What does taking your team to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and winning two of them get you? Not the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award in Bill Zito’s case. It’s “an annual award presented to recognize the work of the top general manager in the NHL,” the league says about the award created in 2009. Yet, despite his success in transforming Florida, the award has eluded Zito.

When the Florida Panthers appointed Bill Zito as their general manager in September 2020, the 60-year-old took charge of a team that didn’t make it to 7 of the last 10 playoffs. Yet, within five years of taking charge, the GM has helped turn Florida into what players like Matthew Tkachuk believe to be a Stanley Cup dynasty. So you can imagine the reaction when the NHL voted someone else to win the award.

That someone else is Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill. What’s more? This was Nill’s third consecutive Jim Gregory award, as he became the only general manager to achieve this feat. Nill finished the season with a fifth-best record (50-26-6) in the league and helped the Stars reach three consecutive conference finals. However, fans didn’t find him deserving, as one wrote, “Zito was completely robbed,” under Frank Seravalli’s post.

Meanwhile, Jim Nill emerged as the clear winner among the finalists, which included Bill Zito. As per the NHL’s official report, Nill’s name was on 37 of 42 ballots. The Dallas Stars GM, whose other highlight was securing Mikko Rantanen, who became arguably the most high-profile trade ahead of the March deadline, won 17 first-place votes and ended up with 139 voting points.

However, the five-time finalist had no idea about his achievement as he was out for dinner with other Dallas Stars members as they prepared for the NHL Draft. And that’s when his wife and kids surprised the GM with the award. “Caught me off-guard. I was like, ‘What are they doing here?'” said Nill. It was a wholesome moment reminiscent of when Meredith Gaudreau showed up at Sean Monahan’s door with the 2025 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. However, the fans complained.

Bill Zito’s name kept popping up

While Jim Nill made history, fans shouted robbery. “Loooooollll how can this be a serious award if Zito is not winning at this point?” one NHL fan asked in the comments. “3 straight cups and back-to-back winner with a roster built to near perfection,” he added in defense of the Florida Panthers’ general manager and president of hockey operations.

And to say Zito has built a winning roster would be an understatement. In fact, the Cat’s alternate captain believes that Bill Zito changed the trajectory of his hockey career. “He’s been a great GM, and he’s somebody who changed my life bringing me here,” Tkachuk said ahead of the Stanley Cup final. Meanwhile, others argued exactly why Nill didn’t deserve the GM of the Year award.

“Stop giving this award to GMs who don’t even make it to the cup, let alone win one,” wrote one fan, highlighting how the Stars haven’t made it to the finals for the last five years, and lost three conference finals consecutively. And if you thought only Florida Panthers fans questioned the award, you’d be wrong. “Why, because he traded for Rantanen? Should’ve been Brian MacLellan,” wrote a fan.

Although MacLellan is the president of hockey operations for the Washington Capitals, another fan later corrected it to GM Chris Patrick. What’s more? The fan even agreed that he’d be okay with Bill Zito winning. Finally, it seemed even Dallas Stars fans weren’t completely onboard with Nill winning the award for the third year in a row.

“Now, if only the team he puts together could win a damn Cup,” commented a fan, once again highlighting that coming close doesn’t really count. What’s even more surprising is Nill barely the top three. While Bill Zito did pick up 12 first-place votes, he finished in second place with 37 fewer points than the Stars’ GM. So, what did you think of the NHL’s decision? Tell us in the comments.