Best GMs

[number9 3,297]

Personally I regard Holland as one of the best. Thinks long term, hires the right people, and keeps us competitive.

What about other GMs though? Are there any others out there that you would pick over Holland or just below?

[Guest The Axe]

Personally I regard Holland as one of the best. Thinks long term, hires the right people, and keeps us competitive.

What about other GMs though? Are there any others out there that you would pick over Holland or just below?

I would pick Scotty Bowman over anyone else in hockey.

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

I would pick Scotty Bowman over anyone else in hockey.

I heard he wasn't that good of a GM but I may be mistaken. Great coach!

[Nev 1,085]

You can't argue with Kenny's record.

Poile in Nashville deserves a lot of credit for consistently building a competetive team on a low budget in a non-hockey market.

Bowman is massively over-rated as GM in Detroit, partly because everyone forgets he was sharing the job with Devallano, partly because everyone remembers the Shanahan trade and nothing else. The best player Bowman/Devallano drafted during their tenure was.....Max Kuznetzov.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

Chiarelli in Boston is pretty good. He's drafted well and made good trades/signings to make them a perennial contender these last few years. Good mixture of skill and grit. That franchise was staggering before he got there. Not many long playoff runs. Hard to turn something like that around.

Edited August 11, 2013 by GMRwings1983

[FlashyG 1,799]

I would pick Scotty Bowman over anyone else in hockey.

Best coach ever, but terrible GM.

I'd take Holland over Scotty as GM anyday.

[sjr2012 439]

Best coach ever, but terrible GM.

I'd take Holland over Scotty as GM anyday.

guys hate to burst your bubble but Scotty Bowman is NOT a gm his son Stan is but I agree id take Holland over him

[Wings_Toledo 233]

I don't think Bryan Murray gets enough credit for what he's been asked to do over the years. Still, it's hard to think of anyone who tops Holland. For as much complaining as people on these boards can do about him, it's hard to argue with his continued success.

Think about all of the front office staff who have left even since after the '08 Cup, yet Holland still goes out and finds suitable replacements, drafts well and keeps the team competitive without giving up the future of the organization.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

I think Holland is still one if not the best GM, but at some point he had to hit some homeruns and and top ufas again.

Chiarelli has done some amazing things, he does not have the financial support like Kenny but still manages to re-sign his stars and keep the team competitive. Poile is working under a short budget and always seems.to find some gems. A lot of credit to Maloney he had several restrictions and still kept the Coyotes somewhat competitive.

I mean, it's easy to namr Shero but last season he traded the future for some quick fixes, that didn't work out at all. Murray is always flying under the radar but I think he has done a very good job in rebuilding the Senators.

So my list would be

1 Holland

2 Chiarelli

3 Shero

4 Maloney

5 Murray

6 Poile

Edited August 11, 2013 by frankgrimes

[DickieDunn 2,571]

I think Holland is still one if not the best GM, but at some point he had to hit some homeruns and and top ufas again.

Chiarelli has done some amazing things, he does not have the financial support like Kenny but still manages to re-sign his stars and keep the team competitive. Poile is working under a short budget and always seems.to find some gems. A lot of credit to Maloney he had several restrictions and still kept the Coyotes somewhat competitive.

I mean, it's easy to namr Shero but last season he traded the future for some quick fixes, that didn't work out at all. Murray is always flying under the radar but I think he has done a very good job in rebuilding the Senators.

So my list would be

1 Holland

2 Chiarelli

3 Shero

4 Maloney

5 Murray

6 Poile

Shero's draft record isn't that impressive.

Edited August 11, 2013 by DickieDunn

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Shero's draft record isn't that impressive.

Look at where he had to pick... this Morrow guy could be very good defenseman quite soon too bad he traded him away.

[FlashyG 1,799]

guys hate to burst your bubble but Scotty Bowman is NOT a gm his son Stan is but I agree id take Holland over him

He's not currently a GM but he was one several times during his career including just before Holland took over for the Wings.

He was the GM who had worked out a trade including Yzerman going to Ottawa for Alexei Yashin before getting shut down by either the rest of management or by Illitch himself.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

What about Lombardi?

The Kings have made good moves in the market and in the draft. He brought them their first Cup.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

What about Lombardi?

The Kings have made good moves in the market and in the draft. He brought them their first Cup.

Lombardi yes and also Lamoriello are two of the best.

[rick zombo 3,739]

Lamoriello has done great things for Jersey. Most recently, the trade for Schneider. He's also been able to maintain a (mostly) successful team for the last 25 + years.

However the Kovy deal was insane, and the Clowe signing this year was almost as crazy. Every GM has gaffs, but I think this put Lou out of the top 5 for sure.

Right now, I'd put 9 GMs ahead of Lamoriello.

Holland

Chiarelli

Lombardi

Poile

Shero

Murray

Some sort of Bowman (Stan or Scotty depending on who you believe is pulling the strings in Chicago)

Doug Wilson (sure the Sharks are cup-less, but he's kept them in legitimate contention since 2006)

Maloney

[Guest Crymson]

Chiarelli has done some amazing things, he does not have the financial support like Kenny but still manages to re-sign his stars and keep the team competitive.

Erm, what? The Bruins are one of the richest teams in the NHL. Chiarelli was hired in 2006, and Boston has been up against the cap every single season during his tenure. In several of those seasons, Chiarelli spent more money on salary than Holland did.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Crymson

[ogreslayer 1,069]

He's not currently a GM but he was one several times during his career including just before Holland took over for the Wings.

He was the GM who had worked out a trade including Yzerman going to Ottawa for Alexei Yashin before getting shut down by either the rest of management or by Illitch himself.

Incorrect. Bowman never held the title of General Manager while in Detroit. In addition to coaching, he held the title of Director of Player Personnel. The GM's during Scotty's tenure with the Wings were Bryan Murray for one season, followed by Jimmy Devellano & Kenny.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Erm, what? The Bruins are one of the richest teams in the NHL. Chiarelli was hired in 2006, and Boston has been up against the cap every single season during his tenure. In several of those seasons, Chiarelli spent more money on salary than Holland did.

Then again he's been in the finals 2 out of the past 3 seasons with a Cup ring to show for it. His team is top to bottom a championship caliber team.

Though Rask is overpaid in my opinion.

[rick zombo 3,739]

Then again he's been in the finals 2 out of the past 3 seasons with a Cup ring to show for it. His team is top to bottom a championship caliber team.

Though Rask is overpaid in my opinion.

And that's where team decline begins. The Wings went final four, then cup, then cup finals. Then guys had to get paid.

The Bruins just lost Horton and spent a ton of money on Rask.

But that's the cycle all winning teams go through. How Chiarelli navigates this will detrmine ultimately how good a GM he is.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Erm, what? The Bruins are one of the richest teams in the NHL. Chiarelli was hired in 2006, and Boston has been up against the cap every single season during his tenure. In several of those seasons, Chiarelli spent more money on salary than Holland did.

Oh well then my bad, I've thought about the years before the cap. Chiarelli is a great GM, he builds his teams the way they should be built, skilled - tough and hard working. Yes, Rask is overpaid but so what? The guy is elite and deserves elite money but the Seguin move is going to bite them hard in 2 years. You just don't trade players of that caliber.

Lamoriello and Lombardi the L brothers are 7 and 8. Lou didn't want to sign this ridiculous Kovy deal because he knew, that Kovalchuk is not the right player for the style he wants to play but the ownership (Vanderbeek himself), forced him to sign the guy so his hands were tied. Lombardi has done some great moves but I want to see how he improves this loaded LA team before putting him into the top 5.

[Guest The Axe]

Bowman runs the show where he is. Call him what u want, but he calls the shots.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Oh well then my bad, I've thought about the years before the cap. Chiarelli is a great GM, he builds his teams the way they should be built, skilled - tough and hard working. Yes, Rask is overpaid but so what? The guy is elite and deserves elite money but the Seguin move is going to bite them hard in 2 years. You just don't trade players of that caliber.

Lamoriello and Lombardi the L brothers are 7 and 8. Lou didn't want to sign this ridiculous Kovy deal because he knew, that Kovalchuk is not the right player for the style he wants to play but the ownership (Vanderbeek himself), forced him to sign the guy so his hands were tied. Lombardi has done some great moves but I want to see how he improves this loaded LA team before putting him into the top 5.

I was about to write something about ownership likely forcing Lamoriello's hand on Kovalchuk, because it is not very like him. Also after finishing Phil Espositos book Thunder & Lightning you realize that the owners or their representatives interfere quite a bit in the work of the general manager. Usually not with very good results. He mentions a done deal with Puppa and pick for Joseph back in the day that could have made a significant difference at the time. He also mentioned that the owners denied him to pursue a deal for Gretzky when in NY. Great read if you like to get behind the scenes a little bit.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

That's what makes Illitch a good owner. He hires good people and lets them do their jobs for the most part.

[FlashyG 1,799]

Incorrect. Bowman never held the title of General Manager while in Detroit. In addition to coaching, he held the title of Director of Player Personnel. The GM's during Scotty's tenure with the Wings were Bryan Murray for one season, followed by Jimmy Devellano & Kenny.

Actually from 1994 to 1997 Jim Devellano and Bowman were co GM's. Ken was the assistant GM and took over as GM in July 1998.

Bowman runs the show where he is. Call him what u want, but he calls the shots.

Bowman hasn't run the show anywhere in over a decade. Do you really believe he's running the Blackhawks from his home in Buffalo? Even in his last years in Detroit he was a consultant to their coaching staff. He was far from a managing force for the team.

[toby91_ca 620]

Actually from 1994 to 1997 Jim Devellano and Bowman were co GM's. Ken was the assistant GM and took over as GM in July 1998.

Bowman hasn't run the show anywhere in over a decade. Do you really believe he's running the Blackhawks from his home in Buffalo? Even in his last years in Detroit he was a consultant to their coaching staff. He was far from a managing force for the team.

Not sure if Bowman actually held the title of GM or not, but you are certainly correct in that he shared the GM duties with Jimmy D.

Also agree with your sentiment that he hasn't run the show anywhere for a while. He's a consultant these days by title, but probably doesn't even do too much by way of consulting. I'd guess it's here and there.