Stanley Cup-winning GM Ray Shero passes away at 62

Long-time NHL executive Ray Shero has passed away at the age of 62.

Shero spent 30 years in the NHL as an executive, most recently as a senior advisor for the Minnesota Wild over the past four years.

Born in 1962, Shero played college hockey for St. Lawrence University of the NCAA. He served as captain in his final year in 1984-85 before retiring as a player. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1982, but he never played in the NHL. 

Shero began his career as an assistant general manager with the Ottawa Senators from 1993-98. From there, he joined the upstart Nashville Predators as their assistant GM, holding the job from 1998-06 before getting his first GM job with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005-06. 

Shero led the team to the Stanley Cup in 2009 with a core that included Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, among others. He’d hold the job until 2013-14, the same season he served as an assistant GM on USA’s Olympic hockey team.

Following his time with the Penguins, Shero became the GM of the New Jersey Devils in 2015 after a year away from the game. He oversaw a significant reshaping of their prospect system and drafted Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes with first-overall picks in 2017 and 2019, respectively. 

Ray was the son of former NHLer Fred Shero, who won two AHL Calder Cups as a player and two Stanley Cups as a coach with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974 and 1975.

“Ray Shero’s smile and personality lit up every room he walked into and brightened the day of everyone he met,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a league statement. “Widely respected throughout hockey for his team-building acumen and eye for talent, he was even more beloved for how he treated everyone fortunate enough to have known him.”