PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- The Dallas Stars enter the season as Stanley Cup contenders. General manager Jim Nill embraces the expectations without getting carried away.
"Expectations are good," Nill said while scouting the World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena this week. "Now we've got to go do it, though. We have to do it. I've been around a long time to see it's not easy."
Nill laughed.
After winning the Cup four times as an executive with the Detroit Red Wings from 1994-2013, he became GM of the Stars on April 29, 2013. Dallas has made it as far as the Cup Final in 2020, when it lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
The Stars returned to the Western Conference Final last season, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games, and Nill won the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. The 65-year-old signed a two-year contract July 24 to remain GM through the 2025-26 season.
"Everybody says, 'Well, is it Cup or bust?'" Nill said. "I say, 'You know what? That's disrespectful to the game, how hard it is.'
"First priority, get in the playoffs. Get yourself healthy. Let's see where our team's at. If we need to make some changes before the playoffs, we'll figure that out. But let's get there, and let's give ourselves the best chance. That's where we're at."
The Stars have a mix of veterans hungry to win the Cup, elite players hitting their prime and young talents pushing up underneath.
They're deep up front after signing Matt Duchene, Sam Steel and Craig Smith to one-year contracts as free agents July 1, allowing coach Peter DeBoer to roll four lines the way he likes.
Duchene should be motivated after the Nashville Predators bought out the final three seasons of the seven-year, $56 million contract he signed with them July 1, 2019. The 32-year-old had 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) in 71 games last season after he had 86 points (43 goals, 43 assists) in 78 games in 2021-22.
"I know he's disappointed in what happened, but this is a chance to bounce back," Nill said.
But he can move up in the lineup if needed, play wing or center, and play on the power play. With his speed and skill, the Stars also hope he can help during 3-on-3 overtime. They went 4-11 in games that were decided in OT last season; he has 10 OT goals in his NHL career.
"He gets to come in and just play," Nill said. "He doesn't have to be looked upon as the leader of the team. He's still going to be a natural leader. It's going to happen. But he doesn't have to worry about being the guy. Come in and fit in."
Steel will be slotted more appropriately in Dallas. He was too high as the No. 1 center for the Minnesota Wild last season and had 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 65 games. Now he and Smith will bolster the bottom six.
But Steel can move up in the lineup if needed, play wing or center, and kill penalties. Remember, too, that the Anaheim Ducks selected him in the first round (No. 30) in the 2016 NHL Draft. He played four seasons with the Ducks before he signed with the Wild on Aug. 30, 2022, and he's only 25.
"People forget," Nill said. "He was a good young player in Anaheim, [but he] kind of got lost in the mix. Does he get his moxie back? Take the next step? That's what excites us."
That depends on whether Lundkvist and Harley seize greater roles. Lundkvist had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 60 games last season and is 23. Harley had two assists in six regular-season games, but then nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 19 playoff games. He turns 22 on Aug. 19.
"If those kids grab it, we're in a good spot," Nill said. "If they don't, maybe I've got to make move depth-wise, so we'll see. But I want to see some internal growth there. It's time for them to grow."
Nill is confident in 24-year-old goalie Jake Oettinger, who went 37-11-11 in 62 games (61 starts) last season.
After putting up a 1.81 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and one shutout in a seven-game loss in the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference First Round in 2022, he had a 3.06 GAA, an .895 save percentage and one shutout in three rounds last season.
"This was his first year of being the guy," Nill said. "He had that great run against Calgary the year before. That was one series. Now he's seen what it's like to do one series, two series, three series. It was a learning experience for him."
It was for the team as a whole.
"You've got to go through it," Nill said. "You don't go from a team that's getting ready to win the Cup … to winning the Cup. It's a process. It takes two, three, four years."
