3 trades that realigned the Stars

Jim Nill remains the man in Dallas.

The Stars announced a contract extension through the 2022-23 season with their general manager Friday, so there's no better time to revisit three Nill trades in three years that changed the fate of the franchise.

We'll go backward from 2015.

Looking Sharp

It appeared last season that age might have caught up to Patrick Sharp. An injury cost him most of November 2014, and he finished with only 16 goals and 27 assists in 68 games, his 0.63 points per game his lowest since 2006-07.

Nill thought Sharp still had something to offer, and called the Chicago Blackhawks, who were looking to unload the now 34-year-old's $5.9-million cap hit. A deal was struck on July 10, 2015.

Sharp can still play. He's already matched last season's goal total, and has 36 points in 43 games. His 0.84 points-per-game average is better than his 0.75 career mark - playing with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will do that for you.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario native also brings valuable playoff experience to a Stars club that will need it come spring. Sharp knows what it takes - he's got the rings to prove it.

As for the Blackhawks, Trevor Daley was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Rob Scuderi, and Ryan Garbutt's a bottom-six player, with a goal and three assists in 36 games.

Chalk it up for Nill.

Spezza heads south

Nill was a very busy man on July 1, 2014, when free agency opened, but his biggest move of the day was trading for Jason Spezza from the Ottawa Senators.

Spezza wanted out of Ottawa, and used his no-trade clause to block a trade to the Nashville Predators. But he was more than happy to head to Dallas. And after trading for him, Nill signed the center to long-term contract extension.

In Ottawa, Spezza quietly became an elite No. 1 pivot. He boasts excellent possession numbers, and is a career point-per-game player - 687 in 686 games. And Nill knew Spezza wouldn't have to be the man in Dallas. He would play behind Seguin, and give Dallas the two elite centers it needed to compete in the West.

Spezza averaged 0.76 points per game in 2014-15, and is averaging 0.77 this season. He's producing, and doing it in the complementary role that suits him at this stage of his career. His $7.5-million cap hit is a lot, probably too much, but it's hard to complain when the Stars have the league's best offense.

Meanwhile, Alex Chiasson has two goals and three assists in 40 games, Nicholas Paul has two goals in 31 games in the AHL, and Alexander Guptill's playing in the ECHL.

Chalk another one up for Nill.

Seguin for nothing

Nill's finest hour came on July 4, 2013, when he swung a seven-player blockbuster, acquiring then 21-year-old Seguin from the Boston Bruins.

It's hard to downplay the magnitude of this trade. Seguin will turn 24 on Jan. 31. He's not yet in his prime, and is third in the league in scoring this season, after finishing seventh on the chart in 2014-15. He continues to trend in the right direction.

Even better for Nill, Seguin's locked up through 2018-19 at a cap hit of $5.75 million, a contract he signed as a Bruin. There's no better value in the league.

Seguin is a franchise player. He's the class of the 2010 draft, better than Taylor Hall, and the Stars are set on their top line for years to come - Benn, last season's Art Ross Trophy winner, is only 26.

Loui Eriksson, 31 this summer and an unrestricted free agent, has found his game again in Boston after two disappointing seasons, but there's no doubt Dallas won this trade in an absolute landslide. Joe Morrow's a depth player, Reilly Smith is a member of the Florida Panthers, and Matt Fraser was lost on waivers. Remarkable, really.

Nill deserves the security - and the money - that comes with a contract extension. Mostly everything he's touched as general manager of the Stars has turned to gold.