Top Free Agent And Trade Targets On Stars’ Wish List: Poll

The Stars are looking forward to a very busy offseason. And it’s highly due in part to the few voids they need to fill in order to get them to the Cup. But although few, these voids are EXTREMELY important to get them to Stanley. So, here are the three places the Stars MUST fill if they want to be drinking out of Lord Stanley come next year:

Dallas Stars’ Potential FA And Trade Moves:

Center:

Jim Nill and the Stars’ organization have already expressed heavy interest in finding a player ready to fit the 2nd-line center role in the coming season. With Tyler Seguin bearing 90% of the load last year, the Stars will definitely need help in the dot before October gets here. Cody Eakin is a quality player, but is not completely ready to handle the second line spot yet, and for that reason Seguin suffered last season. If they can find a quality and veteran center, Eakin will be able to fill the third line hole, with Horcoff or Peverley, maybe even Mueller or Jeffrey. But who will they pick up? And how will they acquire this unnamed figure, trade or FA? There are a few options and I laid them out in my article on the Dallas Stars’ Wants.

Now it’s your time to make a statement on who you think the Stars’ should bring in to manage the second dot in the years to come:

Defense:

This one goes without saying. The Stars defense was massacred this past year, and it was heavily due to inexperienced and young talent needing a leader. Robidas was that leader, but after the injury, there was nobody left to guide the younglings. Gonchar was too busy trying to find himself on the ice, and Daley and Goligoski were content with each other as the Stars top pair. That left three guys hanging. The Stars’ need for a Top 2 defenseman is relevant and ultimately impossible to look past. If they were to bring in a big man for the blue line, it would not only help the defense overall, but the young kids would learn a thing or two. So, in my article on the Dallas Stars’ Needs, I threw out a couple names for thought along with descriptions of why and how the Stars could get them.

So now is your chance to tell who YOU think the Stars should pick up in the coming offseason to manage the hardships of the blue line in the coming year:

Goalie:

With the news about the Stars not planning on offering Tim Thomas a new contract (great idea), the Stars will be in need of a backup goalie to man the helm when Kari is tuckered out or down for the count. This past season, Kari sat out on 2 injuries, one being a lower body that occurred in the third game of the season, and the other being the head wound on Modano night. And the Stars didn’t do too spectacular during either of his absences.

In the first absence, Dan Ellis found himself filling in, with Jack Campbell relieving one game. Ellis finished this stretch with a 1-3 record, the only win coming in a shootout, and giving up 16 goals, which if you can’t do the math, roughly translates to 4 goals a game. Campbell played 1 game against Anaheim and gave up 6 goals off 47 shots.

In the second absence, Tim Thomas went 1-1-1, including an OT win, a SO loss, and the 7-2 massacre from Winnipeg that resulted in Thomas’ exiting the ice early and Nilstorp coming in to play backup. Not so beautiful of a showing either.

This mean that out of the 74 games Kari was cleared to participate in, he started 65 of them. That is unacceptable. So the Stars need to do something this offseason. I gave a few options in the Dallas Stars’ Needs page, and I will add a few more to the poll.

But now is your chance, VOTE on who YOU think the Stars should slot as the backup goalie come next season:

Please tell me how y’all feel about all these potential offseason moves in comments below. GO STARS