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Minnesota Wild's Bill Guerin named NHL GM of the Year
Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin got one of the NHL's top honors this week. He was named the GM of the Year for the 2025-26 season.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Bill Guerin of the Minnesota Wild has received one of the NHL’s top honors for his work during the 2025-26 season.
Guerin recognized for standout season, roster moves
What we know:
The NHL announced that Bill Guerin, Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager for the Minnesota Wild, is the recipient of the 2025-26 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. Minnesota finished seventh in the league in points during the regular season and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Guerin made several major roster moves, including trading for defenseman Quinn Hughes from Vancouver on Dec. 12, and adding veterans Bobby Brink, Nick Foligno, Michael McCarron and Jeff Petry at the trade deadline. He also signed Nico Sturm in free agency, and acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from Detroit last summer.
The backstory:
Guerin is entering his eighth season with the Wild and his fourth as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager. He was first named general manager on Aug. 21, 2019. Under his leadership, the Wild have made the playoffs in six out of seven seasons (2020-23, 2024-26) and posted back-to-back 100-point seasons for only the second time in franchise history (2021-23), despite salary cap challenges.
Guerin’s impact goes beyond the NHL. He served as general manager for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, leading the team to its first gold medal since 1980, and guided Team USA to a silver medal at the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off.
Award history and finalists
Why you should care:
The Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award has been given out every year since 2009-10 to the general manager who excels most during the regular season. Voting is done by league general managers and a panel of NHL executives and media after the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Guerin, a first-time finalist, is the first in Wild history to win this award.
Chris MacFarland of Colorado and Pat Verbeek of Anaheim were also finalists for the 2025-26 season.