Jim Nill will be a busy bee over the next three weeks. As the GM of Team Canada during the Winter Olympics, he will be figuring out the next steps before the trade deadline. The Stars decided not to do anything before the NHL Olympic roster freeze. That means they will have 12 days to decide whether to make a minor or major trade to make another deep playoff run before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While Nill is cutting it close, he's got to figure this out soon.
For those who don't remember, Tyler Seguin tore his ACL earlier in the season. He was placed on the LTIR in hopes that he would return before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While it's doubtful that he will be back at all this season, I'm not counting him out just yet. He's resilient and wants to help his hockey team out. The fact that he was on the last road trip before the Olympic break shows he's doing everything he can to help the Stars while he recovers.
The decision ahead of Jim Nill is one of the toughest decisions he's going to have to make. If Nill were to place Seguin on the SELTIR, that means the Stars could use the nine million dollars he's making this season to add a very high-caliber player in a trade that could help the Stars down the stretch. The downside of making that decision is that Seguin wouldn't be able to return for the rest of the season, even if he were healthy during the playoffs. Then you have to go through another offseason of salary cap gymnastics to make things work for next season.
Now, if Nill were to get some amazing news back on how he's recovering and would be back for the playoffs, more than likely the Stars would make a trade for a bottom-six type player on an expiring deal. That's if the hockey gods really want to be nice to the Stars. However, I really don't see this scenario play out. It would be awesome to see Seguin come back and hear the crowd pop when he takes the ice; however, ACL injuries have a long recovery time.
I wish Nill already made this decision before the Olympic break so Stars' fans would be expecting something to happen when they return from the Olympics. It would be easy to let everyone down, especially since Seguin is not expected to return for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. When Nill announces his decision on Seguin's injury, it will ultimately alter the Stars' path in the postseason. That's the big decision Nill is going to have once he returns to Dallas.