NHL announces death of long-time executive and Stanley Cup winning general manager Ray Shero

Long-time NHL executive and Stanley Cup winning general manager Ray Shero has died, the league announced Wednesday. He was 62.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the news in a statement Wednesday, calling Shero a "widely respected" mind who "brightened the day of everyone he met."

"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."

Shero spent three decades working in NHL front offices. He was a long-time assistant general manager with the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators early in his career. Shero worked his way up from there, eventually being hired as the Pittsburgh Penguins' general manager in 2006. He excelled with the team, making the playoffs in every year in which he oversaw the Penguins.

After watching the team fall short for two years, Shero won a Stanley Cup championship with the Penguins during the 2008-09 NHL season. While the team continued to make the playoffs, it developed a reputation for being dispatched by lower-seeded opponents. That led to Shero being fired following the 2013-14 season, when the Penguins fell to the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.

Shero was then hired by the New Jersey Devils. The team struggled to improve, making the playoffs just once with Shero running things. He was fired in 2020 and did not get another general manager job in the league.

After leaving the Devils, Shero worked as a senior advisor to the general manager with the Minnesota Wild. The Wild also paid tribute to Shero on Wednesday, saying Shero will be "greatly missed by all of us."