Ray Shero, a longtime NHL executive and former Ottawa Senators assistant GM, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 62.
His passing comes during an already tough week for the hockey community, which is also mourning the death of Greg Millen — the former NHL goaltender and longtime broadcaster. Millen served as the Senators’ TV colour analyst during Shero’s time in Ottawa.
Shero most recently worked as a senior advisor to GM Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild, part of a great career in NHL management that began in Ottawa in 1993. After parting company with the Sens to take the same role in Nashville in 1998, he eventually got his first GM job with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006 and won a Stanley Cup in 2009 with a young Sidney Crosby leading the charge.
“Ray Shero was a big part of my early days in Pittsburgh,” Crosby said in a statement posted on Penguins’ social media. “He gave me a lot of opportunity as a young captain and supported me throughout his time. He did so much for our organization and my memories with him are special. I am grateful for our time spent here and that we were able to share a Stanley Cup Championship together.”
Dan Bylsma, now in Seattle, was Shero’s head coach on that 2009 Penguins’ Cup winner, and the news hit him especially hard.
“Not many people knew how ill he was,” Bylsma told The Athletic. “Only a couple of family members and a couple of friends. That was it. From what I hear, that’s what Ray wanted. He had this huge circle because everyone loved Ray. But only a handful of people knew. I am absolutely devastated.”
That 2009 Cup win allowed Shero to hoist the Cup like his father, Fred, did 34 years earlier as head coach of the Penguins’ state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.
Here’s part of Commissioner Gary Bettman’s statement on NHL.com:
“Ray Shero’s smile and personality lit up every room he walked into and brightened the day of everyone he met,” Bettman said. “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.
“Whenever we ran into each other at a rink when he was scouting, it was clear he loved what he was doing, and I always marveled at his infectious enthusiasm. The entire National Hockey League family mourns his passing and sends our deepest condolences to the Shero family and Ray’s many friends throughout the hockey world.”
Shero spent 13 seasons as an NHL GM, first with the Penguins from 2006–14 before his five seasons with the Devils. But before that, he was part of the Senators’ very young front office during the team’s early years, working as assistant GM under Randy Sexton.
Sexton and Shero were teammates at St. Lawrence University, the alma mater of several Sens executives in those days. After school, Shero became an agent for several years before his old teammate reached out to him to help run the Sens’ front office.
The Senators posted this statement on social media:
“It’s with a heavy heart that we learn about the passing of Ray Shero, a member of the Ottawa Senators front office hockey operations from 1993–1998 and a key contributor across many NHL organizations over the course of his career.”
Shero would, most assuredly, have been pleased to see the team that gave him his start getting back on the right track this season. The Hockey News sends condolences to his family and friends.
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