James Edward Nill (born April 11, 1958) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player and the current

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

of the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). Nill played in the NHL throughout the 1980s with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

, and

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, retiring in 1990. Prior to making his NHL debut Nill also played for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

. He worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

before joining the Red Wings in an executive role in 1994, staying with the team before moving to take up the general manager role with Dallas in 2013.

Playing career

Junior

Born in

Hanna Hannah or Hanna may refer to: People, biblical figures, and fictional characters * Hannah (name), a female given name of Hebrew origin * Hanna (Arabic name), a family and a male given name of Christian Arab origin * Hanna (Irish surname), a fami ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Nill played one season for the

Drumheller Falcons The Drumheller Falcons were a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) based in Drumheller, Alberta. The Falcons joined the AJHL in the 1971–72 season as the league's seventh team after acquiring the assets of the Pon ...

of the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The r ...

(AJHL) in 1975, after which he played three seasons with the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divi ...

of the WCHL. He was drafted by the

in the third round, 89th overall, in the

1978 NHL Amateur Draft The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Dra ...

International

The next season, Nill played with the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...

before signing with the Canadian national team for 1979–80. Nill scored 32 points in 45 exhibition games before playing six games, scoring one goal and two assists, for Canada at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

Professional

Nill played one season for the

Salt-Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the Internationa ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL) in 1980–81. He finally made his NHL debut in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

for the St. Louis Blues. He only played one season for the Blues before being traded to the

with Tony Currie,

Rick Heinz Richard D. Heinz (born May 30, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 47 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. The rest of his career was spent in the minor ...

and St. Louis' fourth-round draft pick (Shawn Kilroy) in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

in exchange for

Glen Hanlon Glen A. Hanlon (born February 20, 1957) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, executive and former goaltender. Hanlon played in the National Hockey League for the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. He is a ...

on March 9, 1982. He helped the Canucks to the

1982 Stanley Cup Finals The 1982 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1981–82 season, and the culmination of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was played between the Campbell Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in t ...

where they would lose to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

4–0. After two more seasons in Vancouver, Nill was traded to the

in exchange for

Peter McNab Peter Maxwell McNab (May 8, 1952 – November 6, 2022) was a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey player. He played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1973 to 1987, with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canu ...

on February 3, 1984. He did not receive very much ice time in Boston and consequently the Bruins ended up trading him to the

for

Morris Lukowich Morris Eugene Lukowich (born June 1, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was a member of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1985, and later played fo ...

on February 4, 1985. He played nearly four years for Winnipeg. However, they were not able to defeat the powerhouse

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

or the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

. He was sent to the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL)'s

Moncton Hawks The Moncton Hawks were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick. They played in the American Hockey League between 1987 and 1994, operating as a minor league affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets. Home games were played at the ...

. He did not stay in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

long as

head coach Jacques Demers liked his tough style of play and acquired him on January 11, 1988 in exchange for fellow journeyman NHLer

Mark Kumpel Mark Alan Kumpel (born March 7, 1961) is an American former ice hockey player. Selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Kumpel also played for the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets. A member of the 1984 Olympic team, Kump ...

. Nill played the final three years of his NHL career in Detroit with brief stints for the AHL's

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nati ...

. In Adirondack, he was a teammate of

Sheldon Kennedy Sheldon Kennedy (born June 15, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames in the National Hockey League (NHL). Kennedy was drafted by the Red Wings in the four ...

. He retired from professional hockey after

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

Management career

Ottawa and Detroit

After Nill retired as an active player, he joined the scouting staff of the

as amateur scout. He was promoted to professional scout after only two years. He joined the Detroit Red Wings' front office in the summer of 1994 following his three-year stint with Ottawa. Nill's duties with Detroit included directing their amateur scouting and selections at the annual NHL Entry Draft. He had also served as the general manager of the Adirondack Red Wings. Nill continued to oversee the development of the Red Wings' prospects that are currently assigned to Detroit's main affiliate, the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Lea ...

of the AHL, as well as those in the Canadian junior and European leagues. In his management role with the Detroit Red Wings, he helped the team to four Stanley Cup Championships in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Dallas Stars

In April 2013, Nill was hired as general manager of the

. He immediately made several major transactions, starting with trading a sixth-round pick in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Al ...

to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

Sergei Gonchar Sergei Viktorovich Gonchar ( rus, Серге́й Ви́кторович Гонча́р, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪdʑ ɡɐnʲˈtɕar; born 13 April 1974) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and a former assistant coach f ...

, then signed Gonchar to a two-year, $10 million contract. On July 4, 2013, in a blockbuster trade, Nill sent 2011 NHL All-Star

Loui Eriksson Loui William Eriksson (born 17 July 1985) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Eriksson was selected by the Dallas Stars in the second round, 33rd overall, at th ...

(as well as prospects

Joe Morrow Joseph Mathew Alexander Morrow (born December 9, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for HC Davos of the National League (NL). Morrow played junior hockey with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western ...

Reilly Smith Reilly Smith (born April 1, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Toronto, Smith played junior hockey with St. Michael' ...

and

Matt Fraser Matthew John Fraser (born May 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing. He is currently under contract with EC KAC of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League for the Dallas S ...

) to the

in exchange for former second overall pick

Tyler Seguin Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

as well as

Rich Peverley John Richard Peverley (born July 8, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent four years with the St. Lawrence University hockey team before turning professional, then playing three years for several teams in both the ...

and

Ryan Button Ryan Button (born March 26, 1991) is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently a playing with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Button was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 3rd round (86th ove ...

. On the same day, he traded prospect

Philip Larsen Philip Elzer Gade Larsen (born 7 December 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with Esbjerg Energy of the Metal Ligaen (DEN). He was originally drafted 149th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2008 ...

and a seventh-round pick in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine ...

to the

in exchange for their captain

Shawn Horcoff Shawn Paul Horcoff (born September 17, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 99th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers, with whom he played 11 seasons and served as t ...

. On July 1, 2014, Nill traded for Ottawa centre and captain

Jason Spezza Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza (born June 13, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Spezza played 19 career seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2002 to 2022, and is currently a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs' front ...

and right winger Ludwig Karlsson in exchange for

Alex Chiasson Alex Chiasson ( , , born October 1, 1990) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward currently playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League (AHL). He has previously played in the Nation ...

Nick Paul Nicholas Paul (born March 20, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). A left winger, he was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round, 101st overall, of ...

, Alex Guptill and a second-round pick in the

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the ...

. On the same day, he also signed unrestricted free agent forward

Aleš Hemský Aleš Hemský (, born 13 August 1983) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He most recently played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally a member of the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him i ...

to a three-year, $12 million contract. On July 10, 2015, Nill traded for forward

Patrick Sharp Patrick Sharp (born December 27, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars. After his retirement as a pla ...

and defensive prospect Stephen Johns from the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in exchange for defenceman

Trevor Daley Trevor Daley (born October 9, 1983) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and also serves as a hockey operations advisor for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played ...

and forward

Ryan Garbutt Ryan Jonathan Garbutt (born August 12, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He last played under contract to ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Undrafted, Garbutt attended Brown University, ...

. On July 15, 2015, Nill signed unrestricted free agent defenceman

Johnny Oduya David Johnny Oduya (born 1 October 1981), is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is of Kenyan Luo descent on his father's side. Oduya is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with th ...

to a two-year, $7.5 million contract.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nill, Jim 1958 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Dallas Stars executives Detroit Red Wings executives Detroit Red Wings general managers Detroit Red Wings players Detroit Red Wings scouts Ice hockey people from Alberta Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Medicine Hat Tigers players Moncton Hawks players National Hockey League executives Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Ottawa Senators scouts People from Hanna, Alberta St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players Stanley Cup champions Vancouver Canucks players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States