Dallas Stars: Jim Nill’s Top Ten Offseason Moves Of 2017

The Dallas Stars and general manager Jim Nill have not, by any means, had a quiet off-season. Here’s their best moves power ranked.

With the Dallas Stars set to take on the newest NHL franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, on October 6th, the team is coming into its own in terms of roster structure. This, of course, would not be possible without the amazing work of Jim Nill and the front office over the off-season.

From the first day of the 2017 off-season on (literally; the Stars announced that Lindy Ruff had been relieved of head coaching duties 14 hours after their last game), Nill has been hard at work to field a team that replicates the success of the 2015-16 Central Division champions. Building a team with immense speed, skill, chemistry, and dependability was the number-one priority.

Nill has been extremely successful in that aspect. 10 major moves this off-season have allowed the Dallas Stars to become Western Conference favorites once more; many national writers have noted that no team has improved more over the off-season than the Stars have.

While it’s no question that Jim Nill has even more work to do – having nine NHL defensemen on the roster is a no-no – his body of work this offseason to not only address imminent needs but also boost the preexisting strengths of the club is extremely impressive.

While Nill has made a career out of surprising every NHL fan and pundit, this could be, for what it’s worth, his most productive and effective off-season. Not even 2013’s Tyler Seguin trade, or the Jason Spezza deal the following year can equate to such.

The off-season moves made by Nill and the front office extends far and wide. Here is a look at the ten best moves Nill has pulled off over the 2017 off-season.

#10 – Shedding Cap Hits For Extra Space

For any off-season moves to come to fruition, the team in question has to first have the salary cap space to afford the transaction and the following paydays. In order to acquire the talent and depth Jim Nill obtained, he had to shed money somewhere.

The money he was able to get rid of belonged to non-essential players, which is a rarity for NHL teams. Not only did Nill take advantage of the Las Vegas-based Expansion Draft, he smartly bought out contracts and simply didn’t resign others.

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The Stars netted nearly $4-million in annual cap space by having Las Vegas claim unprotected centerman Cody Eakin, whose deal took money off the books for Dallas that allowed them to sign other players and give necessary pay-raises to restricted free agents. Rather than paying a player with 12 points last season for the next three years, Nill played his cards right and scored some additional cash.

Antti Niemi, whose time as half of the Dallas Stars goaltending tandem ran out, had his contract bought out, meaning his $4.5-million will now be paid out over two years and at just $1.5 million yearly. Having Ben Bishop and Kari Lehtonen in the crease meant Niemi, who signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was obsolete. Nill saved quite a few dollars towards the cap this way.

In addition, Patrick Sharp (Chicago) and Ales Hemsky (Montreal) signed on elsewhere, meaning their cap hits of what would have likely been $1-2 million each are off the table. All in all, Nill saved over $10-million on last season’s salary cap by using an Expansion format and collective bargaining agreement to his favor like no other GM would be able to do.

#9 – Re-signing Pivotal Pieces

While some restricted free agents like Radek Faksa and Gemel Smith wait for their inevitable deals that are surely coming soon, Jim Nill has been hard at work in terms of resigning RFAs who made an immense impact last season.

Esa Lindell, a staple of the Dallas Stars’ future blueline plans, received a two-year extension worth an annual value of $2.2 million, while Brett Ritchie, whose 16 goals last season was third behind Seguin and Jamie Benn amongst returning players, accrued a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.75 million.

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Patrik Nemeth, as well, earned himself a “try-me” contract of $975,000; while Nemeth may not be a Dallas Star come October (trade, waivers, AHL deployment), his dependability on the back end as a possible seventh defender is not to be understated.

Both Lindell and Ritchie, 22 and 23 respectively, established themselves as Dallas Stars mainstays last season. At such a young age, their potential to remain as Stars stalwarts is as high as anyone else in the system.

Lindell is likely to play second or third pair minutes this season and chip in 20-30 points in the right role. Ritchie, however, is a potential 30-goal scorer. The former Calder Cup champ will use his heavy right-handed shot alongside Jason Spezza on line two this season.

#8 – Loads Of Depth At All Ends

When free agency opened up on July 1st, Jim Nill was quick to add depth in the forward department to counteract the injury issues that plagued the Stars last season.

In signing Brian Flynn, Tyler Pitlick, Mike McKenna, and Brett Regner, the Stars have the imperative depth at all positions. If, like last season, significant pieces of the puzzle start to fall apart, these players can fill in at any time and possibly be used in big minute roles.

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Pitlick and Flynn are skilled, solidified NHLers who will each have a great shot at cracking the Dallas Stars roster come Opening Night, while goaltender McKenna and defenseman Regner are most likely Cedar Park bound. Nevertheless, these players have shown throughout their careers that they can be relied upon to provide stability in the absence of NHL regulars.

Flynn and Pitlick have been anchors of the bottom six in Montreal and Edmonton, respectively, in the recent seasons, which tells me that Dallas is in luck as far as skill in the third and fourth lines go. With Faksa and Devin Shore playing bottom-six center minutes, Flynn and Pitlick are possible 15-goal scorers.

McKenna and Regner will assist mightily with prospect development, as McKenna will lead goaltending prospects Philippe Desrosiers and Landon Bow into this upcoming American Hockey League season and Regner will mentor defensemen like Gavin Bayreuther and Niklas Hansson.

#7 – Veteran Leadership For Prospect Development

As mentioned in the previous slide, Jim Nill and crew have done a masterful job at creating a steady AHL farm team for a group of young prospects to develop in an orderly and timely manner.

In signing the aforementioned Regner and McKenna, the goaltending and defensive sides of prospect development is essentially set, but the forward side was a bit iffy this season. On account of this, Nill, in conjunction with assistant GM and the man who overlooks the Texas Stars, Scott White, re-signed Cedar Park legend Travis Morin.

The moves didn’t stop there, however, as Morin’s longtime sidekick Justin Dowling was given an extension of the two-way variety. Dowling and Morin have done a wonderful job with preparing Jason Dickinson, Remi Elie and others for the NHL, and have earned a spot within the organization because of it.

In addition, Greg Rallo – an integral part of the inaugural 2009-2010 Texas Stars team – was brought back to Cedar Park by Nill and White. Rallo, who had played the 2016-17 season with Isherlohn of the Deustch League, will provide the same veteran locker room presence.

Prospect development is just as reliant on veteran leadership as it is on playing time and competition, and the Stars’ front office did a hell of a job in providing their best prospects with leadership to burn.

#6 – Signing Martin Hanzal

Although it came as a bit of a surprise when Bob McKenzie and others reported it on July 1st, the Stars, to a degree, needed a player like Martin Hanzal. Hanzal is a physical, two-way center who has garnered Selke votes three times in his career and also put up 35 or more points five times in his nine year NHL tenure.

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Hanzal is far and beyond an upgrade from Cody Eakin, whose role the Czech lefty will fill. Hanzal will be making an affordable $4.75-million and could very well end up playing some stout top-six minutes. His body on the penalty kill will greatly improve a PK that could not have been much worse last season.

Hanzal is a left-shot, something the Stars don’t often implement on the power play, but his ability to play the last 40 seconds or so of a PP chance will pay dividends. Hanzal is extremely versatile and a very quick skater for a guy his size.

Nill is smart to grab a player like Hanzal while he’s available. Hanzal’s unique physique and skillset made him a hot commodity and hopefully an improvement over Eakin, a failed project at the 3C position.

Hanzal can play with anyone, and play anywhere. He only boosts an already killer forward lineup; another stellar move from the Dallas Stars executives this off-season.

#4 – Success At The NHL Entry Draft

We knew going into the Draft, as the Dallas Stars held two first round picks, that things could be eventful and the Stars could walk away with loads of prospective talent. The Stars did exactly that, as the front office nailed down the two best players of their respective position.

The 2017 Entry Draft saw the Stars lay claim to Finnish defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who was the first D taken and also third overall in the pecking order, and goaltender Jake Oettinger at #26, whose numbers at Boston University show great promise.

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Heiskanen looks to be a short-term project with extremely strong upside; his puck-moving skills and overall maturity on the ice for HIFK Helsinki are nothing short of world-class. He will most likely be in the Stars pro system starting next season.

Oettinger, like all goaltenders, looks to be a long-term project, but there’s no question as to why he was the number-one goaltender of this Draft class. His 6’4″ frame and lateral mobility make for smooth movements all around the crease, while his exceptional positioning keeps him out of the danger zone when he is moving side to side. Oettinger could be the AHL starter in Cedar Park in two or three years.

Jim Nill once again correctly evaluated his needs and took action accordingly. Also, for the record, both editor Josh Clark and I correctly projected such a decision.

#3 – Hiring of Ken Hitchcock

To reiterate to the first slide, the Lindy Ruff firing was the first of many moves from the Stars front office this season, one that set up the third best transaction on our countdown: the hiring of future Hockey Hall of Fame head coach Ken Hitchcock.

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Hitchcock is no stranger to the limelight as an NHL head coach, as his time as a Dallas Star from 1997 to 2002 culminated into two Stanley Cup Final appearances, with the 1999 Cup going to Dallas. Aside from that, his success with Columbus, Philadelphia, and St. Louis gives him the fourth-most wins in NHL head coaching history (781).

While Hitchcock’s bump and grind style of hockey is better suited for the late 1990s, the heyday of the Edmonton native, good coaching never really goes out of style. He has been quoted often this off-season expressing his willingness to adapt to styles that better suit his players. Players like Alexander Radulov and Jason Spezza will surely appreciate that.

Hitchcock’s assistant coaching staff is quite stacked as well: former Stars fan favorite and penalty kill expert Stu Barnes joins Hitchcock, as does longtime Stars assistant Rick Wilson, while Curt Fraser remains in a smaller role. To say Nill knocked it out of the park as far as coaching goes is an understatement.

Lindy Ruff grabbed a job as an assistant with the New York Rangers, and we thank him for the time, which included two Playoff berths and Division crown. However, we all look forward to the newest chapter in Stars coaching with Ken Hitchcock at the helm.

#2 – Trading For Ben Bishop

Ask any Dallas Stars fan what our problems have been centered around over the past few seasons and you’re likely to hear more of the same: goaltending. While Kari Lehtonen has shown flashes of absolute brilliance from time to time, steadiness in the crease has long eluded the Stars.

SenShot

That is until Jim Nill sent a fourth-round pick in last month’s Entry Draft to Los Angeles for goaltender Ben Bishop, who had been dealt to the City of Angels from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. Bishop is a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist whose ceiling is a top-five NHL goaltender, the first time Dallas has been able to hold the honor of possessing a bonafide elite netminder since Marty Turco.

Bishop is coming off his worst statistical season in his NHL career, but such was mostly due to injuries. Bishop, having missed the postseason as a part of the Kings, has had a good amount of time to heal up. The Stars will be in luck come Opening Night as Bishop will show the actual skill and talent he’s known for.

Bishop was signed to a long term, six-year, $4.9 million per year contract, which raised some eyebrows, but if Bishop returns to prominence as a Star will be quite a valuable contract. Again, Jim Nill is clearly here to gamble his future away for a Cup while Benn and Seguin are still in their primes, so it really doesn’t matter to a degree.

Nill learned from his mistakes last season when it comes to failing to upgrade the support in the crease. The Dallas Stars can now move on from the fundamentally flawed two-headed goalie monster and come into their own with a proven All-Star goalie backstopping them.

#1 – Signing Alexander Radulov

The most league-shattering transaction the Dallas Stars front office, led by general manager Jim Nill, did this offseason was undoubtedly net Russian superstar Alexander Radulov as a consistent winger for preexisting Stars offensive maestros Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.

Radulov was one of, if not the most sought after free agent on the market in 2017, after an impressive showing with the Montreal Canadiens last season: 18 goals, 36 assists, plus-10, 54.2% Corsi For Percentage. Radulov was one of few players in the National Hockey League last season that could truly take over a game last season.

For the Habs, he was everywhere. There were questions about his commitment level after spending the last few seasons in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, but his 54 points was second on the Montreal squad that won the Atlantic Division title.

Radulov is a left-shooting 30-year-old whose playmaking abilities puts him among the game’s best passers. It’s this reason as to why Jim Nill locked up a premier winger for Benn/Seguin like Radulov for five years at a $6.25 million average annual value.

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Nill’s mindset here was not only to win now, but to win big doing it; Alexander Radulov gives them the best chance to do such. With Radulov a part of an already stout offensive core, the sky is the limit in Dallas.