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Holmgren not among GM award finalists

The finalists for the NHL Executive of the Year have been announced, and the Flyers' Paul Holmgren is not on the list.

Holmgren made bold moves last offseason in trading away building blocks Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, and then addressed the goaltending situation with a $51 million contract for Ilya Bryzgalov.

The finalists are Doug Armstrong (St. Louis), David Poile (Nashville) and Dale Tallon (Florida). All had teams with low payrolls and exceeding expectations.

TSN's Bob McKenzie, among the voters, tweeted that he has Holmgren on his three-man ballot. "Doug Armstrong, David Poile and Dale Tallon nominees for NHL Exec of Year, all worthy, but I had PHI's Paul Holmgren on my three-man ballot. Didn't like Bryzgalov contract but to blow up core of team on fly - Richards-Carter trade - and not miss a beat, plus fill Pronger void. Trouble with exec voting this year, TOO many good options. Armstrong, Poile, Tallon, Holmgren. Don Maloney did great work, Bryan Murray too."

Armstrong's biggest move was firing coach Davis Payne just 13 games into the season and replacing him with former Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock. The Blues would go on to win won the Central Division for the first time since 1999-2000.

Poile, who has been a finalist before, locked in key players in the offseason and then made some big moves at the trade deadline to fill in holes. The Predators won 48 games.

Tallon added 10 new players in the offseason in a massive overhaul. He also hired first-time coach Kevin Dineen. The Panthers won their division for the first time in franchise history and made the playoffs for the first time in 12 years

The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards Shows on June 20 in Las Vegas.