NHL trade rumors 2017: Stars GM Jim Nill will consider moves after the team’s bye week

Following a devastating loss to the Nashville Predators on Sunday, one might expect Dallas Stars general manager to hit the panic button soon.

Don’t count on it.

The notoriously patient Nill hopped on with SiriusXM NHL on Monday morning to discuss the passing of his former Red Wings boss, Mike Ilitch, and where the Stars stand as the March 1 trade deadline approaches.

When asked where his mindset was right now, Nill had this to say:

“Well, we’re kind of in the same situation we’ve been in [all season]. We’ve been decimated by injuries all year, so it’s been tough to get a handle on things. In the end, the excuses don’t matter. You still have to find ways to win games. We’ve got three more games before our bye week and after that we’re about ten days away from the trade deadline. So I’m going to know in the next ten days where we’re at ... I’m keeping a very close eye on it and we’ll have to make decisions moving forward after that bye week.”

Nill also pointed out that the bye weeks have changed the landscape of the trade deadline. The Stars will be two weeks out from the deadline with a week without games while their competitors keep earning points.

It’s more difficult to know exactly where your team stands, moving your “personal deadline,” as host Gord Stellick put it, up sooner than the actual deadline. You can listen to the full interview here.

As we noted a few days ago, the Stars will have plenty of assets that could interest teams on the market. Those include unrestricted free agents like Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Lauri Korpikoski, and Johnny Oduya.

Dallas has lost five of seven games since the All-Star break. Captain Jamie Benn called their loss to the Predators on Sunday “unacceptable.”