NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists
The Wild’s Bill Guerin, the Avalanche’s Chris MacFarland, and the Ducks’ Pat Verbeek are the three finalists for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced today.
The award is presented annually “to the general manager who best excelled at his role during the regular season.” It is voted on by the League’s general managers and, per the league, “a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media” after the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes.
This is the first time all three names have surfaced as finalists for the award. Of the three, Guerin is the longest-tenured lead executive. He was hired in 2019 to lead the Wild, and has guided the team to the playoffs in five of his seven campaigns in charge of the team. His Wild went 46-24-12 this season, good for third place in the Western Conference.
Guerin pulled off what most would likely consider this past season’s boldest transaction, putting together a package of players, prospects, and draft picks strong enough to land Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. The move gave the Wild one of the game’s best players and arguably the game’s top defenseman.
He also secured the signature of franchise face Kirill Kaprizov on a massive contract extension, ensuring his team’s centerpiece player would not be departing in free agency. Kaprizov’s signing and the trade for Hughes represent two of the most consequential transactions in franchise history.
While Minnesota were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Avalanche last night, their loss should not diminish what Guerin accomplished this season – and that’s not even including his work constructing America’s roster for the Winter Olympics in Italy, work that resulted in a gold medal. He’s built the Wild into one of the NHL’s strongest teams, and his status as a finalist is a reflection of the strength of his body of work in 2025-26.
Verbeek, who like Guerin is a former longtime NHLer, has been running the Ducks’ hockey operations since February 2022. As GM in Anaheim, Verbeek has engineered a youth movement that is the envy of the NHL, securing high-end young pieces such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke.
But Verbeek hasn’t just stockpiled young talent. It’s his work to supplement his burgeoning young core with strong veteran contributors that has likely landed him as a finalist – and what has helped propel Anaheim to the second round of the playoffs.
Many rebuilding teams end up playing as many young players as possible, and the quality of the team overall suffers. The Ducks have taken a different approach, fusing a high number of young players with significant investments in veteran leaders. The result has been strong player development outcomes across the board, and the elevation of the Ducks into a winning, playoff-caliber team.
Verbeek signed Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn as free agents, and landed Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, and most recently John Carlson via trade. Those additions, combined with the offseason hire of three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach Joel Quenneville, have supercharged the Ducks’ rebuild and pushed them back to contention at a quick pace.
Of the three finalists, MacFarland has been GM for the shortest period of time, though his tenure in Colorado overall actually stretches back more than a decade. Joe Sakic’s longtime assistant GM took the reins in 2022, and has since helped turn the Avalanche into a Presidents’ Trophy winner.
MacFarland’s bold decision to move on from star forward Mikko Rantanen, who was inching closer to unrestricted free agency, appears to have paid off. His direct replacement Martin Necas had an 100-point season and is now signed through 2033-34. MacFarland was also able to retain veteran pivot Brock Nelson, who ended up a Selke Trophy finalist in his first full campaign in Denver.
MacFarland has been able to find diamonds in the rough, such as Sam Malinski and Parker Kelly to support a contending team with fewer available draft picks thanks to trades designed to secure veteran talent.
The work of MacFarland and his staff has Colorado in a position to potentially win its second Stanley Cup of the 2020s, and that’s why he’s a finalist for GM of the year.
Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Hurricanes Sign Charlie Cerrato To Entry-Level Deal
According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward prospect Charlie Cerrato to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal includes $2.525MM in total salary at the NHL level, $85K per season in the AHL, and $220K in signing bonuses.
Cerrato, 21, was drafted with the 49th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Hurricanes. He was finishing up his freshman year with the upstart Penn State Nittany Lions, scoring 15 goals and 42 points in 38 games with a +16 rating.
Remaining with Penn State for his sophomore campaign, Cerrato’s scoring dissipated somewhat, but he missed a decent chunk of the season due to injury. He finished the NCAA season with seven goals and 27 points in 23 games with a +3 rating.
Although he didn’t play in the regular season, Cerrato signed an amateur tryout agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves after his season with Penn State finished. He appeared in one contest in Chicago’s recent series against the Texas Stars, going scoreless.
Throughout his time in the Big Ten Conference, Cerrato typically played well in a support role and on the defensive side of the puck. He’s relatively physical and somewhat of a pest with his stick. On offense, most of his production comes from reading the defense quickly and charging the net or dropping back to be the third man in.
Given the depth that the Hurricanes have on offense, it’s unlikely that Cerrato will begin the 2026-27 campaign on the opening night roster for Carolina. Despite his competitive nature, it’ll likely serve him better to get a full season with the Wolves to continue his development, as Carolina typically does with their prospects.
Ethan Belchetz Commits To Michigan State
Another top NHL Draft prospect is headed to play College Hockey. According to an announcement on his Instagram, Ethan Belchetz, a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, has committed to Michigan State University.
Belchetz did not confirm in the announcement whether he was staying or leaving his current team, the Windsor Spitfires, but he will likely arrive in East Lansing this fall. He finished the 2025-26 season second on Windsor in goals with 34, behind Rangers prospect Liam Greentree‘s 38 and fourth in points, scoring 59 across 57 OHL games. He added seven points in five games en route to a Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Bronze Medal with Canada and was a +5 rating on the U18 team in that tournament.
At 6-foot-5, 227 lbs, Belchetz is known as a strong forward with great offensive awareness. The 18-year-old forward from Oakville, Ontario, is likely to be selected within the top ten of the draft. He has an average ranking of eighth among all consolidated outlets that cover the NHL Draft and its prospects. Belchetz is set to join notable NHL Draft names also committed to Michigan State, like Mason West (2025-CHI-1), Chase Reid (2026), Nikita Klepov (2026), Jack Hextall (2026), among others.
Under head coach Adam Nightingale, Michigan State has become a dominant force in the college hockey realm. The Spartans have boasted three consecutive seasons with 25 or more wins and have won the Big Ten regular season title en route to the NCAA Tournament in each of those campaigns. Two of those seasons saw them also win the Big Ten championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Flyers’ Owen Tippett Suffered From Internal Bleeding
The Philadelphia Flyers were without winger Owen Tippett throughout their Round Two series against the Carolina Hurricanes for what was originally described as a sports hernia. This morning, according to a team announcement, the Flyers revealed that Tippett was suffering from internal bleeding as a result of the hernia.
In the announcement, Tippett was quoted as saying, “I was unable to return for the Second Round series vs. Carolina due to an internal bleeding issue that I sustained during the First Round series vs. Pittsburgh. Following a series of medical evaluations, treatments, and rehabilitation under the care of the Flyers medical team, I am making progress and feeling better each day. Despite being cleared to travel and skate with the team at certain practices, things did not progress at a pace that I hoped for or would allow me to safely continue playing.”
Given that Tippett played in all six games against the Penguins in Round One, and the Flyers were eliminated by the Hurricanes only 10 days later, it’s remarkable that Tippett even got close to returning. Recovery from a sports hernia typically takes six to twelve weeks and may require surgery to repair damaged muscles, tendons, or ligaments. The Flyers update suggests that Tippett might have been available if the series against Carolina had gone longer, or during the Eastern Conference Final had Philadelphia advanced that far.
Fortunately, it does not sound like Tippett will have any issues beginning the 2026-27 on time. The 27-year-old winger is coming off the second-highest scoring season of his career, registering 28 goals and 51 points with a -6 rating, averaging 16:51 of ice time per game.
Blue Jackets Sign Charlie Coyle To Six-Year Extension
According to a team announcement, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed Charlie Coyle to a six-year, $36MM ($6MM AAV) extension. Coyle was considered one of the top available unrestricted free agents heading into the offseason.
Earlier this morning, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reported that the Blue Jackets and Coyle were nearing an extension. Shortly thereafter, Pierre LeBrun of TSN added that both sides were ‘working on language’ as the talks progressed.
This contract will take Coyle through the 2031-32 season, when he’ll turn 40 years old. The length ties his previous high in contract years signed in Boston when he extended with the Bruins after the 2018-19 season.
The 34-year-old forward was set to be an unrestricted free agent coming off a six-year contract that paid him $31.50MM ($5.25MM AAV). Coyle finished the 2025-26 season in Columbus, resurging back to his former scoring ways. He was fourth on the Blue Jackets in scoring, tallying 20 goals for 58 points in his fifth consecutive season playing in 82 games. That mark with Columbus was his second-highest point total within that six-year contract span, with the highest production coming out of his 2023-24 campaign, where he reached 60 points in the Bruins centennial season.
Coyle’s new extension provides him with some stability in a time of his career where he has bounced around, to say the least. Coyle was a victim of the Bruins’ reset, where they dealt away the majority of their outer core to recoup future assets. The Weymouth, MA native was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche and produced 13 points in 19 regular-season games and added an assist in their seven-game, first-round loss to the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche then sent him to Columbus over the summer, where he played out the remainder of his deal before this extension.
Originally a first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Coyle never donned the teal and orange after he was selected 28th overall in the 2010 NHL draft. He became a key part of the package traded to Minnesota in exchange for Brent Burns, where Coyle signed his entry-level contract. After providing back-to-back 30-point campaigns in his early twenties, the Wild extended Coyle to a five-year, $16MM ($3.2MM AAV) contract. In the final year of that deal, they dealt him to Boston for Ryan Donato. Coyle proved himself as a key piece in Boston, providing 16 points in 24 playoff games en route to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, where Boston lost in seven games. The Bruins signed him shortly after to the contract that he just finished up in Ohio.
Coyle will assumbly finish out his career in Columbus, adding a blend of scoring, steady two-way play, and veteran leadership to a team that is on the cusp of making the dance in a tough Eastern Conference.
Columbus entered their offseason with over $40MM in cap space before the Coyle extension. Now the Blue Jackets have around $34MM to work with in a summer where they’re looking to build off a 92-point campaign that saw them fall seven points short of an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot that would’ve snapped their Stanley Cup Playoffs drought dating back to the 2019-20 season.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell will need to make several decisions this summer to supplement Coyle’s return. Unrestricted free agents for Columbus include forwards Mason Marchment, Danton Heinen, and captain Boone Jenner, as well as defensemen Erik Gudbranson and Brendan Smith. Along with Cole Sillinger and Egor Zamula as restricted free agents, former third overall pick Adam Fantilli, who scored a career-high 59 points at age 21, and goaltender Jet Greaves, who finished ninth in the NHL with 16.5 goals saved above expected, are restricted expiring deals.
They’ll have some added money from the expirations of buried and bought-out contracts from Adam Boqvist, Alexander Wennberg, and Ivan Fedotov. All three will come off the books and contribute $3.55MM to the space they can use to bring back key players.
Kings, Oilers Connected To Bruce Cassidy
Just like players, coaches in the NHL are just as much of a talking point when they’re available for hire.
Throughout the latter months of the 2025-26 NHL season, we’ve seen coaching changes that sent waves throughout the league. Most notably, the New York Islanders replaced Patrick Roy with their late-season hiring of Peter DeBoer with four games left in the regular season. Before that, an even more surprising move flooded the headlines when the Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy and brought on John Tortorella as his replacement.
Since being let go, Cassidy has made appearances on TNT’s panel for their Stanley Cup Playoffs broadcasts, but that hasn’t taken away his potential of getting behind a new team’s bench. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on Hello Hockey, he said that the free agent is under consideration with two Western Conference teams that would keep him in the Pacific Division: the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers. Both are potential teams that could benefit from Cassidy as their bench boss.
The Kings currently have D.J. Smith, who was elevated to interim head coach after they parted ways with Jim Hiller. In his short tenure, Smith kept them on pace for the playoffs with an 11-6-6 record before falling to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
Los Angeles is at a pivotal turning point in losing their longtime franchise center in Anže Kopitar and will have to evaluate how they can utilize $18MM in cap space this summer to remain competitive with a forward group that has Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin all under contract through the 2027-28 season, when Drew Doughty, the Kings longtime franchise defenseman will be a free agent.
The Kings have lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last five seasons. If they want to make a deeper run, maybe Cassidy is the guy who can help them make one final push.
As for the Edmonton Oilers, Kris Knoblauch is finishing his third season behind the bench, in the approaching climax of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl‘s quest for both superstars’ first Stanley Cup. Since his hire, Edmonton has a .624 points percentage; good for the fifth-most regular-season wins in the NHL (135) and second to the Florida Panthers in playoff victories (31).
Through all that success, the Oilers still have yet to hoist the Stanley Cup within this timeframe. Back-to-back Cup Final appearances in 2024 and 2025 have both seen Edmonton clawed away by the Panthers. This past season, without Florida as a potential East opponent, they’re already in offseason mode after a first-round exit to the Anaheim Ducks.
Along with Pagnotta, Frank Seravalli of Victory + has also weighed in, saying the Oilers have sought permission to interview with Cassidy. Unfortunately for the Oilers, although the Golden Knights haven’t outright denied Edmonton, they are withholding their ability to interview Cassidy for the time being. If Cassidy were to consider the Edmonton job, it would be much more attractive, given the star power they possess. However, the window is much shorter, and the seat would automatically have a hotter temperature, given the circumstances of McDavid’s two-year, $25MM ($12.5MM AAV) extension kicking in.
According to Eric Macramalla of TSN, Cassidy has a year left on his contract with the Golden Knights at $4.5MM. If Vegas allowed Edmonton to interview and eventually hire him, Vegas would typically only owe the difference in his salary and not the entirety of the remaining money left.
Cassidy took the wheel with Vegas in the 2022-23 season, winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup against a Panthers team that Edmonton has yet to crack in the big dance. He left carrying a .623 points percentage in Sin City and amassed the most playoff wins by a coach (24) in the Knights’ short history as an NHL team. Before that, he spent six seasons as head coach of the Boston Bruins. He was a Jack Adams Award winner in 2019-20, the year after making the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Bruins fell to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.
Both situations are certainly attractive and would mutually benefit Cassidy regardless of choice. He’s been known as a coach who brings a direct approach and a winning mindset to an organization. For two teams that are in the midst of competitive windows, they could use the tutelage of a coach who has the caliber that Bruce Cassidy can stand on.
Latest On Morgan Rielly
As the offseason approaches, much of the discussion surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs focuses on the future of Auston Matthews with the organization, as well as what Toronto plans to do with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. However, speaking on First Up with Carlo Colaiacovo and Aaron Korolnek, TSN’s Darren Dreger shared that the Maple Leafs are expected to approach defenseman Morgan Rielly about waiving his no-movement clause this summer.
It’s a similar sentiment to what happened between Rielly and the Maple Leafs last offseason. Operating as the team’s top defenseman, Rielly dropped from 58 points in 72 games during the 2023-24 campaign to 41 points in 82 games in 2024-25, while also seeing his average ice time diminish by a few minutes. Still, Rielly wanted one more season to improve his game and prove that he could be what Toronto needed him to be.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it worked out. Although his goal-scoring production improved, Rielly’s point totals dropped to 36 across 78 games, and he averaged his lowest ice time since the 2014-15 campaign. Additionally, his 48.2% CorsiFor at even strength and 88.2% on-ice SV% at even strength were the lowest totals of his career. According to MoneyPuck, of the 148 defensemen who played over 1000 minutes at even strength during the 2025-26 season, Rielly ranked 107th in On-Ice Goals Percentage.
Clearly, that production isn’t sustainable, especially if the Maple Leafs want Rielly to be their top option from the blue line. However, Dreger asserted that this was a plan put in place by the Brad Treliving regime, and the hiring of John Chayka and Mats Sundin made the situation much cloudier.
Rielly’s agent, J.P. Barry, represented Sundin toward the later stages of his career. He assisted Sundin in staying with the Maple Leafs at the 2008 trade deadline, despite significant speculation, and facilitated the franchise’s scoring leader’s departure to Vancouver the following offseason. Given the connection between Rielly and Sundin, Dreger speculated that Sundin could force the situation and give Rielly another year in Toronto to see if a new staff can work through his issues.
Still, even if the new front office regime decides to pull the plug on Rielly’s tenure with the organization, they aren’t in the best negotiating position. Rielly is coming off back-to-back disappointing campaigns and will have four years and $22MM left on his contract heading into next season. Unlikely to recoup a solid return package, the Maple Leafs will have to decide if ripping the band-aid off is preferable to holding out for a better return that may never come.
Snapshots: Fedotov, Carlson, Keskinen
Columbus Blue Jackets depth netminder Ivan Fedotov’s days in North America could be winding down, speculated by the Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The former Flyer spent the entire campaign in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, making 47 appearances and coming away with a sub-par .887 save percentage.
Most recently, Fedotov has been surpassed by the red-hot Zach Sawchenko, as referenced by Portzline above, who is now getting the bulk of starts and rising to the occasion with a .946 save percentage in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Acquired by the Jackets from Philadelphia in September for a sixth-round pick in this summer’s draft, at the time, the former KHL Goalie of the Year had a chance to take on a real NHL workload with Elvis Merzlikins’ continued struggles a factor. Instead, Jet Greaves won the job, the 25-year-old making 53 starts.
A highly accomplished player with CSKA Moscow, the 6’7” Fedotov would have a laundry list of KHL suitors in his native Russia. Joining the Flyers in March 2024 with a good bit of fanfare, it’s fair to say expectations were not met in his 29 NHL games (all with Philadelphia) and an .874 save percentage. Still, for a seventh round pick (2015), there’s plenty in the tank with an already impressive career highlighted by a KHL championship.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Wearing a uniform which took some time to adjust to, Anaheim’s John Carlson may have a home out west, reported by Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Reportedly, Anaheim has had “exploratory talks” on an extension with the 36-year-old veteran. Currently making $8MM, AFP Analytics projects that the righty could fetch $6.154 with three years of term. The Ducks have plenty of cap space, especially with Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas’ steep deals coming off the books. Carlson is the exact type of player a young team can benefit from having no matter how he ages in the next few years. The longtime Capital is playing heavy minutes in the playoffs, with no signs of slowing down soon.
- Also reported by Portzline, Columbus prospect Oiva Keskinen scored a game winner in the Liiga playoffs over the weekend ending the longest playoff game in league history, just shy of 130 minutes, and four overtimes. It could be a memorable moment before a new chapter, as the Finn is expected to move on to North America next fall, although he’s etched in Tappara’s history forever. A seventh round selection in 2023, the 6’0″ center scored 20 goals in 49 games, good for third on the team. Ending the season on a hot streak with 14 tallies in 26 games, the 22-year-old has the tools to jump into the Columbus lineup before 2027, as another steal from the now-departed general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen.
Avalanche Make Several Lineup Changes
Shortly before the puck dropped in Minnesota on Game 4 between the Avalanche and Wild, a number of lineup changes were revealed. Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski are out, with MacKenzie Blackwood starting in goal, noted by Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Josh Manson has returned, along with Jack Ahcan who will make his NHL playoff debut. Finally, Joel Kiviranta is back with the forward group, skating on the fourth line.
Out of the several notes, most surprising is Lehkonen’s absence, apparently a result of an upper-body injury. A key role player always capable of stepping up in the spring, Lehkonen has three goals and six points in seven playoff games so far. Malinski is also a notable subtraction, the 27-year-old defenseman breaking out this year with 40 points, apparently dealing with the same ailment. His first and only career playoff goal broke the scoring in the opening game of the series against the Wild.
Nick Blankenburg, who filled in defensively for Manson and skated in the series’ first three games, is scratched. Today has been a whirlwind for the 28-year-old Ahcan, recalled earlier from the AHL, in the midst of the Colorado Eagles’ Calder Cup playoff run. Now he’s all set to play in a crucial game in his home state of Minnesota. To be chosen over Blankenburg, often size is a factor, as the smooth skater acquired from Nashville is just 5’9″. However, Ahcan is also smaller in stature, standing 5’8″, the difference being that he’s left-handed and forming a balance on the third pairing with the 6’3″ righty Manson.
Scott Wedgewood had started every game in the postseason for the Avs, the 33-year-old holding things down on the way to 31 wins in the regular season and a .921 save percentage, by far career highs. Still, the veteran was pulled after surrendering three goals on 12 shots in Game 3, prompting them to turn to Blackwood. The 29-year-old nearly split duty with Wedgewood throughout the campaign, and now he’ll get his eighth career playoff start, all with Colorado.
Manson and Kiviranta’s returns were expected. The defenseman Manson is finally cleared to make his playoff debut not having played since late April due to an upper-body injury. Kiviranta, meanwhile, hasn’t played since the second game of the first round series against Los Angeles, dealing with an undisclosed injury. It has been several years now, but still hard to forget the Finnish winger’s efforts in the 2020 playoffs as a Dallas Star, culminating in a Game 7 hat trick in the Western Conference Finals, taking down his current club in Colorado.
With their depth being put to the test, the door is wide open for the Wild to knot up the series 2-2 on home ice. If not, they’ll face a tall task, although Minnesota has overcome a 3-1 deficit in their history, part of their memorable 2003 run which was against Colorado, no less.
Shane Doan, Maple Leafs Mutually Part Ways
The Toronto Maple Leafs have mutually parted ways with special assistant Shane Doan per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Doan’s contract in Toronto was set to expire on June 30. He was originally hired by former Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving in 2023 and will step away before he has a chance to work alongside new general manager John Chayka.
Chayka took over the Arizona Coyotes general manager role in 2016, at the record-setting age of 26. Doan was the team’s star, having spent the last 12 seasons as the Coyotes’ captain. He was 40 years old entering the 2016-17 season and had lost the spark of his previous peak. That was proved when Doan only managed 27 points in 74 games – a mark that was deemed too low to re-sign him through his 40s despite Doan’s desire to keep playing, per ESPN. Arizona sought a trade through the season but, when no offers came through, Doan made the decision to retire in 2017.
Doan was hired as Arizona’s Director of Hockey Administration in 2020. He continued on in that role until the Coyotes were relocated to Utah following the 2022-23 season. The Coyotes’ move opened the door for Doan to grow his roots in NHL front offices. He moved into a Maple Leafs advisory role left vacant when Jason Spezza joined Kyle Dubas in a move to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Spezza has since taken on an assistant general manager and AHL general manager role with the Penguins.
Those could be the roles next in line for Doan, who will now be a managerial free agent amid a lot of change in NHL front offices. He could find a chance to move back to the NHL’s Pacific Division with vacancies in the Seattle Kraken or Vancouver Canucks front offices. Doan also played five seasons with current Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere and could bring invaluable experience as Philadelphia looks to repeat their playoff berth this season.