Why Bill Zito deserves the Jim Gregory Award as NHL’s top GM

On Friday, the NHL announced the three finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. Along with Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and three-time and reigning winner Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers is in the running for some hardware.

Zito has earned the reputation of being a go-getter since behind hired by the Panthers in 2020, taking the team from being the “little brother” to the Tampa Bay Lightning and making Florida not only a Stanley Cup champion but also a destination for players.

Zito put together a roster that won the franchise’s first championship last year and arguably made the team even better this year, taking big swings when acquiring defenseman Seth Jones and forward Brad Marchand before the trade deadline.

Now, the Panthers are two wins away from heading to the Cup Final for the third year in a row.

On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli explains why Zito should be the one to win the Jim Gregory Award for the first time in his career.

Frank Seravalli: They added two majorly significant pieces to their team in Seth Jones and Brad Marchand, really without having to give up a whole ton. Their first-round pick probably isn’t going to be a huge deal because it’s so late. Spencer Knight was still behind Sergei Bobrovsky anyway and wasn’t going to be starting. If you can ring out another Cup from this team, I mean, you now also have real term on Jones, [who’s] been a rejuvenated piece. You’ve got him in your lineup for the next handful of years. That body, he’s physically going to age very well. He’s an effortless skater. 

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…