Washington Capitals general manager Chris Patrick finished fourth overall in NHL GM of the Year voting during his rookie year leading the team.
Patrick received 5 first-place votes, 4 second-place votes, and 10 third place votes.
The news was revealed during the NHL Draft where the league aired a surprise video for Stars GM Jim Nill, who ultimately took home the award.
Patrick’s fourth place finish comes after, in tandem with Brian MacLellan, Caps brass made seven significant moves during the offseason that helped transform the Capitals into the Eastern Conference’s best team. Important moves included adding Logan Thompson, Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Matt Roy, and Brandon Duhaime to the lineup.
Patrick’s candidacy was likely sunk “>due to not officially ascending into the Capitals’ main general manger role until July 8 after all the moves were made. MacLellan, who remains the team’s president of hockey operations, was the team’s GM until then.
Full voting
Here’s the press release from the NHL:
Stars’ Jim Nill Wins Third Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award
Dallas Executive Honored in Special Surprise Trophy Presentation
NEW YORK (June 27, 2025) – Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars is the 2024-25 recipient of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. Voting for this honor was conducted among NHL Club General Managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nill was surprised by his wife and kids with the trophy while out for dinner with his hockey operations team.
Nill, who last season joined Lou Lamoriello as the second Jim Gregory winner in back-to-back seasons, becomes the first GM in the award’s 15-year history to post three consecutive wins. Nill has been voted a Jim Gregory finalist five times in his 12 seasons in Dallas.
Nill was named on 37 of 42 ballots as a top-three selection, including 17 first-place votes, for 139 voting points. Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers received 12 first-place votes and finished second in balloting with 102 points, followed by Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets (six first-place votes, 52 points).
Nill’s Stars (50-26-6, 106 points) finished fifth in the NHL’s overall standings during the regular season, marking the first time the franchise posted a top-five finish in consecutive seasons since the Presidents’ Trophy-winning teams in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The club advanced to the Conference Finals for the third consecutive season and fourth time in six years. Nill strengthened a perennially strong roster by adding C Mikael Granlund and D Cody Ceci from San Jose in early February and made headlines at the March 7 trade deadline with the acquisition of RW Mikko Rantanen from Carolina. Rantanen led the Stars in playoff scoring with 9-13—22 in 18 GP, including a historic third-period hat trick vs. Colorado in Game 7 of the First Round.
