NHL world mourns the tragic passing of Wild’s senior advisor & Penguins’ former GM Ray Shero die  

The NHL community mourned the death of Minnesota Wild executive Ray Shero, 62. Shero was the special adviser to Wild general manager Bill Guerin and the cause of death remains unknown.

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun posted a condolence message on X (formerly Twitter).

“Awful, awful news. Ray Shero was an absolute gem. This will hit hard around the hockey world. On a personal note, he was so generous with his time and insight, in good times and in bad. A total class act. He will be unbelievably missed. RIP, Ray.” LeBrun’s message read.

Shero played college-level hockey at St. Lawrence University. Although drafted by the Los Angeles Kings as 216th overall in the 1982 NHL Draft, he never took the ice for an NHL game.

Post-retirement, his respected extensive administrative career is as follows.

• Assistant General Manager: Ottawa Senators (1993-1998)
• Assistant General Manager: Nashville Predators (1998-2006)
• General Manager: Pittsburgh Penguins (2006-2014)
• General Manager: New Jersey Devils (2015-20)

While at the Penguins, Shero led Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup finals in 2008 and 2009 but only won the latter. He would step away from a coaching role into a more important job as he joined the Minnesota Wild as a senior adviser to general manager Bill Guerin in 2021.

“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.”

Ray Shero's father - Fred - is a New York Rangers legend, having been in New York as a player (1947- 1958) and a coach (1978-81). He also coached the Philadelphia Flyers (1971-1978), leading them to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins (1974 and 1975).

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Ray Shero opened up about the pressures of being a GM

Shero had spoken about the challenges general managers in the league were facing today in an interview in January.

"It's great to be able to back with Billy (Guerin), knowing what he's about as a person and how he cares about the players and families. His experiences both on and off the ice have really helped a lot of people. He's got a lot of good people. It's really good to be able to contribute to that," Shero said via NHL.com.

Shero had acquired Guerin, playing in the NHL at the time, a few months before the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009. He also won the Jim Nill GM of the Year award in 2012-13.