Shero to be honored posthumously with Lester Patrick Award, 'meant so much to the game'

TORONTO -- About an hour after the New Jersey Devils won the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery, Ray Shero, their general manager, was sitting with a couple of fellow GMs and a reporter at a Toronto watering hole.

He wrote a name on a piece of paper and pushed it to the middle of the table.

"That's who we're taking with the top pick," he said wryly.

Turns out Shero was toying with us.

He was mirroring a scene from the 2014 movie "Draft Day" when the Cleveland Browns GM, played by Kevin Costner, wrote down the name of the player he was going to take prior to the NFL Draft.

Linebacker Vontae Mack.

The same name Shero wrote down.

Shero had a good chuckle at our expense.

He pulled the same thing on Devils staff as the draft approached. In reality, he was quite secretive about who his choice would be.

In the end, New Jersey selected center Nico Hischier, who is currently its captain.

“Ha. Vintage Ray,” said former Nashville Predators GM David Poile with a chuckle when informed of that story. “He made me laugh by doing stuff like that every day.”

He wasn’t the only one.

“Always looking for a laugh like that, always looking to have fun and looking to make sure those around him were doing the same,” Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin said. “He was so much more than just stats and won-loss records. He meant so much to the game, and the game to him.

“We all miss him. He’s such a worthy recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy. His infectious personality helped spread the popularity of the game. It’s just too bad that he won’t be there to enjoy it.”

Indeed, Shero, the son of former Philadelphia Flyers legendary coach Fred Shero and a longtime NHL executive, died suddenly at the age of 62 on April 9, 2025, shocking the hockey world.

On Wednesday, the longtime hockey executive will be rightfully honored posthumously with the NHL's Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. The ceremony will be part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebration on Wednesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, which, fittingly, was Shero’s hometown.

And while he sadly has left us far too early, there will be no shortage of Ray Shero stories at the festivities, which will feature the inductions of former players Scott Gomez, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Tara Mounsey and photographer Bruce Bennett.

In fact, in the days leading up to the gala, some of the sport’s big names spoke fondly about Shero’s impact on their respective careers, not to mention the game as a whole.

Count Pittsburgh Penguins greats Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang among those.

Shero had first taken the step from agent to hockey executive in 1993, serving as assistant GM of the Ottawa Senators for the next five years, then holding the same role with Nashville under Poile from 1998 to 2006. After being hired as the Penguins GM that year, he helped guide Pittsburgh to back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and 2009, winning the title on the second attempt.

It was the first of three Stanley Cup championships Crosby and Letang would win with the Penguins. And, to this day, they still hold a fond appreciation for what Shero did for their individual careers, not to mention the team.

“He had an amazing career and, you know, had a huge impact on our team here, when it comes to the culture and just instilling that winning atmosphere and environment,” Crosby said. He was a big part of that with just how we structured everything and all the people he brought in.

“So, yeah, it’s definitely well-deserved.”

Letang couldn’t agree more.

“I played for him for a long time, obviously through ups and downs” the Penguins defenseman said. “Ray was kind of with me throughout my career. He was just a passionate man that gave so much to the game of hockey and to this organization. He helped build it.

“So, that they’ve honored him for what he’s done, it’s going to be special.”

It was just another chapter in Shero’s legacy as a pioneer in the sport’s development.

Hockey was in his blood from a young age thanks to his father, who led the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. Fred Shero, who also coached the New York Rangers from 1978-1981, would eventually be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.

After a four-year playing career at St. Lawrence University, Shero worked as a player agent for seven years before joining the Senators. It ignited a run that saw him spend 13 years as an NHL GM (Penguins 2006-14) and Devils (2015-20); and stints as an executive with Ottawa, Nashville and Minnesota, where he was an adviser to Guerin from 2021 until the time of his death.

In addition to his NHL accomplishments, Shero was an important contributor to USA Hockey’s men’s national team efforts during his career, including helping found the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group in 2007. He served as associate general manager of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team and was also involved in selecting 13 different U.S. Men’s National Teams for the IIHF Men’s World Championship.

“Not only was Ray a great colleague and friend who helped us build what we did in Nashville but he was key for so many of those national teams,” Poile said. “And when I lost my eye just before the 2014 Olympics and couldn’t go to Sochi, he was a huge help in absorbing a chunk of the responsibilities.”

Poile was referring to an incident on Feb. 6, 2014, in which he was hit in the face with a puck while standing behind Nashville's bench during a pregame skate in Minnesota, breaking his nose in three places and cracking the orbital bone above and below his right eye. In the end, he needed three surgeries and 40 stitches above and in the eye, leaving him virtually blind in the eye to this day.

Poile, the GM of the 2014 U.S. Olympic team, obviously was unable to attend the Games, leaving his management team of Shero, Brian Burke and Jim Johansson to handle the load.

“Ray was an astute hockey man with lots of great ideas," Poile said. “He’s a great choice for the Patrick.”

Guerin says Shero will always have a special place in his heart. Understandably so.

Under Shero’s guidance, the Penguins acquired Guerin, then in the twilight of his playing career, from the New York Islanders on March 4, 2009. Three months later, Guerin joined Crosby, Letang and the rest of the Penguins in hoisting the Stanley Cup.

“I wouldn’t have had that experience if it wasn’t for Ray,” he said.

Twelve years later, it was Guerin who brought Shero in as part of the Wild front office staff.

“Smart guy, funny guy, just a pleasure to be around,” Guerin said.

Until he wasn’t.

“That’s the shocking thing,” Guerin said, his voice cracking with emotion. “No one really knew how sick he was, other than a handful of people close to him. He pretty much kept it to himself.

“The next thing you know, he was gone. It all happened so fast.”

Which is why, he said, the ceremony will be so special.

“People telling Ray stories and laughing at the memories,” Guerin said.

“Lots of laughter, lots of tall tales. Which is the way Ray would want it.”