Nill wishes Eaves well with Ducks: 'Go there and win the Stanley Cup'

Jim Nill gave Patrick Eaves a hopeful sendoff after trading him to the Anaheim Ducks.

"I told him, 'Go there and win the Stanley Cup. You deserve it,'" the Dallas Stars general manager said to the Dallas Morning News' Mike Heika.

Nill dealt Eaves to the Ducks on Friday afternoon for a conditional second-round pick in June's draft.

Related: Eaves awoken from pregame nap by call informing him he'd been traded

His now-former GM touted the veteran forward's versatility.

"He's a coach's dream," Nill said. "You can put him anywhere in the lineup. He can kill penalties, be on the power play, he does all the little things right in the offensive zone."

Eaves, a pending unrestricted free agent, was one of the more enticing rental options leading up to the deadline because of his extremely team-friendly $1-million cap hit.

He's also in the midst of a career year, with 21 goals and 37 points at age 32.

The 2003 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators spent parts of three seasons with the Stars before being traded Friday.