On Monday, the NHL announced that Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill has received the 2023-24 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. The NHL’s announcement marked the second consecutive season that Nill has received the annual award, which recognizes the work of the top GM in the NHL. Nill joins Lou Lamoriello as the only GM to win the award on multiple occasions.
Dallas Stars Owner and Governor Tom Gaglardi told NHL.com: “Winning this award for two consecutive seasons is a testament to the work that Jim and his entire staff have done over the past decade … Year after year, he continues to put our franchise in a position to contend for championships through his expertise with drafting, developing, and talent acquisition. We will continue together towards our goal of winning another Stanley Cup for Dallas.”
In his 11th season as the Dallas Stars’ GM, Jim Nill’s Stars posted 113 points in the 2023-24 NHL regular season with a 52-21-9 record. The Stars posted the second-most points in a regular season since they relocated to Dallas in 1993-94, one point shy of the 1998-1999 Stanley Cup-winning team. They earned the most points in the Western Conference and finished the season one point shy of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers. They advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second straight year and the third time in the last five seasons. Their 54 postseason wins under Nill are tied for the third-most in the NHL with the Rangers, while their 104 total postseason games rank fourth.
Jim Nill began 2023-24 by bolstering the Stars’ lineup and signing veteran forward Matt Duchene to a one-year, $3 million contract. Duchene finished the season tied for third in team scoring and sharing fifth in goals. And, at the 2024 trade deadline, Nill acquired veteran defenseman Chris Tanev, who quickly elevated the Stars’ blueline and was a major part of the Stars’ path to the Western Conference Final.
JimNill has helped the Stars through the NHL Draft. Wyatt Johnston, the Stars’ first-round selection from the 2021 NHL Draft, led the Stars in goals, shared third in points, and ranked seventh in assists in 82 games during 2023-24. In the playoffs, Johnston led the club in goals and shared first in points in 19 games. Logan Stankoven, the Stars’ second-round selection from the 2021 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and had goals in three straight games to become the fifth Stars rookie in the past five years to record a three-game goal streak. In 24 regular-season games, Stankoven recorded 14 points, 51 shots, and a plus-10 rating.
During Jim Nill’s tenure, the Stars have amassed a 455-301-107 record and have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs seven times. Nill received his first nomination for the General Manager of the Year Award in 2015-16 after the Stars finished first in the Western Conference in the regular season. He was nominated for the second time after the 2019-20 NHL season when the Stars went to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
The Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award is an annual award that recognizes the work of the top GM in the NHL. Voting is conducted among the 32 NHL GMs, 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. The award was re-named in 2019-20 to honor the longtime NHL executive Jim Gregory.
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