The Jets (52-20-10, 114 points) put together the best regular season in franchise history and advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time. Cheveldayoff, hired as GM on June 8, 2011, soon after Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, helped retain important players (defensemen
Dustin Byfuglien
and
Toby Enstrom
, forwards
Bryan Little
and
Blake Wheeler
) and drafted 11 of the 24 players who have played for the Jets during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That group includes Winnipeg's top picks in six consecutive drafts: forwards
Mark Scheifele
(2011),
Nikolaj Ehlers
(2014),
Kyle Connor
(2015) and
Patrik Laine
(2016), and defensemen
Jacob Trouba
(2012) and
Josh Morrissey
(2013).
Prior to the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 26, Winnipeg acquired forward
Paul Stastny
and defenseman
Joe Morrow
, who have contributed four game-winning goals in the playoffs (Stastny 3, Morrow 1).
Cheveldayoff is a first-time finalist.
The Golden Knights (51-24-7, 109 points) are the first modern-era expansion team from any of the four major North American pro sports leagues to start from scratch and win its division. Vegas, which is playing the Jets in the Western Conference Final, is the third team in NHL history to win multiple playoff series in its inaugural season.
McPhee helped build the Golden Knights largely through the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, less than three months before the opening of training camp. Eleven Golden Knights had NHL career highs in points, including top-five scorers
William Karlsson
(78),
Jonathan Marchessault
(75),
David Perron
(66),
Reilly Smith
(60) and
Erik Haula
(55).
McPhee was a finalist with the Washington Capitals in 2009-10, when he helped assemble the team that won the
Presidents' Trophy
.
The Lightning set team records for wins (54) and points (113) en route to winning their first division title since 2004 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four seasons.
Yzerman and the Lightning have assembled a roster of homegrown players including forwards
Nikita Kucherov
and
Steven Stamkos
; defenseman
Victor Hedman
, a
Norris Trophy
finalist; and goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy
, a Vezina Trophy finalist. In addition, Tampa Bay traded for rookie defenseman
Mikhail Sergachev
, signed free agents
Chris Kunitz
and
Dan Girardi
, and acquired
Ryan McDonagh
and
J.T. Miller
in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 26.
Yzerman is a finalist for the third time. He won the award in 2014-15 after finishing second in 2010-11, his first season as Lightning GM.
