What Can The Dallas Stars Logically Do About Their Defense?

The Dallas Stars defense has seen better days. Through 11 games, they have given up 39 goals and have surrendered a multitude of chances to each opponent they have faced. Half of their defensive players sit with a negative rating and it looks like no better days lie ahead. For an in-depth look at each player and their efforts this year, click here.

At this point in the season, many fans are already begging of Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill to go out and look for a new defenseman. Let’s take a look at a few of the choices below:

Tyler Myers:

Tyler Myers has by far been the hottest topic between Dallas Stars fans so far. “Rumors” have been spread around, articles have been by multiple “sources,” and “Myers To Dallas” pledges have been started. Though Myers would solve the Dallas Stars lack of a right handed shot on the blue line, he ultimately will not fit in Dallas, at least not at the moment. The Stars current cap space is minimal and they are bordering on the NHL salary cap at $69 million. Tyler Myers is the highest paid player on the Buffalo Sabres at the moment and would bring a cap hit of $5,500,000 to Dallas. He is signed in Buffalo until the end of the 2018-2019 season, so the Stars would have to trade. Myers is the MVP of a struggling Sabres squad and is a major part of the cornerstone in a rebuild phase, so they will not be letting go of him easily. A young superstar on the offensive front like Valeri Nichushkin or Colton Sceviour would be necessary along with a few draft picks. The Dallas Stars would be silly to let go of either of these two flourishing, on-the-rise players for such an overpriced gem like Myers. The best chance they have on the Myers front is to wait until the trade deadline dwindles closer and they could perhaps convince Buffalo to concede and give him over for a lesser price.

Other trading partners?:

There are not many other options for the Dallas Stars in regards to trading partners, and Jim Nill is smart enough to know when a viable opportunity comes up. Another possible source of trading could be the Anaheim Ducks, who have a gauntlet of defensive talent that the Stars could use. The Ducks are well-rounded in offense, defense, and goaltending, so a trade may not be that difficult to pawn off, but Nill is most likely not in the trading frame of mind right now.

Let’s open cap space instead:

Not really a chance of this happening, but a theory that has been lingering for the past year now would be to trade or simply buyout the contracts of Sergei Gonchar, Erik Cole, and Shawn Horcoff, who each hold at least a $4.5 million cap hit and have not performed to the worth of their contract. If Nill wanted to do this, he would have made a move in the offseason, but he neglected to, so do not expect it to happen anytime soon.

Well, how about the AHL?:

The Dallas Stars are currently showing their full defensive caliber, and it does not get any better than it is. The Texas Stars of the AHL were packed with defensive firepower last year like Kevin Connauton, Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Cameron Gaunce. These players helped tremendously in the Stars’ run to the Calder Cup Championship, where they beat the St. John’s Ice Caps in five games and claimed the title. Four of those five names are in the NHL now with the Dallas Stars and all have yet to produce beneficial results. Nemeth was working his way up before he was cut down with a season-ending arm laceration injury. Gaunce remains in the AHL after not performing well enough at training camp and in the preseason.

Sorry to break it to you, Stars fans, but the defense is not going to be added on to any time soon. The best thing we can look for now is for the defense to step up their skill and effort in practice and for that skill and effort to be reflected in their gameplay.

The Dallas Stars face three key and well-rounded threats this week, all at home. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings will face off with the Stars Tuesday, then the Nashville Predators who have already defeated the Stars once show up on Thursday, and it all ends when the San Jose Sharks come into town on Saturday. The defense will be challenged and we will just have to wait for the results.

Leave your comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading!