On Wednesday, Rich Peverley turns 44, and the Dallas Stars front office he now helps run is glad to have him marking another year with the organization. 

Long before he was shaping personnel decisions from the front office, Peverley suited up for Dallas himself in 2013-14, contributing seven goals and 23 assists for 30 points across 62 games in what turned out to be his final NHL season.

That playing career came to an abrupt and frightening end in March 2014, when Peverley suffered a cardiac event during a game at American Airlines Center. He underwent heart surgery, sat out the rest of the season, and never stepped onto NHL ice again. 

Rather than walk away from hockey altogether, he pivoted into coaching and, eventually, the front office, a path that has now stretched into his 11th season with the Stars organization. This past March, that path led to a promotion, as Peverley was elevated to Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel after previously serving as Director of Player Personnel. General manager Jim Nill credited Peverley's on-ice background and years of behind-the-scenes work developing players as key reasons for the promotion.

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These days, Peverley shares front office responsibilities with two other assistant GMs in Mark Janko, and Scott White, who also runs the Texas Stars as their AHL general manager. White's name, in particular, generated plenty of buzz around the league this summer as he interviewed for the Toronto Maple Leafs' GM vacancy as well as the Vancouver Canucks job, but ultimately lost out on both roles. 

As a player, Peverley spent nine NHL seasons bouncing between Nashville, Atlanta, Boston and Dallas, finishing with 241 career points and 20 game-winning goals across 442 games. 

His signature moment came in 2011, when he helped the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup, tallying 21 points in 59 playoff games across two trips to the Final, both with Boston. He later found his way to Dallas as part of the trade that brought Tyler Seguin to the franchise in July 2013, a deal that, in hindsight, also delivered the Stars a future front office fixture.

Now more than a decade into his post-playing career, Peverley's 44th birthday finds him not looking back at what his heart condition cut short, but still building toward what's next for the organization that gave him a second act.

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