Cheveldayoff, Nill, and Zito finalists for NHL GM of the Year Award

The NHL announced its three candidates for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award on Friday: Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets, Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers. Unlike other end-of-season awards, this award is voted on by NHL general managers, executives, and a select group of media following the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, placing importance on both regular-season performance and post-season success. Kevin Cheveldayoff guided the Winnipeg Jets to their strongest regular season in team history, winning the Presidents' Trophy with a 56-22-4 mark and 116 points. Last season's first-round playoff failure served as the catalyst for Cheveldayoff to rebuild behind the bench, again advancing Scott Arniel — this year a Jack Adams Award finalist — and supplementing at the trade deadline with Brandon Tanev and Luke Schenn. While the Jets fell to Dallas in six games, Cheveldayoff's regular-season master plan received league-wide acclaim. In the meantime, Jim Nill is chasing a third straight GM of the Year Award win. His Dallas Stars reached the Western Conference Final for the third consecutive year and dispatched Cheveldayoff's Jets in Round 2. Nill took big bets at the trade deadline, acquiring Mikko Rantanen — now the NHL's top playoff point scorer — and committing to him on an eight-year extension. He also brought in veterans Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, both of whom have played a part in the Stars' playoff success. In the Panthers' own backyard, Bill Zito continues to cement his place as one of the best players in the NHL. The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers last season held the Eastern Conference Final position again, and they lead Carolina 2-0. Despite free-agent losses of several of its key players — Brandon Montour and Anthony Stolarz among them — Zito reloaded with under-the-radar acquisitions such as Jesper Boqvist and Tomas Nosek, then acquired larger deadline bargains in Seth Jones and former Boston captain Brad Marchand. Also read: Finalists show Hockey’s growing power beyond Willie O’Ree Community Hero AwardThis is the third consecutive season that Nill and Zito are finalists, and both have established strong positions again. Nill is the leader among active GMs with two Jim Gregory Awards, and Zito has been up for the award consecutively three times, the second-most since 2009-10, when the award began.