Hockey Operations
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RAY SHERO Shero, 50, who is in his seventh season as Pittsburgh’s GM, has transformed a franchise that missed the playoffs from 2002-06 into a perennial championship contender, including two Stanley Cup Final appearances and a Cup title in 2009. Shero, who was named general manager of the Penguins in May, 2006, arrived in Pittsburgh with a firm, forward-thinking managerial style that incorporates cutting-edge methods of technology, player relations, prospect development and salary cap management. Shero’s efforts have secured the Penguins’ long-term stability and competiveness with his masterful maneuvering of the salary cap – the Penguins ranked No. 3 out of 122 pro sports franchises in spending efficiency according to Bloomberg Business Week – and multi-year signings of the team’s core players: Sidney Crosby; Evgeni Malkin; Marc-Andre Fleury; Brooks Orpik; Kris Letang; and James Neal. Shero’s riskiest and boldest move paid off with hockey’s highest prize. With the Penguins needing a jolt of life late in the 2008-09 season, he promoted Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Dan Bylsma to Pittsburgh. Bylsma led a turnaround that resulted in a championship in ’09. Bylsma also won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s “Most Outstanding Coach” in ’11. Shero cut his administrative teeth during 14 seasons as an assistant general manager with the Nashville Predators (1998-06) and Ottawa Senators (1993-98). Shero, a native of St. Paul, Minn., was raised in a hockey family filled with tradition. His father, Fred Shero, played for the NY Rangers (1947-50) and coached the Philadelphia Flyers for seven seasons. Fred won back-to-back Stanley Cups as head coach of the Flyers in 1974 and ’75 and also served as general manager of the Rangers for three years (1978-80), leading the club to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979. The Sheros are one of the few father-son tandems to have their names on the Cup. Shero played college hockey at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. He twice led the team in scoring and was named team captain on two occasions. He graduated in 1984 as one of the top-10 scorers in school history. Shero, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1982 NHL Draft, spent seven years as a player agent before making the transition to the front office. Shero is actively involved with USA Hockey and is a member of the USA Hockey National Team Advisory Group. Ray and his wife, Karen, and their two sons reside in Upper St. Clair. |
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