Nill of Stars named General Manager of Year

Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars was named the winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award on Wednesday.

Presented annually to the general manager who best excelled at his role during the regular season, the award is voted on by NHL GMs and a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The award was first presented in 2010 to Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney. It was renamed the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award during the 2019-20 season to honor the late NHL executive, former Toronto Maple Leafs GM and 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee.

Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers were the other finalists.

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The Stars were 47-21-14 this season with 108 points, their highest total since 2015-16 (109), and advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second time in four seasons, a six-game loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. Peter DeBoer was hired as coach, forward Mason Marchment and defenseman Colin Miller signed free agent contracts, and forwards Evgenii Dadonov and Max Domi were acquired prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3.

"I think the main thing is the organization," Nill said. "It's a sum of the parts. It's about the people you surround yourself with, and we've got great people. Right from the top to the bottom, and having their support, there's so many things that come into play when you try to win. Everybody's got to pull the rope at the same time, and we've got a group that does that."

Several Stars draft picks made an impact during the run to the conference final. Jason Robertson (No. 39, 2017 NHL Draft) was seventh in the NHL with 46 goals. Roope Hintz (No. 49, 2015) led Dallas in the playoffs with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists). Wyatt Johnston (No. 23, 2021) led playoff rookies in goals (four) and was second in points (six), including a series-clinching goal in the third period in Game 7, a 2-1 win against the Seattle Kraken in the second round.

In addition to Robertson, the Stars also selected defenseman Miro Heiskanen (No. 3) and goalie Jake Oettinger (No. 26) in the 2017 draft.

"It's our staff that] did a great job," Nill said. "It's our amateur staff. Just when we thought we might take a little dip, all of a sudden you've got a Roope Hintz in the second round, Jason Robertson in the second round, Esa Lindell is a fourth-rounder. We were getting to the point where I said, 'Where is this going to go?' But these guys came around. All of a sudden Wyatt Johnston shows up, [Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Thomas Harley, like it was on and on. That's the work of the amateur scouts, it's the pro scouts making some good decisions signing players from the world championships and other places, and it all comes together."

Hired by Dallas in April 2013, Nill finished third in voting for the GM of the Year Award in 2015-16 and 2019-20, the latter when the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final, a six-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"You're always trying to get better, you're always adjusting," Nill said. "But I think the most important thing is you hire good people. They've got to grow into what they're doing. Sometimes they're smarter than me. They're there to challenge me, and they do that. It's an important part of the business. We've been together a long time, a lot of us. They've come together, they're hard-working, they're dedicated, and I always tell people they make me look good. That's what they do."

NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report

2023 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award voting

Points (1st-3rd)

1. Jim Nill, DAL 91 (12-9-4)

2. Don Sweeney, BOS 83 (12-6-5)

3. Bill Zito, FLA 46 (4-6-8)

4. Tom Fitzgerald, NJD 39 (4-5-4)

5. Ron Francis, SEA 39 (3-5-9)

6. Don Waddell, CAR 27 (1-5-7)

7. Kelly McCrimmon, VGK 14 (2-1-1)

8. Kyle Dubas, TOR 8 (0-2-2)

t-9. Ken Holland, EDM 5 (1-0-0)

David Poile, NSH 5 (1-0-0)

11. Chris Drury, NYR 1 (0-1-0)