Dallas Stars Should Be Hesitant In Pursuing Dion Phaneuf

The Dallas Stars are only ten days away from another promising offseason. After a 2014-2015 season that was preceded by high hopes yet ended in bitter disappointment, the Stars have a checklist to fill out in the upcoming weeks.

One of the major issues they need to address is on their blue line. The Dallas Stars finished 26th in goals against this past season and could definitely use an improvement in their defensive ranks. The majority of their defense was comprised of rookies who have hopefully worked out all of the first-year kinks.

But the Stars could use a top four defenseman to help round out their corps. Some Stars fans have their eye on trading for Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook. Some are looking at simply avoiding trade and signing free agent Cody Franson or Adam McQuaid.

But another rumor which has been circling since February before the trade deadline is in regards to Toronto defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Dion Phaneuf is the 30-year old captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. After completing his tenth season in the NHL, Phaneuf is now rumored to be on the trade block with a few different teams looking to make a deal. One of the rumored teams is the Stars.

While some Dallas Stars fans are enjoying the idea of trading for Phaneuf, others are dreading it. And rightly so.

If the Dallas Stars are even truly considering trading for Phaneuf, GM Jim Nill definitely needs to take a second look. Phaneuf brings along a few positives but a substantial amount of negatives.

On the bright side, Phaneuf is a prime defenseman that knows how to get physical. Though he’s only 6-3, his ability to agitate is exceptional. He eats up minutes like a dedicated defender would. Just last season, Phaneuf averaged 23:43 on the ice. He clocked in 70 games and tallied a respectable 29 points. He finished with a -11 on-ice rating, which can be taken or left. These numbers aren’t bad. The Stars need some enforcement on their otherwise rather scrawny blue line, and Phaneuf could be just the guy the Stars need.

But a trade for Phaneuf would be an almost assured loss for the Stars organization.

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First off, Phaneuf has six years left on a seven-year extension he signed midway through the 2013-2014 season. If you recall, that was just before the Maple Leafs club took a sharp turn off a cliff. Phaneuf is due an average of $7,000,000 a year, something that would be very difficult on the Stars cap space, especially with the free agents the Stars will be dealing with in the next three or four years (i.e. Trevor Daley, Cody Eakin, Alex Goligoski). So the salary would not be easy to pay, and the Maple Leafs would most assuredly have to retain a portion of it.

That seems easy, but may not be. Just before the trade deadline this past season, it was reported that the Maple Leafs were trying to deal Phaneuf to Detroit. The asking price was pretty steep in Detroit’s corner, and to top it all off, the Leafs wouldn’t be retaining any of his salary. So Nill may have some trouble passing that off.

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But then a few more factors come into play. First off, Phaneuf has a no-trade clause. Sure you would assume that he would waive that immediately considering Toronto is in shambles and it may be a while before they bounce back. But the Maple Leafs are undergoing a shift this offseason. They’ve hired legendary head coach Mike Babcock as their new bench boss. They also have a plethora of draft picks, which means lots of young and new talent sweeping in. Phaneuf may be ready to lead his team to a massive and rapid turnaround this coming year. Or he may not, it all depends.

Just when you thought the negativity was over, I saved the real kicker for last. That is in regards to the trade. Phaneuf is not a simple free agent that the Stars can sweep in and work their magic on. He will require some substantial bodies in return, along with a draft pick or two.

The Maple Leafs are hunting for a young, explosive forward with a scoring touch, along with some veteran help on defense. With all of this mixed together, you’re basically looking at the Stars needing to sacrifice Valeri Nichushkin OR Brett Ritchie (no and no thank you), along with Trevor Daley or Alex Goligoski. Mix in a first round pick for 2016 and you still may not have enough to get Dion with partial salary.

Either way you look at it, the Stars lose this trade. That’s not something Jim Nill is known for doing. Unless he has the steal of the century unraveling in his mind as we speak, this trade does not work in favor of the Dallas Stars.

Now, I understand that some of you may be disagreeing with me, and I can understand why at the surface. But I hope once you dig down you take a change of heart. Either way, here are the facts. Please leave your comments below in regards to your own opinion of how the Stars should handle this.

But in the end, it seems that the Dallas Stars can flirt with this idea all they want, but following through with it could prove drastic.

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