NEW YORK– The National Hockey League today announced that Ray Shero has been named the recipient of the 2025 Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
The annual award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, was presented to the National Hockey League by the New York Rangers in 1966. It honors the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport’s development.
Shero, a native of Saint Paul, MN, who passed away April 9 at the age of 62, spent 13 seasons as an NHL general manager, including a Stanley Cup championship season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008-09. He also served as GM of the New Jersey Devils, in addition to long stints as an executive with the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild.
“Ray Shero’s legacy as an NHL executive is immortalized by the engraving of his name on the Stanley Cup and the success of the Players he scouted, drafted and traded for in Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Ottawa, Nashville and Minnesota,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “His contributions to growing the game in the United States are similarly noteworthy and extensive – from captaining his team at St. Lawrence University to helping assemble 13 U.S. World Championships teams to serving as an associate general manager for the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team.
“However, his true legacy will be as a man who embodied the best of our game: fierce competition on the ice and welcoming fellowship off the ice. 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.”
After a four-year playing career at St. Lawrence University, Shero worked as a player agent for seven years before becoming Assistant General Manager of the Senators in 1993. He spent five seasons in that position, before moving on to the same role with the Predators in 1998. After helping to guide the Predators through their first eight years of their existence, Shero was hired as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Penguins in 2006.
Shero helped build the Penguins squad that went to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009 and emerged victorious over the Detroit Red Wings in the second of those two trips to capture the franchise’s third Stanley Cup. His eight-year tenure in Pittsburgh also included recognition by the NHL as the 2012-13 winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, after a season in which the Penguins finished with the Eastern Conference’s best record and registered a franchise-record .750 points percentage (36-12-0 in 48 GP).
Following his time with the Penguins, Shero became Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Devils May 4, 2015. Among his contributions during nearly five full seasons in that role were overseeing the selections of franchise cornerstones Jack Hughes (in the 2019 NHL Draft) and Nico Hischier (in the 2017 NHL Draft), as well as the acquisition in 2016 of Taylor Hall, who would go on to post an MVP season for the Devils in 2017-18.
Shero’s last NHL role commenced in June of 2021, when he joined the Wild as Senior Advisor to the General Manager, a position which he still held at the time of his passing.
n 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.
Shero will be formally honored as part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration Dec. 10 in Saint Paul. That event will include the enshrinement of U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2025 honorees Bruce Bennett, Scott Gomez, Tara Mounsey, Zach Parise and Joe Pavelski.
Past winners of the Lester Patrick Trophy include Sam Rosen (2024), Joe Bertagna (2023), Warren Strelow (2022), Jack Barzee (2021), Lynn Olson (2020), Dr. Jack Blatherwick (2019), Jim Johansson (2018), Peter Lindberg & Dave Ogrean (2017), Mark Howe & Patrick J. Kelly (2016), Jeremy Jacobs & Bob Crocker (2015), and Bill Daly & Paul Holmgren (2014). Ray Shero’s father, Fred Shero, was honored with the 1980 Lester Patrick Trophy. For the full list of Lester Patrick Trophy recipients please click here.