Jets’ Cheveldayoff a finalist for NHL general manager of the year with Nill, Zito

The Winnipeg Jets announced Thursday that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is one of three finalists for the 2024-25 Jim Gregory award for general manager of the year, presented to the GM who best excelled at their role during the regular season.

In Cheveldayoff’s 14th season at the helm, the Jets put up their best regular-season performance in franchise history, with a record of 56-22-4 and 116 points, capturing their first Presidents’ Trophy as the top overall team in the NHL. The team also set franchise records for points (116), wins (56) and road wins (26).

The Jets also became the first team in league history to win 15 of its first 16 games and allowed the fewest goals.

After an early first-round exit in the 2023-24 playoffs, Cheveldayoff’s first off-season move was hiring Scott Arniel as head coach. Arniel became the first bench boss in NHL history to win his first eight games with a club. Arniel is currently one of three finalists for the Jack Adams award as the league’s top head coach.

Cheveldayoff has held the role of GM since the franchise relocated from Atlanta prior to the 2011-12 season.

This season the Jets advanced to the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs second round, marking the team’s third season-round appearance in the past eight seasons. The team’s starting netminder Connor Hellebuyck and the top three post-season players (Kyle Connor, 17 points; Mark Scheifele, 11 points; Nikolaj Ehlers, 7 points) were among 12 players originally drafted by the Jets.

He also acquired winger Brandon Tanev and defenceman Luke Schenn at the trade deadline to add to the Jets’ core that included six of Cheveldayoff’s draft picks (Connor, Scheifele, Ehlers, Hellebuyck, Adam Lowry and Josh Morrissey).

This is the second time Cheveldayoff has been a finalist for the Jim Gregory award, the first time was for the 2017-18 season.

Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the other finalists announced Friday by the NHL.

Nill’s Stars defeated Cheveldayoff’s Jets in six games in the second round of the 2024-25 NHL playoffs.

Dallas (50-26-6, 106 points) finished fifth in the NHL’s overall standings during the regular season, marking the first time the franchise posted a top-five finish in consecutive seasons since the Presidents’ Trophy-winning teams in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Nill strengthened the roster for the playoffs with the acquisition of winger Mikko Rantanen from Carolina at the March 7 trade deadline.

Nill is a finalist for a record fifth time, winning the award in 2023 and 2024.

The Stars led the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in the Western Conference final heading into Game 2 on Friday.

Zito and the defending Stanley Cup-champion Panthers posted a 98-point regular season (47-31-4), good for third in the Atlantic Division, but showed their true quality in the playoffs by eliminating Tampa Bay and Toronto to advance to the Eastern Conference final for a third straight year.

The Panthers currently lead the conference final 2-0 over the Hurricanes after dominating the opening two games in Raleigh, N.C.

Zito is a finalist for the third straight season and fourth time overall, finishing third in voting in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

The NHL’s GM of the year award was renamed in 2019-20 in honour of Jim Gregory, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who served as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and a league executive for four decades.

Voting for this award was conducted among the NHL general managers and a panel of league executives, print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

— with files from the Canadian Press