The Dallas Stars are no stranger to signing or trading for a superstar in any given offseason. But they also enjoy signing less-known, “under the radar” players. Those players tend to have mixed results, so it is anyone’s guess as to how things will go down the road.
Calling Jim Nill an unpredictable general manager can be a pretty fair accusation. And since manning his first offseason as GM of the Dallas Stars in 2013, it’s easy to see why.
Since that summer, the Stars have become one of the centerpiece teams at the table of landmark NHL acquisitions. No longer did Dallas dabble in an offseason and add a few small names or veteran talents that were past their prime. When Nill took the helm, that all changed.
It’s not unlikely to see the Dallas Stars take a swing at landing a superstar player each offseason. In 2013, he pulled off a trade for Tyler Seguin. 2014 came with the addition of Jason Spezza via trade. The 2015 offseason brought along the acquisition of Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns and the signings of Antti Niemi and Johnny Oduya.
And in 2017, Nill pulled off his most influential offseason yet. He secured names like Alexander Radulov, Marc Methot, and Ben Bishop to revamp a Stars team that had finished in the bottom six in the NHL during the 2016-17 season.
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To top it all off, the Stars were marked as one of the six teams in the running for John Tavares a few weeks ago and also became one of the frontrunners to land Erik Karlsson in a blockbuster trade.
Nill is no stranger to big moves, plain and simple. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty in a given offseason and really take a reach in a potentially franchise-altering deal. That’s just the kind of GM he is.
But what about the lesser-known acquisitions that he makes? After all, it’s not just superstars that Nill brings in. He also enjoys reeling in a few players that are not as well-known or simply haven’t done enough in their careers to get themselves into the spotlight.
That’s what makes him unpredictable. Sure, he might surprise the hockey world when he swings for the fences in a substantial trade. But it’s just as surprising when he spends day one of free agency adding a handful of players that Stars fans are clueless about.
Nill spent this past July 1 doing much of the same by adding defenseman Roman Polak and forward Blake Comeau.
While many Stars fans were expecting Dallas to go after a big-name forward to add in their top six, Nill instead signed Comeau as an option.
The Stars, who had an excellent year on defense and finished in the top seven in goals against, have one of the youngest defensive groups in the NHL. They look well-stocked for the future and could have an elite blue line for years to come. Of all the positions the Dallas Stars needed to fill going into July 1, a veteran, right-handed, depth defender was not on their to-do list. That’s what made the signing a surprise.
Pucks and Pitchforks
And considering Nill has made moves like this in past summers, it’s anyone’s guess as to how both Comeau and Polak will fit in and perform. So far, the unpredicted, “under the radar” signings have produced mixed results over the past few years for Dallas. That includes players like Patrick Eaves, Anders Lindback, Jiri Hudler, Martin Hanzal, and Tyler Pitlick.
Rewind back to the summer of 2014. It’s July 1 and the Dallas Stars are once again at the center of the offseason frenzy. They spent the first part of their day bolstering their center group by adding Jason Spezza via trade. To further their offensive reboot, they also signed Ales Hemsky.
But Nill also signed two players that weren’t necessarily at the center of the rumor mill on July 1. Shortly after trading for Spezza, Nill also announced the addition of goaltender Anders Lindback and forward Patrick Eaves.
It was already known that the Stars needed a backup goaltender, but signing Lindback had definitely come as a somewhat unexpected move. And signing Eaves made things even more confusing.
These two unpredicted signings went in quite different directions in terms of results. Lindback only played in ten games for Dallas, going 2-8-0 over the span. His .875 save percentage and 3.21 goals against average became a significant thorn in the side of the Stars’ already fragile crease. He didn’t make it past February before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Jhonas Enroth. The signing ended up being a massive flop for the Stars’ goaltending group and put Dallas in a hole in the 2014-15 season. Oh, and Lindback hasn’t played in an NHL game in over two years.
On the other hand, the unexpected signing of Patrick Eaves might just have been one of Nill’s smallest gambles with an incredibly large payoff. Upon arriving in Dallas, the 30-year-old had played in 444 NHL games, tallying 74 goals and 146 points. He was seen as nothing more than a depth forward that might play the role of ’13th forward’ (considering his contract was valued at one year $650K).
But Eaves made an immediate impact. Though an injury cut his season short, the winger put up 14 goals and 27 points along with a +12 rating in 47 games during the 2014-15 season. He was extended for one more year and responded with 11 goals (including five on the power play) and 17 points in 54 games. It wasn’t as impressive of a season, but when factoring in injuries and the lessened playing time, it was an average season. He also sparked success in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs with three goals and six points in nine games.
Pucks of a Feather
The consistency in Eaves’s game earned him another one-year deal with Dallas for the 2016-17 season. And though the team as a whole flopped, Eaves hit new career highs, scoring 21 goals (including 11 on the power play) and 37 points in 59 games before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks near the deadline. Eaves transformed from a short-term depth player to one of the Stars’ leaders on offense and natural scorers. Not bad for a guy that slid in under the radar when the Spezza trade hogged the spotlight.
Jiri Hudler was signed by Nill in the late summer of 2016 as a replacement for forward Valeri Nichushkin. It was an unexpected move but considered to be a necessary one with Nichushkin’s absence.
But, things didn’t pan out so well for the Stars or Hudler during the 2016-17 season. Hudler only played in 32 games for Dallas during the 2016-17 year. Part of that was due to a mysterious illness that sidelined him for six weeks. The other part was simply due to the fact that he didn’t play particularly well.
Hudler only had three goals and 11 points along with a -3 rating. His one-year contract expired in the summer of 2017 and the Stars quietly parted ways with the veteran forward, who has not played in an NHL game since and is currently a free agent. It wasn’t the best unexpected signing of the past few years.
And then we have the 2017 offseason. After adding Bishop and Methot in the weeks leading up to July 1, Nill spent the first day of free agency with a rather quiet, yet unexpected approach. Instead of landing Alexander Radulov (who didn’t come along until July 3) as everyone was expecting, the Stars added to their already stocked center group by signing Martin Hanzal and locked in some depth on the right wing with the addition of Tyler Pitlick.
Hanzal’s first year with Dallas ended up being hard to judge. He was sidelined for much of it, including the last six weeks of the season. Hanzal ended up playing in only 38 games. But when he was in the lineup, he found ways to be effective, specifically on the second power play unit and penalty kill. He won face-offs in both zones, used his size to his advantage, and was a great net-front presence. And even though his cap hit and term don’t shine very brightly in the Stars’ favor right now, Hanzal still turned out to be a slightly above average addition to the Dallas offense.
And then there’s Pitlick. After a few inconsistent years with Edmonton, he joined the Stars and put together an impressive year with 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games. A three-year deal with an AAV of $1 million is now looking like a steal for the Stars.
Next: What To Watch For In Rest Of Stars' Offseason
All in all, Nill’s unexpected signings present an interesting balance in terms of effectiveness. Some have flopped while others have taken to new heights and either created a spark or simply resurrected their own respective careers.
And with that being said, it’s anyone’s guess as to how Comeau and Polak will pan out in their first year with the Dallas Stars.