In surprising and saddening news, the Minnesota Wild broke the news that Ray Shero had passed away at the age of 62 this afternoon. This post is in remembrance for what he did with the Devils and in the NHL.
It was reported this afternoon earlier today that Ray Shero has passed away at the age of 62. It was both shocking and saddening news. The NHL and the hockey world has been in mourning since as Shero had an impact on so many in the game for over 30 years.
Ray Shero was the son of Fred Shero, the former professional defenseman and legendary head coach, best known with his time behind the bench with the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s. Ray was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1962 while Fred coached the St. Paul Saints of the IHL. He was actually named Rejean after famed Montreal Canadien Rejean Houle. He would follow his father’s footsteps into hockey. Ray was a center and suited up for St. Lawrence University from 1980 to 1985. He did well enough to be picked as an overager in the eleventh round of the 1982 draft by Los Angeles. But pro hockey as a player would not be in his future. Shero became an agent instead.
His experience as an agent would prove valuable as he joined Ottawa in 1993 as an assistant general manager under Randy Sexton. Given that Ottawa was entering its second season as a franchise, Shero got in early and dealt with the challenges that come with growing an organization. After five seasons, Shero would move on to another expansion team: Nashville. Under David Poile, Shero learned even further about building up an organization, a team identity, and how to manage from the team point of view. It went so well that Pittsburgh hired him to replace longtime Penguins GM Craig Patrick. in 2006. With 13 years of being an assistant GM, it was Ray Shero’s time to make his mark as the boss.
Shero did so right away. He connected with Sidney Crosby to be the cornerstone of what that team would become. He added Jordan Staal to a core featuring Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury. He swung for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis, the latter becoming the first of many players elevated as a Crosby complement that would help build the team. He fired coach Michael Therrien for Dan Bylsma and brought in the final pieces that led to Pittsburgh’s first Stanley Cup with Crosby and the franchise’s third in 2009. The Penguins became a contender with Shero. It would be easy to claim anyone could do that if they had Crosby and Malkin. It would also be wrong because franchises have faltered with stars before and since. Shero was a key reason why the Penguins became a force from the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s. The Penguins fired Shero in 2014 but his fingerprints were all over the Cup winning teams of 2016 and 2017.
Shero was also a key reason for many others in management to further their careers. Bill Guerin, Chuck Fletcher, Jason Botterill, Mike Yeo, and Tom Fitzgerald are all part of the Shero management tree. You could even add other support staff with the Penguins that also received mentorship and advancement under Shero. You could also even add his work with USA Hockey too.
Shero would not be out of work for long. He joined the New Jersey Devils organization on May 4, 2015 to replace legendary Devils GM Lou Lamoriello. For a few months, Lou was the team president and provided some guidance to Shero. That ended in August when Lou left the Devils outright to become the GM for Toronto. Even with Lou as president, Shero was in charge of making decisions. Following up Lou was an unenviable task. But he did the job. He brought in John Hynes to be the head coach. He talked up being “fast, attacking, and supportive.” He began a painful and necessary rebuild. Which paid off in the third season.
Shero’s biggest move during his time as a GM was simply telling Peter Chiarelli that if he wanted Adam Larsson, then he wanted Taylor Hall in return. Instead of that meaning “buzz off” to Chiarelli, we got the famous “The trade is one for one: Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall.” That deal would lead to Hall having his best season ever, becoming the first Devil to ever win the Hart Memorial Trophy for league MVP, and the winger dragging the Devils to their first playoff appearance since 2012 in 2018.
Shero’s longest lasting move during his time as GM was two-fold. The first was selecting Nico over Nolan in 2017 with the first overall pick. It was a real debate between Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick at the time. History has shown it was not even close as to who would have the better career, and Hischier is on his way of establishing himself as one of the best centers in team history. The second was listening the scout who saw a waterbug of a winger in Sweden’s second division to get drafted. Or however it went when the Devils picked Jesper Bratt in the sixth round in 2016. Bratt has emerged as a point-machine and one of the best scoring wingers in the world. Shero also picked The Big Deal, but that was a fairly obvious choice in 2019. Those other two required a choice to be made. Shero made the right ones and the Devils are still reaping the rewards today.
Shero’s time ended shortly after that 2018 playoff appearance. The team crashed in 2019 after not many additions made in the 2018 offseason. An unhappy Hall wanted improvements and ownership clearly wanted a better team. Shero made a big deal for P.K. Subban, moved to get and sign Nikita Gusev, added Wayne Simmonds, kept Connor Carrick and Mirco Mueller, won the Will Butcher sweepstakes, and cursed out the possibility of Pavel Zacha playing elsewhere before re-signing him. Hall was pleased. I was pleased. You probably were pleased. Then the 2019-20 season began and no one was pleased. It would be the end for Taylor Hall’s time in New Jersey and on January 12, 2020, the Devils and Shero “parted ways.” Shero’s assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald would be named the interim and, eventually, the full-time GM for the Devils. A job he still has to this day.
Once again, Shero would not be out of work for long. He joined the Minnesota Wild in the 2021-22 season to be a senior advisor to GM Bill Guerin. Guerin cherished Shero bringing him in as a veteran for that Cup in 2009 and, later, as a development coach in 2011 with the Penguins. This was a way to pay that back while also having an experienced member of the front office. He served in that role until this day. Shero was indeed a lifer in hockey.
And like a lifer in hockey, the tributes and memories and statements shared have echoed and will continue to echo throughout the NHL. Here is just a sample:
- The Minnesota Wild announced Shero’s death
- The NHL also passed on the news
- Gary Bettman released this statement
- As did the New Jersey Devils
- And the Pittsburgh Penguins
- And the Nashville Predators
- And the Ottawa Senators
- And the Philadelphia Flyers
- And USA Hockey offered their condolences
- Sidney Crosby made this statement
- Bill Guerin: “He changed my life” via Michael Russo. Guerin had more to say here at the NY Times.
- John Hynes gave his thoughts via Michael Russo
- Jesper Bratt offered his condolences on Instagram
- P.K. Subban offered his condolences
- As did Beau Bennett
- Tom Gulitti recalled how supportive Shero was when he was covering the Devils.
- Frank Seravalli wrote this remembrance at Daily Faceoff, revealing how quick-witted and he was filled with stories from his life in hockey.
- Brooks Bratten shared this story about Shero leaving Nashville for Pittsburgh.
- NHL on TNT had this short bit for Shero and Greg Millen, who also passed away recently.
And there are more and there will be more. From anecdotes to tributes to moments of silence. All of it deserved as Ray Shero was highly respected in the tight-knit world of the NHL. The Shero name will continue. His sons, Kyle and Chris, are scouts for Philadelphia and Columbus, respectively. The memories will also continue as Ray Shero was a part of multiple organizations over 30 years. For now, it is a time of remberance and mourning.
Our condolences to the Shero family. Rest in peace, Ray Shero.