Poile's work helped the Predators earn a postseason berth for the 10th time in 13 seasons and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. Nashville's leading scorer Viktor Arvidsson, selected 112th overall in 2014, became the latest key player drafted and developed under Poile, joining a list that includes goaltender Pekka Rinne and defensemen Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis. Poile also has added several influential players via trade, with defenseman P.K. Subban (June 2016) following forwards Ryan Johansen (January 2016), James Neal (June 2014), Filip Forsberg (April 2013) and Mike Fisher (February 2011). Poile captured the award for the first time in his fourth year as a finalist.

2016-2017 NHL General Manager of the Year Award Voting

Pts. (1st-2nd-3rd)
1. David Poile, NSH 112 (18-6-4)
2. Peter Chiarelli, EDM 52 (6-5-7)
3. Pierre Dorion, OTT 46 (2-10-6)
4. Lou Lamoriello, TOR 36 (5-3-2)
5. Bob Murray, ANA 36 (3-5-6)
6. Jim Rutherford, PIT 24 (2-4-2)
7. Jarmo Kekalainen, CBJ 17 (1-2-6)
8. Stan Bowman, CHI 8 (1-1-0)
Brian MacLellan, WSH 8 (1-1-0)
10. Doug Armstrong, STL 7 (0-2-1)
11. Jeff Gorton, NYR 2 (0-0-2)
12. Chuck Fletcher, MIN 1 (0-0-1)
Brad Treliving, CGY 1 (0-0-1)
Steve Yzerman, TBL 1 (0-0-1)