Stanley Cup-winning general manager Ray Shero has died at 62

Just brutal news of the National Hockey League as Ray Shero, Minnesota Wild senior adviser and former GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils, has passed away at just 62 years old.

Shero spent three decades working in NHL front offices, including serving as GM of the Devils and Penguins, taking part in Pittsburgh’s first championship with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin era in 2009.

Son of a Hockey Hall of Fame coach Fred, Shero devoted his life to hockey after he played four years at St. Lawrence University, serving as team captain for two of them. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 11th round of the 1982 draft, but chose to grow as an executive off the ice.

He worked as a hockey agent for seven years after graduating from St. Lawrence before making the jump to management with the Ottawa Senators in 1993, until 1998, when he became assistant GM of the expansion Nashville Predators. He spent eight seasons in Nashville under Hall of Fame GM David Poile. That set Shero up to land the Penguins GM job in 2006.

As the New York Times recalls, “when Shero arrived in Pittsburgh, the Penguins hadn’t qualified for the playoffs in five years. However, they’d already drafted Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury and would take Jordan Staal with the No. 2 pick shortly after he was hired.”

He remained with the Penguins through the 2014 playoffs, when the team lost to the New York Rangers in the second round, and landed a job with the Devils where he succeeded Lou Lamoriello as GM and spent five seasons in New Jersey.

Shero was hired as a senior adviser by the Minnesota Wild in 2021 and remained in that position until his death.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement on the tragic passing of Shero: 

“Ray Shero’s smile and personality lit up every room he walked into and brightened the day of everyone he met. Widely respected throughout hockey for his team-building acumen and eye for talent, he was even more beloved for how he treated everyone fortunate enough to have known him.

“The son of legendary NHL coach Fred Shero, Ray forged his own path in the NHL following his successful playing career at St. Lawrence University. After stints as an assistant general manager in Ottawa and Nashville, he became general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006, and assembled the missing pieces of a team that became Stanley Cup finalists in 2008 and Stanley Cup champions in 2009. From 2015-2020, he was GM of the New Jersey Devils, drafting current stars Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, and had spent the past four seasons as a senior advisor to Minnesota GM Bill Guerin. He also served on the United States’ management teams for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.

“Whenever we ran into each other at a rink when he was scouting, it was clear he loved what he was doing and I always marveled at his infectious enthusiasm. The entire National Hockey League family mourns his passing and sends our deepest condolences to the Shero family and Ray’s many friends throughout the hockey world.”

Many of his friends, and the team he worked for have also shared moving tributes.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, fans and loved ones.