Feaster Tops Forbes Ranking of NHL GMs

Forbes has compiled a list of the Best General Managers in Sports.  Kevin McHale, GM of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves tops the list.  Unfortunately for GMs like Dave Taylor, Bobby Clarke & Mike Keenan, they could not use their ranking to save their jobs.

Here's how the NHL's GMs stack up. 

2 Jay Feaster Tampa Bay Lightning
5 Lou Lamoriello New Jersey Devils
6 Don Waddell Atlanta Thrashers
12 Glen Sather New York Rangers
14 Pierre LaCroix Colorado Avalanche
17 Jim Rutherford Carolina Hurricanes
18 Dave Taylor Los Angeles Kings
21 David Poile Nashville Predators
27 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers
37 Brian Burke Anaheim Ducks
44 Bob Gainey Montreal Canadiens
45 Kevin Lowe Edmonton Oilers
52 Doug MacLean Columbus Blue Jackets
55 Larry Pleau St. Louis Blues
56 Mike Keenan Florida Panthers
62 Craig Patrick Pittsburgh Penguins
63 Darcy Regier Buffalo Sabres
64 John Muckler Ottawa Senators
71 George McPhee Washington Capitals
73 Mike O'Connell Boston Bruins
76 Mike Milbury New York Islanders
80 Doug Armstrong Dallas Stars
81 Mike Barnett Phoenix Coyotes
88 Doug Risebrough Minnesota Wild
90 Ken Holland Detroit Red Wings

GMs with less than 3 years on the job were excluded from the study, so Toronto's John Ferguson Jr., Chicago's Dale Talon, Vancouver's Dave Nonis and a few others are not ranked.

Two criteria were used to come up with the rankings:  First, there's the performance (regular season winning percentage and postseason wins) during the GM's tenure versus the performance of his predecessor. Second, there's the GM's relative (to the league median) payroll compared with his predecessor's relative payroll.

Comments

[Budfan]

Feaster - pays 3 guys so much he can't afford an NHL goalie
Waddell - won't look so good when Tkachuk goes into playoff tank
Sather - huh? pre-CBA he assembled a $80 million bunch of underachievers.
Rutherford - how can the guy who snagged Weight & Recchi for a Cup run only rank 17th?
Clarke - never got his team a capable NHL goalie - case closed.
Keenan - traded Luongo - smart move.

[Bill]

Bobby Clarke ahead of Darcy Regier?

[MT]

Re Regier - no kidding, and it feels like losing Pronger, Peca & now Smyth should take the shine off of Lowe's record, and Holland get zero respect for keeping the Wings competitive for a very long time.