With voting opening soon, here is the moment you've all been waiting for. Meet your 5 GM of the year nominees:
Sumit Purba - Philadelphia Flyers: This trolling attempt should be about as successful as Sumit's fake posting of CCAHL results. I hope you didn't fall for it, Derek. He's not actually a nominee. Now let's get to the actual nominees.
Chris Bates - Tampa Bay Lightning: Chris has been an example of excellence his entire tenure as GM in the CCHL. He's won the President's trophy twice. But Simon T sent him for a spin last season, handing him one of the worst seasons we've ever seen from a team with so much talent. Chris could of made sweeping changes last off season, but he just made smart ones, added in FA, and his team has rewarded him with an impressive bounceback season.
Zach Gagne - New Jersey Devils: The Devils fell just sort of the playoffs, but they're definitely relevant again. Not only that, Zach has built one of the most impressive farm teams and you have to think New Jersey will rise further and become a playoff team. He's done an excellent job since arriving in the league and continued his good work this season. Its starting to pay off.
Greg Almeida - Vegas Golden Knights: Greg was chosen as a nominee before he made it to the finals. Whether or not he takes home the Cup tonight, he's done a fantastic job bringing the Knights from the basement to the top. He's had to fend off John Bates to keep Pasta around, and he had to woo Alex Ovechkin in FA to make it here. As if that wasn't enough, he's always bringing the league some entertainment.
Mike Ostrom - Seattle Kraken: Mike did inherit a good team coming into the league, and because of that I think sometimes the job he has done goes somewhat unnoticed. He has slowly made the team his, and made it younger while still contending. He's always active and putting iut good trade blocks. On top of it, he's provided extra entertainment this year by becoming the CCHL's department of player safety spokesperson. His decisions on suspensions have been about as credible as the NHL's, but much more entertaining!
David Barbosa - Dallas Stars: Dave has been about as likeable as a GM can be this season. He has held nothing back, going after big name rentals and putting together quite the team. They may not have accomplished the ultimate goal, but the effort was gutsy, and he pissed off Sumit in the process (mostly because Sumit still doesn't know how to check a players contract status). Part of his success also has to do with his big performance in last year's FA, most notably signing Giordano. Now he goes into the season with tons of money to play with again. Not only was his approach brave, but it could pay off again with a little luck in FA.
Voting for the CCHL GM of the year bragging rights to open soon!