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Is Jim Nill’s ‘Win Now’ Strategy Out of Date for the Dallas Stars?

By Avery Klatsky

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 19: Jimmy Vesey #26 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal at 9:38 of the second period against the Dallas Stars at Madison Square Garden on November 19, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 19: Jimmy Vesey #26 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal at 9:38 of the second period against the Dallas Stars at Madison Square Garden on November 19, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TEXAS – JANUARY 19: Jamie Benn #14 of the Dallas Stars prepares to take on the Winnipeg Jets during pregame warmups wearing a MLB Texas Rangers baseball inspired jersey at American Airlines Center on January 19, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars have been barely inside and barely outside the playoff bracket in the past several seasons. However, is Nill’s strategy sufficient enough to make a run for the Stanley Cup this season?

The Dallas Stars have been playoff contenders for the past several seasons. However, they have also seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, from leading the league in goals one year to finishing 15 points out of a wild-card spot the next.

Under the watch of Stars’ General Manager Jim Nill, Dallas has held a “win now” mindset—the idea that the team is ready to compete in the playoffs to win a Stanley Cup. However, that has not happened, and the Stars yet again find themselves in the hunt, not a shoo-in (with the exception of the 2015-16 season), for the playoffs.

Especially being in the Central Division, the Stars have no wiggle room for failure, and the past week has a very good example why. Take, for example, the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues had an awful start to this season. After a large overhaul in the locker room during the offseason, they believed that the team had improved from the year prior. But, in the first half of the season, they didn’t. They had a losing record (12-14-4) through the first 30 games of the season and found themselves in last place in the Central Division standings. But, since the beginning of the new year, they’ve drastically increased, going 16-4-1 in 2019, including a recent 10-game win streak.

Consequently, Dallas has been knocked out of the top three in the Central and is sitting in a wild-card spot yet again this season.

Dallas, who is mimicking the likes of how their season concluded last season, is has fluttered in and out of a playoff spot and is on the outskirts of being a consistent scoring team. Despite the fact that they are 6-3-1 in their last ten contests, depth scoring has remained minimal since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

Stars fans knew that bringing in veteran forward Andrew Cogliano in mid-January was not enough to fix the forward group and its scoring issues.

Related Story. Stars trade Shore to Anaheim for Andrew Cogliano. light

Nill knows that the Stars could be on the cusp of becoming a consistent playoff team—Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and Ben Bishop are in the prime of their careers. Although he is just 26, John Klingberg is playing very well on the blue line despite battling through injury and is helping the Stars’ defense. Throughout his time in the Stars’ Front Office, Nill time and time again built this team to “win now.”

Let’s take a look at some examples Nill has made in his career as the Stars’ GM that exemplify his support for a “win now” environment in Dallas.

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