Providing a grade for each NHL GM going through their first off-season with their new team.
The NHL's newest GMs were busy this summer. Heading into the 2026-27 season with a heavy to-do list, John Chayka overhauled much of the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, Chris MacFarland moved pieces for the Nashville Predators, Sunny Mehta built a deeper roster with the New Jersey Devils, and Jarmo Kekalainen, in his first off-season, managed heavy turnover with the Buffalo Sabres.
Who did the most admirable job of all the new GMs in the NHL? Grading each of their first off-seasons with their teams is subjective, given that only Buffalo has played games under the new regime.
Nonetheless, here are our grades for those four GMs.
Chris MacFarland, Nashville Predators: C+
MacFarland reshaped the middle six of his roster, adding Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Mavrik Bourque, Alex Kerfoot and Nils Hoglander. However, he did so by giving up former first-rounders Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux. He did get picks back in the Luke Evangelista trade to the Devils, but moving the 24-year-old right winger weakened the Predators' lineup.
The feeling is that he’s improved the roster enough to avoid being a lottery team, but how competitive they’ll be remains unclear.
John Chayka, Toronto Maple Leafs: B
Far and away the busiest off-season of the four GMs on this list. He made seven trades, several signings, a total front-office and coaching overhaul, plus landing Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick.
The Darren Raddysh sign-and-trade and Nick Paul acquisition from the Tampa Bay Lightning were strong moves. The Sergei Bobrovsky bet - three years at $7 million per season for a 38-year-old - is the biggest swing that could either look brilliant or bad.
There are questions in Toronto. They lack a true No. 1 defenseman.
Jarmo Kekalainen, Buffalo Sabres: B+
It’s a lot to lose, both Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, in the same off-season following one of the best runs by the franchise in years. But Kekalainen got assets back.
He leveraged their exits into the fourth overall pick of the 2026 draft, defenseman Olen Zellweger, Louis Crevier, and other assets, while also locking up Zach Benson to a seven-year contract and re-signing Peyton Krebs and Zellweger.
Tuch and Byram were essentially forced departures, and many GMs in that position might have struggled to maximize value out of their respective exits. If there’s a reason to be critical, it’s because he didn’t land the big goalie. There’s still time, as the Sabres are one of the teams possibly linked to Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck.
Sunny Mehta — New Jersey Devils: A
Mehta made two headline moves, both well received. He flipped the disgruntled defenseman Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames for two protected first-rounders, a second, and a prospect. He then added Evangelista to give the Devils one of the deeper forward groups in the NHL.
Adding Anthony Mantha on a two-year, $9.5-million contract may turn out to be one of the more savvy moves of the off-season. And if New Jersey can somehow land Quinn Hughes, Mehta would be the clear winner among all new GMs.
It must be noted that there are questions in the crease after sending Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers. They'll be turning to Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich between the pipes next season.
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