The road to Stanley Cup glory won’t be easy, but general manager Jim Nill has faith in his group.
The expectations couldn’t be higher for the Stars this season, and general manager Jim Nill knows it.
Will the club achieve its ultimate goal in the end? Only time will tell.
“The big thing is that it’s a process. To win the Stanley Cup is a process, and I think we’re going through that, and the next step now is getting to the Finals and hopefully winning. I think we have the team to do that. We’ve got to go do it,” insisted Nill, during his media availability at Comerica Center on Wednesday. “That’s the message during this training camp, that we’ve got to be ready to go and nothing’s given. You’ve got to earn it. The next step is the biggest step. I’m excited. I think we’ve got the leadership in the room that understands that, I think we’ve got the players that understand that, and I’m looking forward to getting the season started.”
The Stars are brimming with talent up and down the lineup, so it’s only natural that they are among the favorites to potentially hoist the Cup next summer.
From Jason Robertson to Jamie Benn to Joe Pavelski to Roope Hintz to Miro Heiskanen to Tyler Seguin, among others, the list of highly-skilled players is seemingly endless.
And don’t forget about Jake Oettinger between the pipes. He's the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy, according to a preseason poll of THN writers.
“Depth-wise, skill-wise and experience-wise, we’re as good as we’ve ever been. The young kids really add that next layer. That’s something that a lot of times you’re either going really young and you’re looking for that older layer to kind of guide it, and can you find it or can’t you? Other times you’re hitting the peak of your organization where guys are starting to max out in their careers, and I think we’ve got a good mix. I really believe in that,” explained Nill. “The mix of the veterans, the mix of the guys kind of starting to hit the peak of their careers, and then the young guys pushing, so the organization’s in a good position, but we have to go out and do it.”
The reigning GM of the Year is adamant that failures of the past continue to motivate his troops.
There’s a real hunger to make this season one to remember, culminating with the franchise’s first championship celebration since 1999.
“We haven’t done anything yet. We’ve had great years, but we haven’t won the Cup. I think that’s what drives us. That’s what we’re here for, to win the Cup, and we’re striving to get there,” stressed Nill. “We know we haven’t reached that goal yet. That’s what’s exciting about this year. Let’s see us take the next step.”
The veteran NHL executive knows there could be plenty of bumps in the road during the upcoming months on the way to winning it all, but that’s hockey.
Nevertheless, you could sense that he has genuine confidence in the players and personnel to effectively navigate any storms.
“It’s expectations. Are we going to live up to them? That’s the challenge. I’ve been in many of these situations before, been with some great teams, and you didn’t win the Cup. It’s hard to win. Can we take that next step? There’s a challenge out to this team. Where are we going?” said Nill. “We’ve got some older guys that haven’t won it yet, getting towards the end of their careers, they’re hungry to do it, we’ve got some guys that have been carrying this team for a long time, they’re hungry to get it, and we’ve got the young guys coming up. That’s the challenge, and it’s not easy. You can go backwards as much as you can go forward. That’s where we’ve got to be careful. I know our character in the room is very good and our coaching staff does a great job. That’s why I’m comfortable. I know that we’re prepared, the positions are filled well and we’ve got options if something happens, so there’s a comfort there. Now, we’ve got to go do it.”