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Chris MacFarland Avalanche

General manager Chris MacFarland of the Colorado Avalanche was among the three executives named finalists for the NHL GM of the Year Award.

On Tuesday, the NHL announced the three finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, an honor given to the league’s GM annually since 2010. This year, the three finalists are MacFarland for the Avalanche, Bill Guerin of the Minnesota Wild, and Pat Verbeek of the Anaheim Ducks.

One thing to note about the GM of the Year Award is that it is voted on after the first round of the NHL playoffs. This is unlike most of the other NHL awards, which are voted on at the conclusion of the regular season, with the exception of the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.

Chris MacFarland is the Favorite to Win

MacFarland helped build an Avalanche team that led the NHL in points, winning the Presidents’ Trophy for their work, earning 121 points during the regular season as the team went 55-16-11. MacFarland, who was an assistant general manager to current Avalanche president Joe Sakic when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2022, was elevated to GM following their Stanley Cup victory that season.

Since then, the Avalanche have continued to be one of the NHL’s top teams. This year, the Avalanche are the favorite to win the Stanley Cup yet again. Some of MacFarland’s recent trades, such as acquiring Nicolas Roy and Nazem Kadri, have paid dividends for the team as they look to hoist the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history this year.

After sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs this year, the Avalanche currently have a 3-1 lead over the Wild and are one win away from reaching the Conference Finals.

Bill Guerin, Pat Verbeek Likely Runner-Ups

The likely runners-up for the award are Guerin of the Wild and Verbeek of the Ducks. While both of their teams have had fantastic seasons, what the Avalanche have done is something truly special, so it’s hard to go against MacFarland for this award.

That being said, Guerin certainly has a good argument to win it, too. He helped build a Wild team that won 104 points this year, going 46-24-12. Of course, the big move that Guerin made during the season was trading a package of draft picks and prospects for All-Star defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has been an incredible pick-up for the Wild. After the team upset the Dallas Stars in the first round, they have played tough against the Avalanche in the second round, though they trail 3-1 right now after four games in the series. Still, they have the talent on their squad to turn things around.

As for Verbeek, he helped build a talented Ducks team that snapped a seven-year playoff drought this season. The Ducks earned 92 points, including a 43-33-6 record during the regular season, and they upset the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs. As of this time of writing, the Ducks are tied 2-2 with the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, so they are two games away from winning that series and advancing to the Conference Finals, where they would take on the winner of the Avalanche vs. Wild Series.

Some of the other NHL general managers who were likely considered for the award but not named finalists include Eric Tulsky of the Carolina Hurricanes, Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, and Kyle Dubas of the Pittsburgh Penguins.