In part one, the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes took spots four through seven in our ranking of the best front offices.
Each of those teams has made a few mistakes over the years, but big wins have far overshadowed the mistakes.
The Avs won big in the draft multiple times and have made adding depth through trades and free agency look easy. The Stars are the best drafting team of the past 15 years in the NHL, and have pulled off major trades for Tyler Seguin and Mikko Rantanen.
The Wild acquired their top defensive pair, Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, by nailing multiple trades. They also drafted top-line forward Kirill Kaprizov with the 135th pick in 2015. Great moves over the years have put them at the top of the Central Division with the Avs and Stars, both powerhouses of the last five years.
The Hurricanes built their core through the draft and made one of the best coaching hires in recent memory, Rod Brind’Amour.
While those four franchises’ front offices have done a fantastic job, the top three stand out even more. These three front offices pull off the unthinkable time and time again. They consistently make moves to get the missing puzzle pieces and will find loopholes like the long-term injured reserve (LTIR).
Their choices seem questionable at times, but always turn out for the better in the long run. The success this produces, by no coincidence, also makes these three teams some of the most hated in the NHL.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the greatest franchise of the 21st century thus far. They’ve appeared in five Stanley Cup Finals, winning three of them. Other than the two seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they haven’t had a sub-94-point season since the 2012-13 season. Their 94-point season in 2016-17 was the only time they missed the playoffs since Jon Cooper first coached a full season there, and they were only off by one point.
The building blocks of the modern Lightning dynasty were assembled in the late 2000s, when the team drafted Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. Stamkos was the first pick in 2008, and Hedman was the second pick in 2009.
Stamkos served as captain when the team won back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, Hedman remains a key component of the roster to this day.
Nikita Kucherov, selected by the Lightning in the 2011 NHL Draft, became one of the greatest second-round picks in NHL history. The electrifying (pun intended) right winger has been averaging a point per game for the last decade and still has juice left in the tank at 32 years old.
Later in that same draft, the Lightning selected Ondrej Palat all the way at pick 208.
In the next few years, Tampa also drafted legendary goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, along with forwards Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli. Both Point and Cirelli were third-round picks. The franchise has demonstrated skill in picking several great prospects in multiple rounds.
Perhaps most important was the man who could glue everything together, Jon Cooper. The Lightning hired Cooper as their head coach in 2013, and the franchise hasn’t looked back since. He now has a list of accolades that gives him an argument to be the greatest head coach ever.
Building on Top of the Foundation
Tampa’s best trades of the decade have been crucial to their championship runs. In 2017, they traded Jonathan Drouin for Mikhail Sergachev. Drouin never blossomed into a star, while Sergachev greatly improved during his time in Tampa. The Lightning also made a deal with the Rangers in 2018 to acquire Ryan McDonagh, a quality, experienced defenseman.
Furthermore, the team got forward Pat Maroon at a massive bargain. Maroon not only brought a hyper-physical presence, but championship experience too.
The Lightning’s 2022 trade to acquire Brandon Hagel was another good deal that helped the team after their cup runs. And while trading Mikhail Sergachev and letting Steven Stamkos walk in 2024 was arguably ruthless, it is the nature of the sports business. In fact, other teams have been even worse in that department (more on that later). It ultimately turned out to be the right move, as it freed up cap space to sign top forward Jake Guentzel.
The Lightning front office also abused a loophole through the LTIR to spend more on their roster. Until it was patched, teams were able to exceed the salary cap by the LTIR player(s)’ contract amount and have those players return in the playoffs.
While it felt like cheating, it was within the rules, and the innovative idea set a precedent for another team (that will be mentioned later).
2. Florida Panthers
Remember how, in part one, I said the Hurricanes’ playstyle works 90% of the time? The majority of the remaining 10% is when they play this team. The Panthers and Hurricanes matched up in the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2023 and 2025, and the Panthers were close to completing both sweeps before the Canes took Game 4 in 2025.
The Panthers have been the more physical team and have nullified the Canes’ aggressive forecheck these past few years. The result? Domination of the Eastern Conference whenever healthy.
After an injury-riddled 2026 season where captain Aleksander Barkov never played, the Panthers are favorites to win the 2027 Stanley Cup. This would mark their fourth appearance in five seasons, and their third Cup.
This Offseason Alone
The Panthers are already arguably the most physical team in the NHL. They added multiple new physical players this offseason. They acquired Brady Tkachuk, the younger brother of their second-line winger Matthew.
After failed negotiations with former star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, they then traded for Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. It’s crazy to think Evan Rodrigues was going to be a fourth-liner on this team after scoring some key goals for Florida the past few years. The team got their value in return by dealing him for a positional need in Markstrom.
The Panthers also traded for Radko Gudas and Garnet Hathaway. Both of whom have a history of dirty plays, especially Gudas, who ended Auston Matthews’ season with a knee-on-knee hit last season.
Florida already had three of the dirtiest players in the NHL in Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. Their new additions can guarantee that this squad will lead the league in controversial plays in the upcoming season.
This team is built on a formula that works and has two of the past three years’ rings to show for it. They aren’t going away anytime soon.
Looking Back
The Florida Panthers have been built over 13 years of great decisions. They drafted Selke Trophy-winning captain and first-line center Aleksander Barkov in 2013 and top defenseman Aaron Ekblad in 2014.
Then came the man who doesn’t miss: Bill Zito. The Panthers hired Zito as their GM in 2020. He signed now-first-line left winger Carter Verhaeghe to a great deal after Verhaeghe never broke through in Tampa. He claimed Gustav Forsling off waivers. Forsling developed into one of the best two-way defensemen in hockey.
Zito then proceeded to fleece multiple other teams in trades. Sam Bennett, Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk all came to South Florida for a great price. While criticized at the time, Bill Zito had the insight to trust his bet that the Matthew Tkachuk trade would pan out.
Four years later, he was right. The hockey world was wrong. The Panthers know how to keep their talent too. Tkachuk has praised the organization for their roster construction and the way they take care of the players.
Zito hired Paul Maurice, who is responsible for their aggressive style that makes other aggressive teams look weak. He rented Anthony Stolarz, who became one of the best backup goalies on Earth in his one season with Florida. Bill Zito knows what it takes to win and how to get there, whether it’s in Florida or winning gold at the Olympics.
1. Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are hands down the most ruthless front office in hockey. The franchise started in 2017 as an expansion team and immediately got to work. Marc-Andre Fleury was the franchise’s first starting goalie and led the team to a Stanley Cup appearance in their first year. The expansion draft provided the Knights with numerous crucial pieces for years to come.
The team made plenty of fantastic trades. They made a massive trade with the Ottawa Senators to bring in Mark Stone, their now-captain. Brett Howden even became a key piece after the New York Rangers dealt him to Vegas.
The Knights gambled in a trade for Jack Eichel. Their reward? One of the best puck handlers and passers in the sport. Vegas also stole Ivan Barbashev, their top-line left wing, from the St. Louis Blues. Soon after, they brought in Jonathan Quick, a legendary goalie who still had more left in the tank.
In 2024, they pulled the LTIR trick à la Tampa with Mark Stone to gain more cap space to get top-tier two-way defenseman Noah Hanifin and big-time two-way center Tomas Hertl. And with heavy anticipation, Stone magically was ready to play to start the playoffs. The internet didn’t hold back with their reactions, jokingly making posts targeting the Knights captain.
While they couldn’t get past the first round, where the Dallas Stars knocked them out in seven games, that year’s roster was one of the best ever assembled…on paper.
The next year, they pulled out a trick no one saw coming by poaching Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs through a sign-and-trade, providing a boost to their top six.
Beyond the Trade Block
The Knights don’t only succeed on the trade block, though. While they’re notorious for trading picks, Pavel Dorofyev turned out to be a brilliant selection with the 79th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Alex Pietrangelo was one of the team’s best free agent signings. He provided the team with size, championship experience and great defense.
Perhaps one of Vegas’ strongest points is always having the right coach. Gerard Gallant, their first coach, was able to bring the misfits together and make it all the way to the Stanley Cup in one season. When the team’s performance under him worsened, they brought in Pete DeBoer, who got the team back to the Western Conference Finals.
The team did the same when they later brought in Bruce Cassidy, who brought them a Cup. And when the team was buckling under Cassidy, they brought in John Tortorella. The Knights went from possibly missing the playoffs to winning two games in the Stanley Cup Finals. GM Kelly McCrimmon’s intuition in this regard is incredible. Now Ryan Craig is in. Don’t be surprised if he succeeds too.
Many have criticized the Knights for their lack of heart towards their players. Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe trophy en route to the Stanley Cup, notching 13 goals in the last 15 games. A year later, the Knights let him walk. They traded Alex Tuch to get Jack Eichel. These are emotionally tough moves, just like the coach firings, but in retrospect, they were the right calls.
Mistakes and Outlook
The Golden Knights have made a few mistakes in their short history. Trading Nick Suzuki for Max Pacioretty didn’t age well. Their other mistakes have been in the net. Ever since they traded Marc-Andre Fleury, their goalie rotation has been disastrous.
They committed to Robin Lehner, who later stepped away from the NHL for off-ice reasons. Adin Hill took over in the 2023 playoffs and gave the Knights a fantastic run to the championship, but that was as good as he’d get. Logan Thompson requested a trade since the Knights wouldn’t make him the starting goalie over Hill, and he has put up better numbers than Hill in both of the past two seasons for the Capitals.
The Knights still suffer a goalie problem to this day, as their goalie tandem doesn’t reflect the caliber of the rest of the roster. However, the willingness of the organization to put feelings aside and prioritize what helps the team win has made them a perennial contender. According to Statmuse, they boast the best winning percentage of any franchise since 2000. At the end of the 2027 season, expect the Knights to be in the hunt for Lord Stanley once more.
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