Sakic of Avalanche named General Manager of Year

Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche was named the winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award on Thursday.

Presented annually to the general manager who best excelled at his role during the regular season, the award is voted on by NHL GMs and a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The award was presented to Sakic at the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft by Monteal Canadiens legend Serge Savard.
Sakic has been Avalanche GM since his promotion from executive adviser May 10, 2013 and helped build the team that won the Stanley Cup this season, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Final in six games.
"It's a huge honor," Sakic said. "You're being voted on by your peers and it's a huge honor. I know it's a team award. We've got a great staff. (Assistant GM) Chris MacFarland is huge on it. We do everything together. Our scouts, every one of them, pro, amateur. It's the team, the players, they were so committed this year, the coaching staff. To me it's not an individual award, it's an organizational award."
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Colorado (56-19-7) finished first in the Western Conference in the regular season after acquiring goalie Darcy Kuemper in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on July 28, 2021, signing free agent center Darren Helm the next day, and trading for defenseman Josh Manson (from the Anaheim Ducks on March 14), forwards Andrew Cogliano (from the San Jose Sharks on March 21) and forward Artturi Lehkonen (from the Montreal Canadiens on March 21) before the deadline.
Each played a key role in the playoffs. Kuemper won 10 games; Helm scored the series-clinching goal in the second round against the St. Louis Blues and led the playoffs with 97 hits; Manson had eight points, including an overtime goal in Game 1 against the Blues; Cogliano had six points (three goals, three assists) and was a key member of the penalty kill; and Lehkonen scored the series-winning goal in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers in the conference final, and the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the Cup Final against the Lightning.
When Sakic accepted the job in 2013, the Avalanche had missed the playoffs three straight seasons. Colorado also finished last in the NHL standings four seasons later. Since then, it has qualified for the playoffs five straight seasons.
"He's just been calm and cool and stuck with us," defenseman Erik Johnson said after the Avalanche won the Cup. "We finished last in the League in 2016-17, and 'Gabe' [Gabriel Landeskog] and I went to him and said, 'We want to be part of the solution here,' and he said, 'Well, can't make you any promises,' but he stuck with us and we got it done. And it's all worth it now. He deserves a lot of credit. He built a winner."
Sakic is the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques all-time leader in games played (1,378), goals (625), assists (1,016) and points (1.641). The Hockey Hall of Fame center played 20 seasons with them from 1988-2009, including captaining the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship twice, in 1996, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and in 2001.
"Joe's incredible and the team around him, 'C-Mac' (Chris MacFarland, assistant GM) and everybody there, they're so knowledgeable," Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. "You can tell just talking to them, and Joe's obviously done such a great job of putting the pieces together for a team that's been able to compete year in and year out now. So, it's exciting that he's been nominated, because he definitely deserves it, where our team was and is now."
Julien BriseBois of the Lightning and Chris Drury of the New York Rangers were the other finalists for the award.
The NHL General Manager of the Year Award, which was first presented in 2009-10, was renamed in 2019-20 in honor of Jim Gregory, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who was Maple Leafs GM and an NHL executive for four decades. Gregory died Oct. 30, 2019.
2022 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award voting
Points (1st-3rd)
1. Joe Sakic, COL 109 (16-8-5)
2. Julien BriseBois, TBL 87 (12-8-3)
3. Chris Drury, NYR 53 (4-7-12)
4. Ken Holland, EDM 41 (3-7-5)
5. Bill Zito, FLA 33 (2-6-5)
6. Bill Guerin, MIN 16 (1-2-5)
7. Brad Treliving, CGY 14 (1-2-3)
8. Rob Blake, LAK 13 (2-1-0)
9. Don Waddell, CAR 6 (1-0-1)
10. Kyle Dubas, TOR 4 (0-1-1)
t-11. Kevyn Adams, BUF 1 (0-0-1)
David Poile, NSH 1 (0-0-1)