Charlie Woods can add another win to his resume.
EDMONTON — As architect of a team playing in its third straight conference final, Jim Nill chuckles when asked if he saw any of it coming.
“No, no, there were too many unknowns,” said the humble 67-year-old Hanna, Alta., product during a quiet sit-down at Rogers Place.
“If you asked me coming out of the bubble here in Edmonton during COVID, I was worried where we were going. It was Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin’s team, and they were getting into their 30s, starting to age out.”
After losing to Tampa in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, a rebuild seemed inevitable.
“We’re in a different market down in Dallas, and rebuilds are tough, so I’m sitting there, hoping I wouldn’t have to go to that route and that there was another way to do it,” he said.
“Then, all of sudden, these players showed up, so it didn’t become an option.”