Daily Faceoff Live: Mid-season candidates for GM of the Year
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed the general manager of the year candidates and who could take home the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award if it were to be handed out right now.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Looking back on the head and what we have seen so far, who is the GM of the year if you were to hand out the award right now Frank?
Frank Seravalli: If I had to hand out the award right now, it’s an interesting one because I think there are lots of candidates and teams that have been good. But, it would be Jim Nill of the western conference-leading Dallas Stars, who have a .650 points percentage. When I think of the GM of the Year award, typically we always go after the GM who made the biggest changes to get his team into the playoffs. That certainly would not be the case with Nill because this roster is mostly the same. The reason I picked Nill is to think of some of the land mines he successfully maneuvered around this summer. He got Jason Roberson a new deal, he signed Jake Oettinger to a new contract that I think really fits that team for the long haul. So when you think of the Stars and the players they have assembled, you also go back to that monster draft year they had when they picked up all of those guys. Maybe one of the best draft classes we have seen from an individual perspective. So to me, that’s what stands out for the way Jim Nill has built the Dallas Stars. Then I was thinking does Don Sweeney deserve some recognition for building Boston as well, maybe the coaching change, bringing back David Krejci, the Hampus Lindholm trade at the deadline last year, and I just think they didn’t stand out to me in terms of that candidacy.
Tyler Yaremchuk: There’s a couple at the top of my list. Ron Francis in Seattle should get a ton of recognition for what he’s done. That Oliver Bjorkstrand trade was one of the best moves of the entire summer and then signing Andre Burakovsky a guy who has been on a couple of Stanley Cup runs and knows how to win. I love what New Jersey has done with the Vitek Vanecek deal, this is a guy who is outperforming his career numbers right now and they got him for just a couple of picks.
Frank Seravalli: Think John Marino too. I mean that to me is maybe one of the steals of the summer.
Tyler Yaremchuk: They’ve had a great season; Ondrej Palat hasn’t been a part of it. Palat is a guy who gets better when the playoffs come around, he’s one of the big clutch scorers of the last few seasons. So I think that’s a move that makes Tom Fitzgerald look excellent. But, I want to throw a curveball at you, what about Brian MacLellan of the Washington Capitals? I look at Darcy Kuemper, they’ve been so banged up, no Backstrom or Carlson for some stretches yet they’re still in a playoff picture. They picked up Erik Gustafsson for basically nothing, he’s been great and they picked up Dylan Strome and who’s been their top-line center.
Frank Seravalli: I think he’s done a nice job keeping them afloat but I wouldn’t say he’s vaulted them into any sort of contender status. Maybe that’s to be expected with the contracts and terms they have on the books, but in this case, it doesn’t jump out to me.
You can watch the full episode here…