NHL Power Rankings: Doug Wilson and the Top 10 GMs in the NHL

The general manager is arguably the most important person to a franchise.  They are responsible for collecting a group of players that can win year in and year out.  It can start from the farm system or through free agency and trades, but the GM is relied upon to build a competitive team.

There are risks and rewards, as there are in any field, but it is the new fad of long-term contracts that may be the hardest decisions for hockey general managers.

If the players does well under his contract, then the GM is praised.  If not, he will receive criticism.

Here are the top General Managers in hockey today.

Thanks to Forbes.com for the financial breakdown, as well.

10. Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles Kings)

Dean Lombardi is responsible for building two franchises that have been rather successful in his 12 years as a GM.

From 1996-2003, he built the start of what is now a very competitive San Jose Sharks franchise, which included drafting Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, Ryane Clowe and Christian Ehrhoff.  Also, he traded for guys like Owen Nolan and Mike Ricci.

Using that same philosophy, he established a good young core when he took over as GM of the Los Angeles Kings.

He instilled a core of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, which have proven to be elite players in the NHL.

This offseason he added Mike Richards and Simon Gagne to bolster an already talented group of players.

9. Peter Chiarelli (Boston Bruins)

The most recent winner of the Stanley Cup has to have their GM on this list.

Chiarelli went from almost putting his job in jeopardy to stabilizing it for years to come.

At the beginning of the season, the Bruins would have been lucky to make the Eastern Conference Finals, after their debacle in 2010 to the Flyers.

In 2011, they are Stanley Cup champions thanks to Chiarelli bolstering a decent roster with defenceman Tomas Kaberle and the outbreak of Brad Marchand in the playoffs.

8. Brian Burke (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Regular-season points: 465
Postseason points: 45
Total: 510
Payroll: $223.3 million
Payroll dollars per point: $480,215

The mastermind behind the 2010 U.S. Olympic team has had his hands full with the Maple Leafs.

Burke took over as GM of Toronto after rather successful stints with the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, and now runs the most profitable well-recognized team in hockey.

However, that comes with some huge responsibility.  It was not long before people started to see that maybe he was handed some good teams in both Vancouver and Anaheim, rather than earning them.

The Leafs were just eight points out of the playoffs last season, and knowing Burke, he will attempt to make something happen.

It is what he famous for, and why he is on this list.

7. George McPhee (Washingotn Capitals)

Regular-season points: 463
Postseason points: 20
Total: 483
Payroll: $207.6 million
Payroll dollars per point: $448,380

Anytime a talent like Alex Ovechkin falls in your lap, it is hard to call that man responsible for drafting him one of the top GMs in the game.  Except that we do.

However, it is who McPhee has put around Ovechkin that has made him team as good as it is every year.  Players like Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom have fueled this team to back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the Eastern Conference.

6. Jim Rutherford (Carolina Hurricanes)

Regular-season points: 469
Postseason points: 40
Total: 509
Payroll: $213.5 million
Payroll dollars per point: $455,224

Although the Hurricanes seem to be on a bit of a down slide, Rutherford did set up Carolina's 2006 Stanley Cup victory, as well as a good run in 2009.

He does this in a very small hockey market with not much money to play with.

5. Ray Shero (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Regular-season points: 407
Postseason points: 60
Total: 467
Payroll: $181.1 million
Payroll dollars per point: $444,963

Drafting Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has got to get you some respect.  Sure, we can chalk it up to lottery luck, but then what fun would that be?

With not much payroll to play with either, Shero has taken this team to playoff appearance after playoff appearance, but he must re-tool his roster if he wants to keep it going in Pittsburgh.

4. Darcy Regier (Buffalo Sabres)

Regular-season points: 504
Postseason points: 35
Total: 539
Payroll: $221.2 million
Payroll dollars per point: $438,889

Regier has been in charge in Buffalo since 1996, and has just now started building a winning team.

The entire core of the Sabres has been thanks to Regier, who has developed such players as Ryan Miller and Derek Roy, among others.

The Sabres have two Conference Final appearances since 2005.

3. Ken Holland (Detroit Red Wings)

Regular-season points: 566
Postseason points: 75
Total: 641
Payroll: $242.2 million
Payroll dollars per point: $428,675

The mastermind behind the Detroit Red Wings continued success since 1997 is getting his due at No. 3 on this list.

Several seasons of re-signing and signing talented players to win in Detroit has made Holland notorious in the hockey world. 

In return for his relentless deals, his players won four Stanley Cups for him and have continued to make the playoffs year in and year out.

2. Doug Wilson (San Jose Sharks)

Regular-season points: 544
Postseason points: 50
Total: 594
Payroll: $228.5 million
Payroll dollars per point: $420,037

Wilson is quickly growing to become one of the premiere General Managers in hockey today.

The way he treats hockey and his Sharks team is the way we treat out fantasy hockey team.

This offseason was a perfect reason why Wilson is who he is. 

After back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances, Wilson decides that is not enough.  He did not blow the team up, but simply re-tooled his roster by adding the speedy Martin Havlat and a premiere defenceman in Brent Burns.

The Sharks would simply give up two players that never seemed to work in San Jose.

Wilson continues to provide a contender on the ice every year.

1. David Poile (Nashville Predators)

Regular-season points: 495
Postseason points: 20
Total: 515
Payroll: $196.9 million
Payroll dollars per point: $397,778

Hockey business writer Tom Van Riper summed it up best when he said "The Predators have three 100-point seasons and four playoff appearances to their credit since the lockout, all with the league's fifth-lowest payroll."  Case pretty much closed.

Poile has done with the Predators what no one thought was possible and that was take a hockey team from Tennessee and make them into a contender.

They are certainly that, and with Poile continuing to provide talented players, The Predators could be a contending team for quite some time.