn't going to cut it, when Michkov might be a franchise player, setting the league on fire. I hope I'm proven wrong, and that Reinbacher isn't only the real deal, but a hell of a 1D.

Wasn’t there rumors, or confirmed comments, that Michkov wouldn’t have gone to Montreal, or several other locations? Therefore eventually forcing a trade due to his contract status? I could be way off, and maybe it only pertained to Arizona, but I thought Philly and a few other teams were on his “willing to go to” list.

 

[HisNoodliness]

Following to see how many votes Bowman and Yzerman get.

I don't think that you can argue that Yzerman belongs in the top 5 right now. His body of work in Detroit and leaving Tampa before they won make his GM resume a pretty mixed bag.

If we get back into the playoffs over the next couple years and are competing for a cup from then on, then he'll have an argument again.

 

[Killswitch]

I mean I somewhat agree. Picking GM's who won first round picks because of the core they're assembling (ie Grier) seems silly. You have to seem them build a team who will contend and hopefully win, do big trades, etc.

But at the same time - if there are enough good trades and moves, you have to consider it. I'm a Habs fan and think Hughes has been batting close to a 1000 since taking over. Almost all of his signings and trades have been great. So I very much think he is top 5, or very close.

I think Hughes has done a good job but, when you bottom out it's easier to get good young players and also have the cap space and assets to make those trades. I have no idea how Laine will work out, but for the sake of argument lets say he's fine. How many top teams can add him full cap hit? Not many if any. Rebuilding teams can though. Tavares in Toronto another example. So on. How many teams who rebuilt in the past 10 years have even won anything? Colorado? Edmonton made the final with the best player in hockey and lost. Until a GM shows what he can do with the same weaknesses a good team has, it doesn't mean much.

 

[Voight]

Not one person has chevy on their list. That’s crazy to me. He has star prospects, players and even a coach wanting out left right and center and here’s Chevy turning lemons into lemonade.

Chevy is playing beagm on all star mode, while brisebois and zito are playing on easy mode

Their teams have made the finals and won cups..... the Jets have made the WCF once in Chevy's time.

 

[Voight]

Brisebois? The guy who traded an entire drafts worth of picks for Jeannot? Top 5? lmao

Also the guy who has more cup rings than any other active GM.

Jeannot trade wasn't very good but every GM has a few lemons. When he traded picks for Hagel, it worked out beautifully. Likewise trading for Coleman & Goodrow gave Tampa three solid lines, they were a perfect fit and were the missing pieces.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

1. Kelly McCrimmon
George McPhee definitely had a huge role in the success of Vegas, but you can’t deny McCrimmon’s competence as a GM.
2. Don Sweeney
I have a ton of respect for Sweeney as a GM. He’s been able to keep the Bruins competitive even when all of their stars are starting to age out of the sport.
3. Bill Zito
He would be #2 if not for only being GM for only four years. Bill had a vision and was able to perfectly create the team that he wanted. He took risks and ultimately made a ton of great decisions.
4. Jim Nill
It’s hard to deny the reigning back-to-back GM of the year award winner should be on this list. He’s built an absolutely great team with an exciting future.
5. Don Waddell
I have a lot of respect for how Don Waddell ran the Carolina Hurricanes. He turned them from a laughing stock to a team that contends every single year. I’m interested to see what he can do in Columbus.

 

[Cubs2024wildcard]

Stan Bowman has three Cups on his resume yet there's people picking GMs who haven't done a thing.

HF gonna HF

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Wasn’t there rumors, or confirmed comments, that Michkov wouldn’t have gone to Montreal, or several other locations? Therefore eventually forcing a trade due to his contract status? I could be way off, and maybe it only pertained to Arizona, but I thought Philly and a few other teams were on his “willing to go to” list.

If Michkov wasn't willing to go to Montreal, I would consider that a GM failure from Hughes.

Russians historically love Montreal. He wants to play for Torts in Philly rather than MSL in Montreal? We must've done a pretty shitty job with our pitch to him

"Hey Matvei, we just purged every Russian off of our NHL and AHL roster since the war started, wanna come join us?"

 

[Haatley]

You clearly don't follow much about Laine. That's ok. Feel free to share any anonymous sources of yours.

Imagine thinking it's everyone else and not the common factor. Enjoy Laine. 8.7 million for nothing.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

One short but glorious month of Jeff Jackson