Lightning, Islanders and Stars GMs Named Finalists for 2020 NHL GM Award

The NHL has announced its three finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

Julien BriseBois of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders and Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars are in the running for the honor, which will be announced Saturday.

One season after tying an NHL record with 62 regular-season wins, the Lightning are in the Eastern Conference Final. BriseBois re-signed Brayden Point and goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy to long-term contracts this season after adding 2019 Stanley Cup champion Pat Maroon, Kevin Shattenkirk and Luke Schenn in free agency. 

BriseBois, 43, is a finalist for the first time and would be the second Lightning GM to win after Steve Yzerman did so in 2015.

In the playoffs, BriseBois will face Lamoriello's Islanders, who have reached at least the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. A first-time finalist, the 77-year-old Lamoriello, who re-signed Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson, would be the first Islanders general manager to win. The longtime Devils GM traded for Jean-Gabriel Pageau and signed the center to a six-year contract at the trade deadline.

Under Nill's leadership, the Stars have advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2008, due in part to the addition of free agents Corey Perry, Joe Pavelski, and Andrej Sekera and the re-signing of four skaters: Jason Dickinson, Mattias Janmark, Esa Lindell and Taylor Fedun.

Nill, 62, finished third in GM of the Year voting in 2015-16. 

The award was renamed this season in honor of Hockey Hall of Famer Jim Gregory, who died in 2019. The winner is voted on by the league's general managers and a panel of NHL executives and media.