Stars Front Office Named Best in NHL

The Dallas Stars were named one of the best front offices in the NHL.

Jun 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill is awarded the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award by Nashville Predators general manager David Poile during the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

The Dallas Stars have been one of the best teams in the NHL over the last few years. In 2024-2025, they are set up to be a contender once again, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them in the Western Conference Finals or further. They have the deepest forward group in the league, the most well-rounded defensive group, and their star goaltender, Jake Oettinger, is a Vezina Trophy-candidate.

It's easy to see why the Stars have one of the best teams when you look at the performance of their front office. Their general manager, Jim Nill, was the GM of The Year Award winner in 2023, and he's angling to win another with his continued performance. In a recent article from The Athletic, the Stars were voted the top front office in the NHL.

"When you see a team get nearly half the first-place votes, you think dynasty," the article explains. "The Stars have been to the Western Conference final three of the past five years and lost the 2020 Cup Final, so they are anything but a dynasty. What they have done well in 11 seasons with Nill at the helm is make targeted draft moves and signings with a development system that may have overtaken Tampa Bay's as the gold standard in the NHL."

The high-praise of, and subtle dig at the Stars' management team is well stated. While they haven't captured the Stanley Cup, the organization has consistently made smart moves that benefit them. They've drafted a significant portion of their core, including star forwards Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, defenders Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Thomas Harley, and Oettinger.

Nill and company also deserve praise for how they've managed to maintain their core after drafting them. The Stars have made shrewd decision after shrewd decision with their salary cap management, and the results are consistently being able to give out fair contracts for both sides. All-around, the Stars are a well run franchise, which made it easy for The Athletic's polling group to place their front office at the top of their NHL rankings.

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