Into the weeds: Grading every Stars offseason of the Jim Nill era

From 2013 to 2024, what's the verdict?

Jim Nill has always been something of an enigma. He started out with such a bang (2013 and 2014), it’s hard not to look at the 2024 offseason as something of a whimper. But the offseason is only part of his job, and to that end, his GM of the Year awards have been well-earned.

Obviously, I didn’t care for this offseason, but I’m not comfortable with any assessment until I consider the history. So I thought going back through Nill’s history could be a fun exercise. Perhaps it tells us more about Nill’s tendencies, perhaps it’s something we should have expected, or perhaps this was the rare panic buying on Nill’s part.

For this exercise, we’ll look only at the additions Nill made for each year with a quick glimpse of the value added using Micah Blake McCurdy’s forward and defender group ratings, and a grade for how Nill did. Did he fix the problem he aimed to address, not at all, somewhere in between, or did he potentially create new ones?

I know I had a Tales From the Clipped on the calendar, but I absolutely underestimated the proximity of the draft and free agency basically being attached at the hip. Hopefully this post will suffice. For those who haven’t made the jump, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Think of it like finding an erratic, meandering diary of all things Dallas Stars at the bookstore. You’d buy that for a dollar wouldn’t you!