Avalanche’s Joe Sakic voted winner of NHL’s general manager of the year award – The Denver Post

Joe Sakic of the Avalanche has been named the NHL’s general manager of the year, the league announced on Thursday.

The legendary player turned GM directed the franchise to its best regular season in history — 56-19-7, 119 points — en route to winning the Stanley Cup. A voting panel of NHL general managers, executives and media members chose Sakic over second-place finisher Julien BriseBois (Lightning).

“It’s an organizational award,” Sakic said during his acceptance speech at the NHL draft in Montreal broadcast on ESPN. “I also want to thank ownership, Stan and Josh Kroenke, for giving us that opportunity. Sticking with us and believing in the process.”

Sakic architected one of the more impressive turnarounds in recent NHL history.

Colorado recorded a league-worst 48 points in the 2016-17 season. The team moved forward with smart draft picks — like defensemen Cale Makar and Bowen Byram — plus a bevy of high-impact trades and free agency pickups: such as Andre Burakovsky, Andrew Cogliano, Darren Helm, Sam Girard, Nazem Kadri, Darcy Kuemper, Valeri Nichushkin and Josh Manson.

Sakic is no stranger to NHL accolades. Over his playing career, the Hockey Hall of Famer won the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Conn Smythe Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy, NHL Foundation Player Award and two Stanley Cups. Sakic now must make room in his trophy case for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

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