Jim Nill era: Stars general manager makes NHL history

Jim Nill might have had one of the most innovative seasons in Dallas this year, which makes his third straight Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award a bit of a special prize.

Nill not only had to remake his defense and juggle injuries to Miro Heiskanen, Tyler Seguin and Nils Lundkvist, he pulled off one of the biggest trades in the NHL this season, acquiring Mikko Rantanen from Colorado and signing the big winger to an eight-year contract extension. It was a crazy ride.

“Every year is unique, every year has got something different,” Nill said. “You have all of these great schemes, and we were talking about last year we had all of these plans, and we missed out on about four or five players. Every year is different, injuries come into play and so many different factors.”

Nill said all three of the awards are team recognition. In being able to manage the salary cap, make big trades or stock his rosters with a steady line of drafted prospects, Nill counts heavily on his staff. Assistant GM Mark Janko said Nill does a great job of keeping that staff on point and focused.

“It’s a real honor, but I really think it’s really an organizational award, it’s not a one-man thing,” Nill said. “I’m very fortunate. It’s a real compliment to our organization, right down from the top, from ownership to coaches and players.”

Stars assistant GM Mark Janko said Nill’s persistence paid off in getting the trade of Rantanen from Carolina done. Rantanen led the Stars in the playoffs with 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in 18 games.

“The Mikko trade was Jim,” Janko said. “We talked to Carolina three, four, five days before the deadline. It didn’t necessarily look like it was going to work out in terms of what the trade was going to be. Jim just kept circling back and circling back. When he gets his eye on something like that, he operates in a manner that is very unique but really excellent in the sense of he figures ways out to get there.”

The GM of the Year Award is voted on by Nill’s peers, including all 32 NHL general managers and a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media. Voting is done at the conclusion of the Second Round of the playoffs.

Nill has been GM of the Stars for 12 seasons and has a 505-327-113 regular-season record. Dallas has made it to the Western Conference Final for three straight seasons. Nill has been nominated for the GM of the Year Award five times, including 2015-16 and 2019-20.

“We’ve earned that respect,” Nill said. “We don’t always do things the right way…we try to as much as we can, that’s just how we operate.”

Nill was presented with the award on Thursday at a meeting with team personnel. His wife and children surprised him, and that was the perfect time to share the honor, Janko said.

“When he got the award, he got emotional and everybody in the room got emotional,” Janko said. “It just shows you how much admiration everybody has for him as a leader. He is the hardest worker, an unbelievable hockey person, and he does such a great job at work, yet he is an even better person. He’s a mentor to me professionally, but he’s a mentor to me personally. You hear things like that about people like John Wooden or Gregg Popovich, and I really think Jim Nill belongs in that category.”

Coach search continues:

The Stars announced the firing of coach Pete DeBoer on June 6 and continue to search for his replacement. GM Jim Nill said Friday night that he continues to interview candidates.

“We’re getting it narrowed down,” Nill said. “I’m not going to put a timeframe on it. We’ve got July 1 coming; there’s a lot of work to be done. Whoever is going to be the coach is going to have to hire some staff, as we’ve seen we’ve had some people leave for different reasons. So, lots of work to be done. As soon as we can, but I’m not going to rush it.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.