Former Penguins General Manager Dies

PITTSBURGH, PA — Ray Shero, the former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager who was the architect of the franchise's 2009 Stanley Cup winning team, died Wednesday. He was 62.

Shero's death was announced by the National Hockey League. A cause was not provided.

Ray Shero’s smile and personality lit up every room he walked into and brightened the day of everyone he met,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “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 was hired by the Penguins in 2006, a year after Sidney Crosby's rookie season. By 2008, he had the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final but they lost to the Detroit in six games. They faced the Red Wings for the Stanley Cup again in 2009 and defeated them to win the team's third championship.

The Penguins fired Shero in 2014 after the team's second-round playoff exit but he was not out of work for long. He served as the New Jersey Devils from 2015 to 2020. Since 2021, he was a senior advisor for the Minnesota Wild.