Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic has won some of the biggest awards in the sport. Stanley Cups as a player and general manager. The Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and the Lester B. Pearson award.
On Thursday night he added another individual award to his personal trophy case when he won the 2022 Jim Gregory Award as the NHL’s general manager of the year.
Sakic has built a powerhouse team in Colorado that has been one of the league’s best over the past five years. That core finally broke through during the 2021-22 postseason to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 2001 when Sakic was still a player on the team.
Along with building the team through the draft with home run top picks including Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar, the Avalanche under Sakic’s leadership have also made a number of home run trades and free agency signings in recent years to build their roster.
That includes a series of moves this season.
[Related: Trade with the Colorado Avalanche at your own risk]
Back in the offseason Colorado acquired starting goalie Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes for a first-round draft pick. Kuemper was an outstanding replacement for Philipp Grubauer after he signed with the Seattle Kraken in free agency and helped backstop the team to a championship.
During the season Sakic made a couple of strong trades before the trade deadline, acquiring Arturri Lehkonen from the Montreal Canadiens and Josh Manson from the Anaheim Ducks.
New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury and Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois were the other two finalists for the award.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.