Jim Nill was hired by Tom Gaglardi in late April 2013. The Stars were fresh off a lockout-shortened season that ended in a nearly magical but ultimately fruitless surge toward the 8th playoff spot. In the span of only five weeks, Joe Nieuwendyk traded Brenden Morrow, Jaromir Jagr and Derek Roy for pieces that he would never get to enjoy managing, and the Dallas Stars were about as close to a true rebuild as they had ever been during their sojourn through the playoff-less wilderness.
So it was that Jim Nill walked into town and decided that it was time to stuff some Miracle Grow into the finally fertile soil of the Stars organization.