Marc Bergevin, Montreal Canadiens
What Marc Bergevin was able to accomplish in his first season as GM in Montreal is impressive. He brought back a head coach from the past in Michel Therrien, who was behind the bench for the Canadiens from 2000-01 through the middle of the 2002-03 season. This turned out to be a good decision, as the players seemed to identify better with Therrien from day one. Bergevin also took a huge risk on draft day, taking Alex Galchenyuk with the third overall pick. Galchenyuk, who is nominated for the Calder Trophy this season, had missed nearly the entire previous season with a serious knee injury, but Bergevin was confident with his recovery and talent. His shrewd free agent signings of Brandon Prust from the New York Rangers and Colby Armstrong from the Toronto Maple Leafs, added the toughness to protect the valuable youth and offensive talent the Canadiens place on the ice nightly. Going from a near worst to first in only one season, Bergevin was rewarded by his peers with this nomination.