Dallas Stars: Jim Nill’s Future Might Depend on 2017-18 Season
The 2017-18 season is starting to become clearer for the Dallas Stars with the recent hiring of Ken Hitchcock. But considering the current state of the team, Jim Nill will need a red-hot year from his team.
The Dallas Stars have gone through a lot in the last year. They had the best season in the last decade in 2015-16 and after an abysmal 2016-17 campaign have now just hired Ken Hitchcock back to be the new head coach.
There are a lot of changes being made in the organization and assuredly more to come. How those changes affect next season, however, could be make or break for general manager Jim Nill.
Decisions
Nill has determined the Stars’ roster and coaching staff since he came to Dallas. He signed Lindy Ruff as the head coach and saw him lead the team to the Central Division Title. He also saw Ruff and the Stars fall significantly last season.
That prompted a number of controversial decisions on Nill’s part and while they were not the ideal situation, he did what he believed to be best for the team.
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Over the last four years, Nill has made some interesting moves. He got Tyler Seguin from the Boston Bruins in one of the most talked about trades still to this day. He also made deals that saw good players leave for rentals that did not stay with the team long enough to leave the comfort of a hotel room.
That, however, is part of the job description of being a general manager. Decisions have to be made and Nill has done his best to this point. The question is how the decisions he has made of late will influence the team in 2017-18.
Flip or Flop
Things in the NHL change in a relatively quick fashion. That has been true for the Stars and Nill has been the mastermind behind them all. He completed trades in the offseason and before the trade deadline, and also came up with Hitchcock’s new contract. He is currently establishing the direction of the team.
As far as hockey knowledge goes, Nill is among the most intelligent. He was instrumental in the Detroit Red Wings’ success years ago as the assistant general manager and he brought that knowledge to Dallas.
Intelligence, however, does not necessarily translate to success on the ice. Players and coaches can seem like the perfect fit on paper, but fail miserably when put to the test. The opposite can also be true and imperfect fits on paper can be fantastic success stories.
That is where the Stars are at right now. They do not know if Hitchcock’s return will reap benefits for Dallas or if it will cause the best years of players like Jamie Benn and Seguin to fall far short of expectations.
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If the former is true, expect Nill to be the Stars general manager for years to come. But if the latter is the case, a change in the general manager position in Dallas could be among the next big moves the team makes.