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James Edward Nill (born April 11, 1958) is a Canadians former ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nill played in the NHL throughout the 1980s with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, and Detroit Red Wings, retiring in 1990. Prior to making his NHL debut Nill also played for Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics. He worked as a scout for the Ottawa Senators before joining the Red Wings in an executive role in 1994, staying with the team before moving to take up the general manager role with Dallas in 2013.
After two more seasons in Vancouver, Nill was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Peter McNab on February 3, 1984. He did not receive very much ice time in Boston and consequently the Bruins ended up trading him to the Winnipeg Jets for Morris Lukowich on February 4, 1985. He played nearly four years for Winnipeg. He was sent to the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Moncton Hawks. He did not stay in New Brunswick long as Detroit Red Wings head coach Jacques Demers liked his tough style of play and acquired him on January 11, 1988 in exchange for fellow journeyman NHLer Mark Kumpel.
Nill played the final three years of his NHL career in Detroit with brief stints for the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings. In Adirondack, he was a teammate of Sheldon Kennedy. He retired from professional hockey after 1991.
Nill's duties with Detroit included directing their amateur scouting and selections at the annual NHL Entry Draft. He had also served as the general manager of the Adirondack Red Wings.
Nill continued to oversee the development of the Red Wings' prospects that are currently assigned to Detroit's main affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, as well as those in the Canadian junior and European leagues.
In his management role with the Detroit Red Wings, he helped the team to four Stanley Cup Championships in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.
On July 1, 2014, Nill traded for Ottawa centre and captain Jason Spezza and right winger Ludwig Karlsson in exchange for Alex Chiasson, Nick Paul, Alex Guptill and a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. On the same day, he also signed unrestricted free agent forward Aleš Hemský to a three-year, $12 million contract.
On July 10, 2015, Nill traded for forward Patrick Sharp and defensive prospect Stephen Johns from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenceman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt. On July 15, 2015, Nill signed unrestricted free agent defenceman Johnny Oduya to a two-year, $7.5 million contract.
On June 28, 2023, Nill was awarded the 2022-23 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award after the Dallas Stars posted a record of 47-21-14 for 108 points in the 2022-23 regular season, at the time their highest point total since 2015-16.
On June 10, 2024, Nill was awarded the 2023-24 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, winning the award for the second year in a row, after the Stars posted a record of 52-21-9 for 113 points in the 2023-24 regular season, their most single-season wins since their 2005-06 season and their highest point total since their Stanley Cup-winning 1998-99 season.
On June 27, 2025, Nill was awarded the 2024-2025 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award for the third consecutive time, after the Stars posted a record of 50-26-6 for 106 points in the 2024-25 regular season. Nill made one of the most notable moves of the season at the trade deadline on March 7th, 2025, by acquiring Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks, and two third round picks. He then signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.
| 1974–75 | Drumheller Falcons | AJHL | 103 | 35 |
| 1975–76 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WCHL | 69 | 20 |
| 1976–77 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WCHL | 140 | 4 |
| 1977–78 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WCHL | 252 | 37 |
| 1978–79 | University of Calgary | U Sports | 36 | 4 |
| 1979–80 | Canadian National Team | Intl | 54 | — |
| 1980–81 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | CHL | 222 | 38 |
| 1981–82 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 127 | — |
| 1981–82 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 5 | 67 |
| 1982–83 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 136 | 6 |
| 1983–84 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | — |
| 1983–84 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 81 | 4 |
| 1984–85 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 62 | — |
| 1984–85 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 38 | 28 |
| 1985–86 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 75 | 4 |
| 1986–87 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 52 | 7 |
| 1987–88 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 44 | — |
| 1987–88 | Moncton Hawks | AHL | 6 | — |
| 1987–88 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 55 | 62 |
| 1988–89 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 83 | 25 |
| 1989–90 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 18 | — |
| 1989–90 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 24 | — |
| 1990–91 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 74 | 2 |
| 1980 | Canada | Oly | 4 |
| Stanley Cup (Director of Player Development/Director of Scouting) | 1997, 1998 |
| Stanley Cup (Asst. General Manager) | 2002, 2008 |
| Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award | 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| 4 Nations Face-Off champion | 2025 (associate general manager) |
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