AsmodeanReborn was one of the first group of GM's the league had and the inaugural GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
AsmodeanReborn (or as his nickname went, Asmo) usually had his sense of humor going a mile-a-minute, cracking jokes and swinging some deals. Not one to go after that super blockbuster trade, he did trade Marek Svatos for a 5th rounder...boy would that of hurt, and his biggest trade was moving Shane Doan and Mattias Ohlund for Brian Rafalski and Ziggy Palffy.
Asmodean's Penguins were a very good team in Season 1 and were usually contending for the division title with the Devils and Flyers, then with the Flyers, but his team fell short of the division. He did make the playoffs in his first season and even took the heavily favoured Ottawa Senators to 7 games but he fell short in the playoffs. His Penguins never made the playoffs in his second season.
AsmodeanReborn was also one of the first league officials that were named when we moved boards, and was a key piece to the running of the league helping with simming and other tasks. He was usually in a good mood when he was on and would crack some jokes here and there.
A little known fact is, that he was one of the very few to not be Canadian or American and was actually Swedish and would usually be the only one to root for the Swedes during the World Championships that would play while the league was going on.
AsmodeanReborn had a strong two years in this league, being a LO and running his Penguins to a strong finish in Season 1, and thanks to him, the league is going strong and he now has a place in the CMHL Hall Of Fame.
One of the only remaining original members of the CMHL, the Vancouver Canucks have been under the tutelage of GM Canucks since the very get-go. Every win, loss or tie etched in team history is synonomous with the Canucks, the man and the team.
There's no question that Canucks is a well deserving member of this Hall of Fame. One of the most successful GM's in CMHL history, Canucks cemented his spot in Season 5 by posting the best single season record in CMHL history. But that's now, let's take a short look at the history that led to Season 5.
In Season 1, Canucks kicked off the CMHL in fashion. Led by Joe Sakic and Rick Nash, the team finished with the 3rd best record in the West, and then a trip to the Conference Finals, where they succumbed to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Avalanche in 6 games. They followed up by posting a nearly identical record in Season 2 and winning the Northwest Division. Led once again by Sakic and Nash, the Canucks also acquired top netminder Marty Turco. However, for the second straight year, the Avalanche were too much, and they were ousted in a very tough 7-game quarter finals series.
Prior to the start of Season 3, the CMHL switched to the FHL platform, which would not be kind to the Canucks. They struggled to find any success, and traded stars Sakic and Turco. For two straight seasons, they fell shy of the postseason finishing 9th and 10th in Seasons 3 and 4. They were known around the league as the best team on paper not to make the playoffs.
In an effort to reinvigorate the team, and finally return to the playoffs, Canucks made trades to bring back former franchise players Joe Sakic and Marty Turco. Sakic, after leaving Vancouver, went on to set the league afire, breaking records left and right. Turco, in contrast, was never the same player after leaving. Reunited once again, the team took off, never missing a beat on their way to history. Not to be outshadowed by the team, Turco set the new standard by which all goaltending seasons will be measured as he smashed the record for wins in a season.
Canucks, for his part, was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as GM of the Year. His body of work, as described above, is a testament to commitment, progress and determination, and he, like his peers in the Hall of Fame, are the pillars to which all GM's should strive.
For the first 2 seasons of the CMHL, Grizzlygoalie was the name and face of the New York Rangers. He is also one of the founding fathers of the CMHL and we are reminded of this on a daily basis as he was the original administrator of the Forums (the reason why the address bears his team's name).
An original GM, he became the commissioner of the league upon M3's departure and led the league through much of its 1st season before himself passing the reins on to habsfan93 as his external time commitments became more frequent. As commissioner, Grizz ruled over the infamous Kyle Stewart cheating incident and delivered swift justice in a move that was widely acclaimed by the league.
As a GM, Grizz had a rough first season, that saw him miss the playoffs. In Season 2, however, he turned it around and produced a winning record. Never a huge trader, Grizz built through the draft one of the deepest prospect bases of any team in the CMHL, including the likes of future superstars Carey Price and Jonathan Toews.
Habsfan is the only member of this league to make a case against M3 as the most important member this league has ever had.
habsfan93 is the only member of this Hall of Fame class not to have joined since the outright beginning, as he joined the league in June of 2004, opposed to the rest who joined in April. Habsfan signed up as the Montreal Canadiens and started to build the team in his own image landing huge deals for players like David Legwand and Vincent Lecavalier. Though he started the season, he eventually stepped down to take over the duties of the players agent. That also never lasted as he took over the job of the Columbus Blue Jackets on a temporary basis, but after a month without a suitable replacement showing up, habsfan93 had built the team to a point where he wanted to keep it.
Around the the time he became the Jacket's GM, he had become a simmer, and then an LO, and was really moving up in the league. When grizzlygoalie had to retire, habsfan became the league's commissioner. Since then, he has become the sole simmer and Commissioner of the league, and has basically become the backbone of the league.
During his stint as the Blue Jackets GM, he has turned a last place, nobody team like the Jackets into the powerhouse that everyone sees. He is also never shy about picking up superstar players like Niedermayer (then moving him for Hatcher), Hejduk, Rolston, Richards...basically anybody of substance has been aquired by habsfan93 and he took his team to the Stanley Cup finals in season 2 after a 29th place finish in Season 1. This remarkable feat saw him get the Jack Adams Award in Season 2. These feats are also the reason he has been inducted into the CMHL Hall Of Fame.
Written by mikeyevil
The CMHL Hall of Fame has no 'Builder' category. And it's a shame. Some members could only classify based on what they have done for the league, and not based on the achievement of their team. If team achievement were all that qualified, there would be few members in this Hall as of yet.
That being said, every once in a while, the GMs of this league get something completely right. In the year 2010, based on a forum campaign started by Canucks GM Mike, an overwhelming wave of recognition poured forth for one of the league's most tenured GMs. Devon Kemmer aka 'hgimn', was finally, and most deservedly recognized for his outstanding contributions to the CMHL. Being a GM who has less tenure than Devon, it would be illogical of me to even try to write a complete biography of 'hgimn' within the CMHL. But like stories heard around a campfire, the legends I have heard of Devon's presence in the league speak of someone who joined as merely a boy, recruited enough people to keep the league afloat for a long period of time, and has been one of the most consistently active members of the league who is not specifically involved in running it. Devon�s exceptional activity has been recognized this past year with the M3 Award for Activity and Sending in Lines.
Devon's contributions to this league go FAR beyond his devotion to the Detroit Red Wings he manages. Devon has, over time, grown within this league to become a man of uncompromising value, showing time and time again his willingness to stand by his convictions and having developed the sophistication as a GM to truly support those convictions. A member of the trade committee of the league, Devon has grown into a respected member of our online community. In summary, Devon�s contributions to this league are far too many to name. If one could call Hall-of-Fame member habsfan93 the �backbone� of the league, then Devon Kemmer is definitely a top contender for the title of its �heart�.
As the original GM of the Minnesota Wild, Jay left a lasting legacy. Jay squeaked into the playoffs in Season 1, due to an injury to superstar Peter Forsberg that cost him half the season. It was star defencemen Chris Pronger's Norris Trophy winning season that got him through this and into the playoffs where he upset #1 Dallas to move through the to the 2nd round. In Season 2, Jay didn't fare quite as well and though he battled through, he missed the playoffs.
An original member of the League Officials, Jay became assistant commissioner with habsfan93 under Grizzlygoalie after the departure of M3. He remained in this position until about 3/4 of the way through Season 2. At this juncture, habsfan93 was forced to take a leave of absence from the league and in his wake, he became Commissioner and saw the league through until the end of the 2nd Season.
Known for his passion and commitment to his beliefs, Jay always stood his ground and fought for what he believed was best for the league. In the offseason following Season 2, Jay was beginning to contemplate retirement from the league. When habsfan93 returned, Jay decided that this was the ideal time to part, knowing the league would be in good hands.
With Kookaranian's departure as the GM of the Ottawa Senators, he left behind a legacy as one of the most respected GM's in the CMHL. His Senators were consistently among the best in the CMHL, posting 40+ wins in each of the first 2 seasons.
In Season 1, his top line of Hossa-Sundin-Mogilny dominated the league. Mogilny won the Art Ross and Lester B. Pearson Trophies, Hossa finished 2nd in scoring and won the Rocket Richard Trophy and Sundin finished 5th in league scoring despite playing only 65 games. In Season 2, in a blockbuster deal, he moved Sundin for Joe Thornton and his top line continued to succeed while ensuring the future remained strong.
Outside of his GM duties, Kookaranian joined the League Officials staff within the first few months of the league's birth, first as a league writer for the website, and later as a full League Official. He remained in that position until his departure, influencing many policy decisions within the league's front office along the way.
Ludo is the first of the "second generation" of GM's to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, that is, the group of GM's who joined just prior to the switch to FHL. Known league-wide for his uncanny ability to come out on top in every trade, Ludo has as a result had a very successful career as a GM, first with the Florida Panthers, and then after a 6-month sabbatical, with the Buffalo Sabres.
Taking over the Florida Panthers, Ludo made it a point to compete with the very best right away. He quickly swung deals for players like Roberto Luongo, Ilya Kovalchuk, Daniel Alfredsson and Jay Bouwmeester, and as a result, posted what remains to date the best season in Panthers team history, and their first Southeast Division win. However, in one of two massive upsets in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, the Panthers were beaten in 7 games by the division rival Lighting to quickly end their playoffs. He was rewarded by his peers however, winning both the Asmodean Reborn Award for League Activity and the GrizzlyGoalie Award for Decision Making Ability.
After the devastating playoff loss, Ludo took a small break from the CMHL, but soon returned shortly after the start of Season 4 to take over the Buffalo Sabres, a struggling team that had never made the playoffs. True to form, Ludo traded up a storm and quickly fashioned a team that would go on to win the Northeast Division and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals before being ousted by the eventual Cup-winning Islanders. For completing one of the quickest team turnarounds in CMHL history, Ludo was very deservedly honoured with the Kookaranian Award for Trading Ability and the Jack Adams Trophy as GM of the Year.
Having completed two of the best single seasons in CMHL history, Season 5 would be a tough follow-up and things did not start well. But, through his amazing feats of trading success, Ludo pushed forward until he saw a team he liked, and a great 2nd half led to a 6th place finish in the East. He was able to continue that success all the way through to the Semi-Finals where once again he was ousted, this time in a 7th game.
As a GM in this league, its always a great deal of fun to watch Ludo work his magic, and if you make a trade with him, you'd better be careful, because chances are he has the upper hand!
M3 (or gx470 to us older guys) was possibly the most important member this league has had. If not for him, this league would never have even survived the departure of our first commisioner.
A little known fact is that to begin this league, gx470 (at the time) was the first ever Detroit Red Wings GM, Though he quickly resigned to help JoshR run the league, taking charge or the dispersal draft and other tasks.
After the draft though, the league took a hit when JoshR had left the league quietly for personal matters, and hadn't told a soul about this. And when it was seemingly like the league was to fall into oblivion like many others before it, gx470 took the reigns and steered this crashing league back into stability when he finished dispersing the rosters, and finally started simming the games, to lift this league back into the clouds.
When we moved boards to help gx470 (about this time he had changed his name to M3) become the Commissioner, we had an up and coming league. Many GM's were joining the league and all was going right for this league. But just 4 months after joining the league, building the rosters and stabilizing the league, M3 had to sadly resign his position as Commisioner, and retire from the league.
Though he was only here for 4 months, his contributions to this league have been massive, and has seen him become a legend to this league and with his induction into the CMHL Hall Of Fame, he, and his contributions will be remembered forever.
Marty, formerly known as Max Power, has been a steady hand in the league since its inception back in April of 2004. He is only one of 4 remaining GM's (at the time of this writing) that remain from the initial Dispersal Draft back in April of '04. In Season 1, Marty led the Devils to a 7th place finish in the East and a first round matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens wound up playing in the Season 1 CMHL Stanley Cup finals, which I think tells you how the Devils fared. But it was a good season for Marty nonetheless as he worked with a veteran lineup composed of the likes of Langenbruner, S. Niedermayer, Sykora, Primeau and Marchant.
In the offseason prior to Season 2, Marty made a decision that surprised many - to start over and rebuild his team from the ground up. In a landmark move, he trade S. Niedermayer and Primeau to the Blue Jackets for among other things, the 2nd overall pick of the coming draft - which he used to select young phenom Jeff Carter. He then focused on getting some more young talent to be the building blocks of the Devils - the Sedin twins and Eric Fehr - who along with Season 1 pick Cam Barker and Carter would lead the Devils to a 54 point finish, good for 2nd last in the CMHL.
Not happy with being a last place team, Marty decided he'd had enough of rebuilding and in Season 3, he began to rebuild himself into a playoff team through trades. Without moving any of his key young players (Sedins, Carter, Fehr, Barker), Marty was able to add veterans Zhamnov, Bondra, Jovanovski, Hannan, Jason Smith and the key piece to the puzzle, Mikka Kipprusoff. With this very talented team, the Devils climbed the standings finally settling for a 4th place finish in the East, only one point shy of the division leading Islanders. Marty and his Devils went on to beat the Canadiens, Flyers and Hurricanes successively to enter the CMHL Stanley Cup Finals, only 1 season after finishing 2nd last in the league. Facing the Blue Jackets, the Devils faced hard competition (5 of the 6 games were 1 goal differentials) but eventually succeeded in taking the series in 6 games and being declared the CMHL Stanley Cup Winners for Season 3. Kipprusoff was awarded the Lester B. Pearson and Conn Smythe trophies at the end of the season. The man himself, Marty, received the Jay and M3 awards for dedication, commitment, passion and intensity. A truly great GM!
What hasn't been mentioned yet, is that on top of being a highly regarded GM, Marty has been a League Official since September of 2005 and the Assistant Commissioner of the CMHL since the Fall of 2006. Every time the league's existence has been threatened, Marty has been right there bringing it back to life. He exemplifies the heart and soul of the CMHL.
You just can't say enough about Moll and give credit to all his traits as a GM. A smart trader, keen tactician, nicest guy on the planet, only Ducks fan to be in Canada...
Moll started out in Season 1 as the GM of the Colorado Avalanche, but not drafting his own team, he was left to form his own. That would only serve to prove that he would become one of the CMHL elite as he was able to aquire such talents as Patrick Marleau, Patrik Elias, Bryan McCabe, Ed Belfour, Sergei Fedorov and many others and translate that into wide success in Season 1, as he rode that team all the way through the playoffs to the Cup Finals, and dispatched the Montreal Canadiens in 6 games to be crowned the 1st ever CMHL champion.
In season 2, Moll and former GM eluzion made a trade..they traded team names, and Moll was able to start GM'ing his favourite team, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Moll again made wily trades, and made the playoffs for the 2nd straight year, but sadly fell in the 1st round to the surging Columbus Blue Jackets. Quite the disappointment for the Ducks faithful, but not a downer to Moll. He would get vengence next time.....
...but next time would have to wait. with the CMHL looking like it would fail and go under, and due to massive time problems, Moll would take his leave from the league to try and get things in order (and watch his Ducks win the NHL Stanley Cup). So Moll was not around for season 3.
..but you can't ever ignore that ol' itch..Moll heard from former Gm PLC that the CMHL had survived the downtime, and was at it's strongest it's ever been, so with the Isles opening, Moll jumped at the chance to GM again, and completely retooled the Isles to bring in key players like Ed Jovanovski, JS Giguere, Alexander Frolov, Chris Drury to go along with Marc Savard, Moll took the Isles through Season 4 season to gather his 2nd Division Title, and the 1st GM to win 2 divisions with 2 different teams. Moll then took his troops through the playoffs and got back to familiar territory, the cup finals against the team that took him out in Season 2..the Columbus Blue Jackets..and through a 7-Game series, Moll was able to gather that veangence he promised at Season 2 end, beat the Jackets and gather his 2nd Stanley Cup..becoming the 1st GM to win 2 Stanley Cups..and likely will be a while before someone does it with 2 different teams.
To go along with all his winning, Moll was also a member of the LO team during season 2-canceled season. Always willing to give a hand with anything he can, Moll is synonymous with winning in the CMHL, and the CMHL is lucky to have had Moll join us, and even luckier he came back..Hats-Off to Moll.
Few General Managers in the CMHL have the on-ice track record of a team like Anaheim in the last three years, and GM quackquack capped off all that success with a Stanley Cup Championship in Season 6. quackquack joined the league just prior to the switchover from EA Sports to FHL, and inherited a middle of the pack playoff team that had been without any serious success. He didn't waste any time making the team his own, making a string of deals early to put together a veteran squad that would go on to win the first of four straight Pacific Division titles.
He took the Ducks right to the Conference Finals where he met his soon to be archrival, the Columbus Blue Jackets. After going up 3-0, the Blue Jackets surged back and took the series in 7 games to go on to the Finals. Most GM's would have seen their spirits broken, but quackquack didn't let it get him down and he went right back to work, making what is likely the most significant acquisition of his GM career - Marian Hossa. Hossa was acquired by trade from the Calgary Flames and in the following three seasons scored 255 points in 246 games for the Ducks. Along with Niklas Backstrom who was signed as a free agent in Season 3 and has gone on to be one of the most consistent goalies in the CMHL since then, its no wonder the Anaheim Ducks have been such a dominant force in the Western Conference over the past few seasons.
Although they won the President's Trophy in Season 4, a feat that earned quackquack the Grizzlygoalie Award for Decision Making Ability, and continue to stack up the Division titles, quackquack could not get his team past the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom they met in the Finals again in both Season 4 and Season 5, losing both times. This makes the Cup win in Season 6 all the more deserved and highlights quackquack as one of the most successful and perseverant GM's in CMHL history.
Stajanfan has been in the CMHL for many years, close to it's inauguration, joining when we moved to a different board, and since then has become one of the league's greatest GMs and a true pioneer for the league, helping establish it as one of the best leagues around. The CMHL is a great place to be, and play a GM game because of the efforts of guys like Stajanfan.
One of Stajanfan's best quality is his eye for talent, whether it be for current players or prospects, he can scout out a talent and get it if he needs to. This talent took form when he signed up for the Blackhawks and instantlly rebuilt them into a celler-dweller, but one that was up to it's eyes in top-flight prospects and draft picks, which were used to acquire more top prospects like Andrei Kostitsyn, one of the best players to be built up from the CMHL opposed to the NHL.
This trend continued through season 1, where he missed the playoffs, and season 2, where again he missed the playoffs, and finished 4th in the draft rankings..where if he won, he'd get Sidney Crosby, but what were the odds he's get the pick? i mean really the furthest ranking to win and get Crosby, laughable...
HE DID IT!!! Stajanfan hit the jackpot of all jackpots when he won the draft lottery and was able to select Sidney Crosby, and like the NHL Penguins, was the key into making the Blackhawks respectable.
Season 3 started out differently, now that he had Crosby, it was no longer rebuild time, but rather playoff time. he started out by bringing in some bigtime wingers and defenseman to build around Crosby, such as Max Afinogenov, Pavol Demitra, Richard Zednik, Nick Lidstrom, Nik Khabibulin..and of course, his keen trading sense saw a willing deal to land another hyper-star..that star, Alexander Ovechkin.
Now with Crosby and Ovechkin, the Blackhawks had not only turned the page to the good years, but flipped right to the "oh-my-god-this-team-is-totally-stacked" and in season 3, Stajanfan made the playoffs for the 1st time, but was sadly beat by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2nd round.
Not to let it slide, Stajanfan brought in some more key talent, such as Rod Brind'Amour, Peter Bondra, Jason Smith..that to go along with his already stacked team, figured he should run wild on the CMHL. And did, picking up a 100 point season, and dominating for the most part of the season, but finished just behind Columbus for the division when Columbus went white-hot at the end, edging Stajanfan for his 1st division title, and then again, Stajanfan in the semis lost to Columbus.
Stajanfan decided that he's seen enough of Columbus, and decided to take the biggest challenge the CMHL could offer - rebuilding the Toronto Maple Leafs into legit contenders, and has already started using his trade talent to land Roberto Luongo, giving Toronto the best goalie in the league, and landing key guys like Todd Bertuzzi. and owning his own Toronto pick for 09, will have a good chance at landing John Tavares using his Crosby luck..
Stajanfan has been a 2-time LO stepping down once, but landing the spot again during the LO search, and has a mass-amount of leadership qualities and an excellent sense on what's good for the league. With a good personality, Stajanfan is a joy to have manning the league in the CMHL for a long time.