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Kukla's Korner Hockey

Dallas Stars Name Jim Nill As New General Manager

04/29/2013 at 12:07pm EDT

DALLAS – Dallas Stars Owner and Governor Tom Gaglardi announced today that he has named Jim Nill the team’s new General Manager at a press conference at American Airlines Center. He will begin his new role immediately, becoming the 11th General Manager in franchise history and sixth since the team moved to Dallas.

“Jim Nill, along with Ken Holland, has been at the core of the Detroit Red Wings front office for nearly two decades and we are extremely excited to secure him as our new General Manager,” said Gaglardi. “Jim’s record in Detroit speaks for itself, contributing to four Stanley Cup championships, as well as drafting and developing some of the league’s best players.

“Jim is universally respected throughout the hockey world and we are very fortunate to have him as our General Manager. We are confident that his leadership, expertise, work ethic and direction will position the club for consistent success once again.”

Nill, 55, just finished his 15th season as Assistant General Manager of the Red Wings and his 19th season overall as a member of the management team. His responsibilities with Detroit included directing the amateur scouting department, overseeing all selections at the annual NHL draft, as well as managing the development of the organization’s prospects at both the professional and amateur levels.

“I am honored and very excited at this opportunity to be the Dallas Stars General Manager and I want to thank Tom Gaglardi and Jim Lites for believing that I am the right person for this job,” said Nill. “There have been a few other openings out there that have been presented to me in the past, but I was waiting for the right one to take, and coming to Dallas was that right one. I am eager to get started building on the pieces that already exist and helping return this team to the playoffs.”

During Nill’s tenure in Detroit’s management team, the Red Wings have more wins than any other franchise in the National Hockey League, have won four Stanley Cups (1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008), six Presidents’ Trophies (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008), 12 Central Division titles (1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011), seven regular season Western Conference titles (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008), and have never missed the playoffs. He has been an integral part of Detroit’s drafting of the following players: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Valtteri Filppula, Jimmy Howard and Johan Franzen.

Nill was also General Manager of Team Canada for the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championships in the Czech Republic. Canada captured gold by defeating Sweden 5-3 in the championship game.

The Hanna, Alberta, native joined the Red Wings’ front office in the summer of 1994 following three seasons with the Ottawa Senators. Previously, Nill enjoyed a nine-season NHL career as a right wing with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Red Wings. He collected 58 goals, 87 assists and 854 penalty minutes in 524 regular season games. Nill later went to Adirondack as a player/coach, retiring as a player after the 1990-91 season. A member of the 1979-80 Canadian National and Olympic teams in 1979-80, he was a fifth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues (89th overall) in the 1978 draft.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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