110 points.
A Pacific Division title.
50 wins.
All of this happened despite facing an exodus of forwards last summer. You'd figure that Kelly McCrimmon would earn some respect in the NHL atmosphere. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.
Voting results for the 2024-25 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award: pic.twitter.com/AIfi3t6Lml
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 28, 2025
Jim Nill won the award for the third straight season, edging out Florida's Bill Zito. After that, it was a battle between Kevin Cheveldayoff of Winnipeg and Chris Patrick of Washington. All respectable names who catapulted their teams to the top of the NHL hierarchy.
However, the true crime is McCrimmon's name not appearing on the list.
Not. One. Single. Vote.
That's despite acquiring wingers like Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith during the regular season. Sure, he didn't acquire Mikko Rantanen or win the Stanley Cup. But look at the context here.
This was a Golden Knights team with uncertainty heading into the 2024-25 season. They lost Jonathan Marchessault because he wanted to go bull-riding. They lost Chandler Stephenson because he wanted to be tortured by watching the Seattle Mariners. Then, there were pieces like William Carrier and Michael Amadio that left.
Despite all that, McCrimmon became "Hockey Jesus" and turned water into wine. How, you ask?
Why Kelly McCrimmon deserved more love in the General Manager of the Year Award voting
First, we have Victor Olofsson, who was signed to a one-year, $1.075 million deal last summer. Nobody thought of him after being cast aside in Buffalo. Then again, this is the same Sabres team that traded J.J. Peterka for peanuts.
Lo and behold, the Swedish winger scored 15 goals and 14 assists in 2024-25. Six of those goals came on the second-best power play in the NHL. Now? He's set to get a pay bump. What a world.
He saw Tanner Pearson and turned a PTO into 12 goals and 15 assists, making him a productive fourth-line player. All of this was for less than $1 million.
Even Ilya Samsonov got two shutouts during the regular season. All this helped the Golden Knights push past the Pacific Division finish line, shocking the NHL universe.
Sometimes, not getting the sexiest names in free agency or the trade market should get you more recognition. That's especially true when you have a mass exodus.
When the NHL experts leave you for dead after losing key players to free agency, you deserve some love and praise from your peers. If McCrimmon can pull off a magic trick and grab a superstar like Mitch Marner, that'll certainly grab someone's attention.