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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Jim Nill On the Importance of (Over)preparation

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

As the Dallas Stars prepare for the NHL Awards and the NHL Draft this week, Jim Nill is in the spotlight in Las Vegas, Buffalo and beyond.

Jack Adams Award nominee Lindy Ruff has been singing the praises of the GM of the Year finalist in interviews, writes Mike Heika:

“He’s been so helpful to me, almost like an assistant coach, because he understands the West and understands how you have to prepare players out here,” Ruff said. “But I think just as important is that he sets a great example for everyone. He’s a good person, he does things the right way, he creates an environment where everyone puts in the work.”

And while some of Nill’s personnel moves have worked out better than others, he’s still preaching the gospel of growing from within as the Stars prepare for the draft and the offseason:

“We feel we’re moving forward, we feel we have a good group of young players who are moving up,” Nill said. “We definitely will look at any move that will help us improve, but I would feel confident moving ahead with the players we have now. We feel they’re ready.”

There’s much, much more at Mike’s place. [SportsDayDFW]

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Jamie Benn has landed in Las Vegas. Let the NHL Awards begin. Watch to see The Captain as a finalist for the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award (and head coach Lindy Ruff for the Jack Adams Award, which may be due for a name change) tonight at 6 p.m. Central time on NBCSN.

Can you guess where Jedi Jamie ended up on Heika’s list of the best draft picks in Dallas Stars history? [SportsDayDFW]

Of course Steve Dangle has his own version of the NHL Awards for hockey social media. Check it out. [Sportsnet]

In April, Patrick Kane became the first American-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy, and tonight he may become the first American to win the Hart – 48 years after Stan Mikita became the last Blackhawk to win it. [WGN]

The NHL salary cap will rise to $73 million with a $54 million floor in 2016-17, and that sudden breeze you felt was the collective sigh of relief now that the limit won’t be lower.

It’s not much relief and still leaves some teams strapped. James O’Brien lists those who are suffering the most [NHL on NBC]

Craig Custance reports that the reports are true: Alex Goligoski and the Arizona Coyotes have agreed to five years and $5.5 million. [Yahoo Sports]

Elsewhere, P.K. Subban is not “wasting energy” on the trade rumors swirling around him. [NHL]

And Jim Rutherford would like every other team to know that Evgeni Malkin is not going anywhere.

Christopher Almeras takes a look at what Dallas can expect from Stephen Johns. [The Hockey Writers]

By the time you read this, Vegas may have its own NHL team. The expansion vote is scheduled for today, and GMs including Nill are already talking about the city’s potential. [NHL]

It’s official: Vincent Lecavalier has retired after 17 seasons in the NHL.

Ryan Callahan will miss the World Cup of Hockey due to offseason hip surgery, which may leave a Team USA opening for the infamously snubbed Phil Kessel. [Sportsnet]

And goalie Michael Hutchinson has signed for two years and $2.3 million with the Winnipeg Jets. [CBC]

Elsewhere, six different teams would like to talk to Ilya Bryzgalov about a potential NHL return, according to his agent. [The Hockey News]

Finally: Yesterday was #NationalSelfieDay, and NHL teams had a field day on social media. Here are just a few examples. Enjoy.

Talking Points