For Stars GM Jim Nill, organization is one big family

Kevin Allen | USA TODAY Sports

BUFFALO — Jim Nill is the patriarch of the Dallas Stars as much as he is the general manager.

Now in his third season with the team, Nill has earned respect around the NHL for transforming the previously downtrodden Stars into one of the league’s most explosive teams. But it goes beyond that.

At a time when coaches and players can come and go like discarded hot dog wrappers, and the pressure to win now is intense, Nil has gained a reputation around as being, well, caring.

“It feels more like a strong friendship or a family-member thing than a business thing or GM-player thing,” said Stars center Tyler Seguin. “He’s like your boss, GM, best friend ... he’s like a step-father figure.”

The Western Conference-leading Stars (14-4-0) are the league’s highest-scoring team with 3.61 goals-per-game, and they boast a power play that converts just under 30% of the time.

One of the reasons the Stars are headed in the right direction is that Nill has built a family atmosphere in his dressing room, and nobody cares more about his family than Nill. He and his wife, Bekki, are empty nesters, but Nill is still parenting the young men under his charge.

“He knows everything about every guy and he knows everything about every guy’s family,” Stars center Jason Spezza said. “He genuinely cares, and he’s extremely upbeat during down times.”

Pats on the back. Heart-to-heart talks. Pointed lectures. Second chances. You get full-service fathering from Nill. No one understands that more than Seguin.

Nill’s first bold move as general manager was acquiring Seguin at a time when the Boston Bruins were eager to trade the 21-year-old because they were concerned with his nightlife habits.

Nill had scouted Seguin and gotten to know him. He believed Seguin just needed to mature. He made the deal, and Seguin is now a star and the perfect linemate for Jamie Benn, with them combining for 21 goals and 51 points this season.

Today, Nill and Seguin are very close. Even in the summer, Nill calls Seguin every couple of weeks, sometimes just to talk hockey.

“Sometimes with a general manager there’s an intimidation factor because he can ultimately trade you away,” Seguin said. “But with Jim, because he gave me this opportunity in Dallas, we have a totally honest relationship. If there is something I don’t agree with, I can tell him. But he also knows I have so much respect for him.”

It’s Nill’s nature to be nurturing, but there’s no question that his approach has been intensified by his own family situation.

For roughly 20 years, his wife has battled cancer. It started out as breast cancer. Doctors believed she had it defeated, but the disease came back elsewhere. She receives treatments in Dallas every three weeks. She is doing well, Nill said. But you can’t go through a two-decade war with cancer and not be changed.

“Things that used to be a big deal years ago aren’t such a big deal today,” he said.

Nill was Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland’s right-hand man for many years before he took the Dallas job.

"I think everyone in hockey knew he could have been a GM seven or eight years ago, so nobody is surprised he is doing well," Arizona Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said.

But the timing was never right. It was Bekki who was most adamant that Nill take the Dallas job.

“She said, ‘We are going,’” Nill said. “I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ because I have always been conscious of her situation ... and she said, ‘It’s time for us to go. We will be fine.’ ”

Stars president Jim Lites said he was aware of Nill’s reputation as a great talent evaluator, but he didn’t fully appreciate what an impact he could have as a manager.

“Understand, that he wasn’t on the job two weeks, when he made the Seguin deal,” Lites said. “Quickly we understood how decisive he could be.”

The rule of thumb in the NHL is that you can’t trade for a superstar. But somehow Nill did that in acquiring Seguin.

While Nill made changes to the roster and was authorized to increase the payroll, he also quickly realized the need to make changes to the dressing room, and not just swapping players.

“He didn’t want big TV sets,” Lites said. “He wanted a full kitchen so they could feed the players. He wanted the place to be more hospitable. He hires a chef full time. He wants to feed the players, and suddenly we have a great atmosphere in there. He wants them eating right and being together.”

When Nill showed up in Dallas, he met with the existing management staff and decided to keep most of them.

“He has every opportunity to make any change he wanted to make,” Lites said. “I can tell you they are all Nill guys now.”

What everyone marvels at within the organization is Nill’s calming influence. When the Stars were trying to acquire goalie Cam Talbot last summer, Lites said he was “perturbed” by the Rangers’ asking price. “Jim was unflappable,” Lites recalled. “He said, ‘That’s fine. I have other ideas.’ ”

Over the past 31 months, Nill has acquired big-name players Seguin, Spezza, Patrick Sharp, Antti Niemi and promoted defense prospect John Klingberg.

Nill hired Lindy Ruff as his coach in his first season, and not surprising, they have become close friends.

“After our first interview in Toronto, I sent him a text saying I thought this would be an easy working relationship,” Ruff recalled.

Benn said it’s easy for anyone to have a quality relationship with Nill. “He always is there to talk to you whether it’s good or bad,” the Stars’ captain said.

Ruff said he and Nill sometimes disagree on personnel matters, but it never boils over because they both respect each other. Nill said he doesn’t ever get involved in coaching meetings and makes sure Ruff feels that he can coach without interference from him.

“Jim’s around a lot, but he’s not around so much that you think he’s imposing,” Spezza said.

Nill has won over fans with his accessibility and boldness. He won over owner Tom Gaglardi by his willingness to talk hockey with him every day. The secret of Nill’s success is that he’s a nice guy who doesn’t finish last.

“He treats people the way he would like to be treated,” Ruff said. “He is so sincere. And I think that rubs off on everybody. It rubs off on coaches, and players. He’s really a guy that sets the tone for this whole organization.”

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