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Executive of the year

This year the Executive of the year trophy posed an interesting question. In talking to a few GM’s it seemed to be a debate on what makes someone win this award? Was it the team that went from rebuilding and made a bunch of trades to playoff contention? Was it the team that saw a hole in their line up and fixed that one hole, or was it the team that remade his team to get another shot at the cup. 3 GM’s, 3 different approaches, who would get the win?

First we have Derek Hird of the Maple Leafs. After a strong showing in the playoffs last year he went out this year and made a lot of deals in order to get another crack at it. He brought in players that would add to each of his lines and while most of these did not get a lot of attention, they helped to retool his team and take another step forward for this season.

Next was Sebastiano Loconte. This GM has built a powerhouse team and only added to it this year. He led his team to the Presidents Trophy and made some deals, including one very large one (Connor Hellebuyck) to help firm up an already solid team. And the team he has built looks like one that will be around for the top for quite a while.

Finally, Neil Rochwerg of the Ducks. Over the year, he transformed his team from a perineal loser in the regular season (only thing they could win was the draft) to a team that not only made the playoffs this year but is poised to be a part of them for quite a while. He made an eye dropping 26 trades and really turned his team around.

3 active in their own ways GMs, but unfortunately can only be one winner. This year's Executive of the year award is Sebastiano Loconte. When GM Loconte was contacted about winning the Executive award he was clearly taken by surprise. " I really appreciate the respect my team has gotten around the league. This year especially there were a lot of worthy candidates, not just those nominated but even others. I know sometimes guys get annoyed with each other but it's like any other competition, guys want to win and I think sometimes we get caught up in that. To get a few votes from the guys is really cool. I'd like to thank them all individually, as I talk trade with them trying to make my team better than theirs."

5/4/2021
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