Latest news with #JimNill
National Post
5 days ago
- Business
- National Post
How the Canucks' analytics department stacks up against Stanley Cup contenders
Article content Article content Article content Florida Panthers Article content Florida is, by consensus of the handful of NHL people I spoke with, the second-most analytically inclined. Assistant general manager Sunny Mehta is a former derivatives trader who became a professional poker player and then a well-regarded hockey blogger. He has been working in the NHL in various capacities since 2014 and has also consulted for Major League Baseball teams. Article content He was hired by the Panthers in 2020 as vice-president of hockey strategy, then was given an assistant general manager's title in 2023. Article content General manager Bill Zito clearly values his input. Article content Article content Dallas Stars Article content The Stars have only had a true in-house analytics group since 2022, when they hired a former assistant of Kyle Dubas in Matt Rodell to lead their new department. Article content The Stars were already a smartly run organization under GM Jim Nill, consistently delivering strong teams that seemed to qualify for the playoffs year after year. They made the Stanley Cup final in the bubble in 2020. They kept churning out young players to buttress up a roster long led by top-end veteran players like Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. They had done well finding star defencemen like Miro Heiskanen. Article content Article content But surely the addition of a data-driven group has helped them solidify their standing as one of the NHL's model organizations. Article content Article content Edmonton Oilers Article content For a long time, the Oilers seemed openly defiant of the wisdom data provided. And then they got the game's best player in the fold and maybe it didn't matter. But it always seemed odd they would turn away from a tool that could add to their lineup. Article content And in recent years, they have clearly become more interested in the data and have built a much more complete lineup around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Article content The Oilers hired a literal oilman in Michael Parkatti in 2023 to lead up their analytics team:. He had previously worked for Suncor energy. Article content Article content The Canucks have had an analytics department of one kind or another for nearly 15 years now. They have been interested in numbers no matter who has been in charge. Aiden Fox, who is the head of the analytics team now, has been praised by management and coaches time and again. Article content
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Jets' Kevin Cheveldayoff among three finalists for NHL GM of the year award
Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is one of three finalists for the 2025 Jim Gregory Award. Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the other finalists announced Friday by the NHL for the award given annually to the league's top GM. Cheveldayoff, a runner-up for the award in 2018, built a team that won the Presidents' Trophy as the top regular-season team with a franchise-best 56-22-4 record. His first move of the off-season was hiring Scott Arneil as head coach. Arniel is a finalist for the Jack Adams award, given to the league's top coach. He acquired winger Brandon Tanev and defenceman Luke Schenn at the trade deadline to add to a core that included forwards Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and captain Adam Lowry, defenceman Josh Morrissey and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck – all Cheveldayoff draft picks. The Jets advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs, where they were defeated in six games by Nill's Stars. Dallas (50-26-6, 106 points) finished fifth in the NHL's overall standings during the regular season, marking the first time the franchise posted a top-five finish in consecutive seasons since the Presidents' Trophy-winning teams in 1997-98 and 1998-99. Nill strengthened the roster for the playoffs with the acquisition of winger Mikko Rantanen from Carolina at the March 7 trade deadline. Nill is a finalist for a record fifth time, winning the award in 2023 and 2024. The Stars led the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in the Western Conference final heading into Game 2 on Friday. Zito and the defending Stanley Cup-champion Panthers posted a 98-point regular season (47-31-4), good for third in the Atlantic Division, but showed their true quality in the playoffs by eliminating Tampa Bay and Toronto to advance to the Eastern Conference final for a third straight year. The Panthers currently lead the conference final 2-0 over the Hurricanes after dominating the opening two games in Raleigh, North Carolina. Zito is a finalist for the third straight season and fourth time overall, finishing third in voting in 2021, 2023 and 2024. The NHL's GM of the year award was renamed in 2019-20 in honour of Jim Gregory, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who served as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and a league executive for four decades.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cheveldayoff a finalist for NHL's GM of the year
Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets is among the three finalists for the general manager of the year award. The NHL team won its first Presidents' Trophy as the National Hockey League's top overall regular-season team in 2024-25. Voting for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award was conducted among the league's general managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media after the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the other nominees. The Stars eliminated the Jets from the playoffs in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Stars' Jim Nill finalist for Jim Gregory GM of Year Award
May 23 - Jim Nill, Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bill Zito have been named finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the NHL announced Friday. The voting for the award was conducted between league general managers, a panel of executives and media members following the conclusion of the second round of the playoffs. Nill, 67, has seen his Dallas Stars reach the Western Conference finals for the third straight season. He is a two-time winner of this award (2023, 2024) and five-time finalist Cheveldayoff, 55, has spent the last 14 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, who captured the Presidents' Trophy this season. He also was a finalist for the GM of the Year Award in 2018. Zito, 60, is looking to guide the Florida Panthers to their third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. He has been a finalist for the GM of the Year Award in three straight years and four of the last five. --Field Level Media
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
'It helps, it doesn't hurt': Mikko Rantanen trade may set Jim Nill's legacy as Dallas Stars GM
Jim Nill (via Getty Images) Mikko Rantanen's headline-grabbing trade to the Dallas Stars could be the defining stroke of genius of general manager Jim Nill's highly successful career. Bringing aboard one of the NHL's top 10 skaters— and signing him to a long-term deal— not only has improved Dallas' chances at a Stanley Cup, but it has solidified Jim Nill's place among hockey's top front-office brains. This wasn't merely a solid trade—it might be a moment that changes the franchise forever. Jim Nill fills Dallas Stars' superstar gap with Mikko Rantanen's entry Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer on his level of involvement in moves made by GM Jim Nill #nhl #hockey Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill spent years building a rich and well-rounded team, but while they consistently made the playoffs, the team did not have that one elite, top-shelf scoring presence. That abruptly changed when Mikko Rantanen, once a Colorado Avalanche standout, arrived in a stunning trade-deadline acquisition through the Carolina Hurricanes. For Jim Nill, this was not merely about bringing in talent — it was about obtaining the missing piece of a championship puzzle. He had seen what Rantanen could do, watching his career since he was nearly drafted by Dallas in 2015. For years, Rantanen haunted Dallas as a member of the Avalanche. Now, he's in Victory Green and scoring big, such as doing so in the Western Conference Final opener against the Edmonton Oilers. First dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes, Rantanen did not look like a prime target for a second mid-season trade. But concerns in Carolina regarding his future contract status — and déjà vu from losing Jake Guentzel in free agency — created the Dallas Stars' opening. Jim Nill acted quickly, using young forward Logan Stankoven to anchor the trade and keeping Rantanen in place by brokering an eight-year, $96 million contract extension. This acquisition was years in the making. From prospecting Rantanen as a draft candidate to watching him terrorize for Colorado and ultimately acquiring him under unexpected circumstances — it seemed like fate finally smiled on Nill and the Stars. 'I hear about the no-tax stuff, and yeah, there are some advantages,' Nill said. 'It helps, it doesn't hurt. But we've lost some players because of other reasons. It evens out. But in the end, if you're a good team, you're going to draw players. You hear about Florida and Tampa; no one wanted to go there when they were bad. And nobody wanted to come to Dallas when we were bad. But players want to win. These guys are thoroughbreds, they're wired, they're competitive. These are the best in the business, in the world. They want to win, and we have an opportunity to win here. 'You start winning, you become a destination.' Now, with veterans such as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn still on the ledger, a young foundation built around Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger, and a true franchise star in Mikko Rantanen, the Dallas Stars are not only a playoff regular —they're actual Stanley Cup contenders. Also read: Florida Panthers dominate Game 2 with strategic precision and playoff grit Jim Nill might have lost a couple of trades as a player, but as a GM, he just executed one that could cement his legacy. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
