Time To Buckle Up, Stars Fans: The Offseason Is Here
By Josh Clark
It’s finally here, Stars fans! The offseason, something I’ve been talking to you about for the past 2 months, is knocking on the front door. And it’s gonna be a busy one to say the least. Now is anyone scared? Hopeful? Ready? Worried? Discouraged?
Well, don’t worry, I’m all of the above.
I thought that for an end-of-the-month post, I would give a quick breakdown of how the Stars free agency and trading period is potentially going to look. And this will also be a reference to come back to when you need reassurance or someone to understand how your feeling, in case your favorite player gets hit with a 1-way ticket to somewhere besides Big D.
The Stars Offseason Plan:
Basically it goes like this:
1. Spezza top candidate for second-line center:
Jason Spezza is becoming the most heated trade target in the NHL and the two front-running teams have emerged: The Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues. The Stars are investing every second of time they have in pursuing Spezza and will go into the offseason with no changes to their plan. This means that Thornton and Stastny are basically scratched from the Stars wish list. But if the Stars can take Spezza out of Ottawa, their chances at a Cup run will go up drastically, so hope that an agreement can be reached before the Blues can get their hands on him in the upcoming offseason.
2. Restricted Free Agents:
The Stars recently gave a qualifying offer to Cody Eakin, Antoine Roussel, Brenden Dillon, Scott Glennie, and Cameron Gaunce. This does NOT mean that they are guaranteed to be skating in green come next season. This only means that in the upcoming offseason, they can’t flee from Dallas on July 1st and can’t accept another team’s offer until Dallas gives them permission to go to a team that is offering a contract. But it is most likely that these five will all receive contracts within the first few days of the offseason, so no need to worry about any of them.
3. Goalie and Defense?:
The situation of finding a backup goalie and top 2 defenseman has been pushed to the back of Jim Nill’s mind with all the Spezza transactions. But it’s still being given it’s fair share of thought, don’t worry. The Stars have had a rough past couple of years in both these departments, with the last decent backup goalie being Kari Lehtonen back in the Marty Turco days, and the last great Top 2 defenseman being Sergei Zubov. The Stars COULD go for a trade, but will most likely be skimming the free agents list for both of these voids to be filled.
So there’s your reference for a breakdown of the Stars’ process in the upcoming offseason. Now here’s some consolation:
Favorite player consolations:
If your favorite Star finds himself being dealt in the upcoming offseason, there’s no doubt that it’s going to be tough on you. Heck, can you imagine what’s gonna happen to me when Erik Cole most likely takes the boot? I may go into a deep depression…. I hope not, though.
Here are some tips that’ll help get you and I by:
1. Watch a highlight video
This will be the perfect way to recap his career with the Stars and help you appreciate everything he contributed and did for the organization! It will also help you remember why he was your favorite player and why you cheered for him so much. NOTE: Going to cheer for the team he is headed to is NOT THE ANSWER, stick with Victory Green, it’ll be alright.
2. Watch a highlight video of the new guy
Now, you might want to tear the new guys helmet off of his head, but this will help you to understand why your favorite got traded and what the new guy is going to bring to the table. Heck, you might even find a new favorite player! Either way, familiarize yourself with the newbie.
3. Take a walk
Just get everything out of your head and go enjoy nature for a while. Realize that everything is going to be okay, and though you think Jim Nill is the stupidest GM in the world, know that he did it for the future and the best results for the organization. Walking will help you cool off and stop the pain, but make sure you find your way back home sooner or later!
4. Twitter them
If your favorite player has a Twitter or Facebook or any social media site, write them something, they might even respond. It helped me out a ton last year when Eric Nystrom left for Nashville, and he responded, so they actually do hear us! It will help calm your nerves and know that they will be okay and that the Stars are doing the best thing for both parties.
5. Relax
Overall, just take some deep breaths and realize that everything is going to be okay and that the Stars are getting better because of what Jim Nill is choosing to do. It’ll all work out in the end and wherever your favorite went, he will be able to succeed even more now! And the new guy may be the gas the Stars need to drive themselves to Stanley! Remember what happened with the Eriksson-Seguin deal? Loui was my favorite player last year and I know he was the favorite of many other Stars’ fans, but how bad do you feel that we traded him off for Seguin now? I don’t even remember Loui ever played for us!
So, not to make this a Reader’s Digest magazine, but just know it’s gonna be okay. If you need any help understanding this, tweet us, we’ll help y’all out, no matter the case or player. Heck maybe we won’t even trade anyone! Who knows? No one right now. But I know that I trust Jim Nill, and if you don’t already, you need to now!
Because buckle up Stars fans, it’s go time. No more hiding or evading it because the offseason is here, and we all MUST be ready to face it.
Comments about any of this below and GO STARS!!!