Light Work: Reactions and grades for Jim Nill's 2026 trade deadline

Light on players, heavy on layers.

I’m going to do my best to ignore the very obvious, and very unfortunate grading on a curve. It’s fair to compare Jim Nill to Stan Bowman, who traded four picks within the first three rounds between 2027 and 2029, Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and Andrew Mangiapane for a goaltender arguably the same as Skinner, Connor Murphy, and Jason Dickinson. It’s fair to compare him to Jarmo Kekäläinen, who just traded a solid young prospect (Isak Rosen, currently lighting up the AHL), and four picks (one a 2026 second) for three players that substract on-ice value. And it’s certainly fair to compare him to Steve Yzerman and Mathieu Darche after seeing what they gave up for Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn, respectively.

But it’s not fair to the question of whether or not Dallas got better by trading for Tyler Myers and Michael Bunting, and if so, the degree to which they did. Because that’s the only question worth asking.

At the beginning of February, I did a deep dive into all the pieces that make the Stars. At the time, they were rebounding. It wasn’t just that they were at the beginning of their eventual, franchise record-setting 10-game win streak, but that the underlying numbers suggested a new level was in store. The process was finally catching up with the results. Quoting the piece:

“This reads like a lot. The goaltending haze, the forward holes, figuring out what’s real about the blue line, etc. But Dallas has a strong backup if Oettinger ends up having a weak year. The blue line isn’t leaking even if it lacks name value. Step back, and I think priority number one is still a left winger for (Wyatt) Johnston and (Mikko) Rantanen.”

Lo and behold, the Stars have one. I think that’s what makes this a win as far as trade deadlines go. Dallas is still a bottom-10 shot generating team at even-strength. Here is Bunting’s impact on his team’s shot quality (red indicates higher threat level, blue indicates lower threat level) at even-strength.

Expected goals per unblocked shot attempt courtesy of TheStanleyCap.

Bunting gets to the front of the net consistently, at even-strength, and at a high level. Most of his icetime this season was spent with Erik Haula and Luke Evangelista. I’m no expert. After all, I don’t have the authority to trade a second for Michael McCarron or Logan Stanley. But I do believe Rantanen and Johnston are upgrades. And that upgrades a crucial aspect of Dallas’ offense that they’ve been lacking.

Going back to the February piece, this is one of the reasons why I can have my arm twisted into appreciating the Tyler Myers trade. He is anything but perfect. I’m inclined to believe his value will hinge on Glen Gulutzan and Alaine Nasreddine finding him the right partner, developing just the right habits. Myers is a player who seemed to do a lot better in Vancouver when he was asked to do less. He’s a smooth-skating 6’8 defenseman. He doesn’t need to move much to simply obstruct the opposition on principle. That’s why I would argue his place is next to Thomas Harley. Next to Harley, he won’t have to do anything but be a pillar of support. If the Stars can keep his puck touches low and turn him into something of a sleeping giant, all of a sudden a blue line that has statistically graded out as quite effective gets a slight boost.

The ultimate question, however, is whether or not any of this is enough. Is any of this enough to beat Colorado and Minnesota in the first two rounds? Is it enough to win a Cup? On the one hand, Bunting and Myers are not blue chip talents or stars. On the other hand, Dallas got better on the whole. On the other hand, so did Colorado and Minnesota (to a much lesser degree, granted).

The cost to acquire Nicolas Roy was hilariously steep. But he is a solid bottom six player. Adding Brett Kulak and Nick Blankenburg is also solid. Adding back Kadri, however, is not just a cherry on top ,but part of the cake (although we still await the cost as of this writing). Minnesota did bizarre things with bringing in Michael McCarron, Nick Foligno, taking Robby Fabbri off the waiver wire, and adding Jeff Petry as well just reeks of a GM grit-pilling himself. But I do love the addition of Bobby Brink though. For a team dragging around Tarasenko’s corpse, Brink fortifies the top six of a team that has been night and day since the addition of Quinn Hughes. It’s a certified thunderdome.

In the end it still feels like the West is all about Colorado and Dallas though. No seriously, it’s there in the numbers. In terms of how each team generates their goal differential, there are no teams with a better plus/minus recipe in all situations than Dallas and Colorado.

Because Nill already went all-in last season, I think it’s safe to say that this roster is complete. He has added around the margins — specifically the slots that needed the most attention; a top four RHD and a top six LW — and so begins the final stretch to see if they can make the race to the top of the Central interesting.

While this deadline won’t be seen as the most dramatic in Nill’s tenure, both moves felt attuned with what Dallas really needed, and as you can see; it’s not like they needed much. I will say, stepping back and putting my neghead downer cap on, I don’t believe in rating the moves against the market. Sure, the market was lame and there weren’t many options, but the end result is always the same: you either add on-ice value, or you don’t. To that end, I believe Dallas added some value. Just not enough to make me feel confident in their chances over a full playoff run, especially with the Avalanche getting back Kadri.

However, value is still value. The current roster already has a heavy metal core that can compete with the best of them. If Dallas’ core can find ways to get even more out of Bunting and Myers, then this grade will change. For now, I think Dallas gets high marks for getting players that offer versatility without breaking the bank.

A (strong) B+