The Pittsburgh Penguins and the entire NHL community are mourning Ray Shero's passing. He was the general manager of the Penguins when Sidney Crosby's squad won the Stanley Cup in 2009. He later became the general manager of the New Jersey Devils and was in the Minnesota Wild front office at the time of his passing. Crosby released a statement about Shero on Wednesday.

“Ray Shero was a big part of my early days in Pittsburgh,” Crosby wrote. “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.”

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Shero was hired by the Penguins in 2006, just one year after Crosby was drafted. When he went first overall in 2005. Craig Patrick was still the general manager, running his last of 17 drafts for the team. Shero took over, added Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, and the Penguins were off and running.

From that 2009 Cup to 2014, the Penguins failed a lot in the playoffs. That cost Shero and eventually coach Dan Bylsma their jobs. The New Jersey Devils hired Shero, where he pulled off one of the most infamous trades in recent years. He got forward Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers for Adam Larson, and TSN's Bob McKenzie made sure everyone knew it was “one-for-one.”

He was fired from the Devils' role in 2020, making way for Tom Fitzgerald, who is still there. Shero landed with the Wild as a senior advisor to Bill Guerin. Shero passed away on Wednesday at 62 years old and left the NHL community to remember him as an executive and a man.