Sharp New Lines for Dallas Stars: Where He Fits In

By Allison Scott | Jul 15, 2015

July is officially the month of Jim Nill. Last week the Dallas Stars general manager pulled off his third blockbuster trade in the last three years when he acquired forward Patrick Sharp from the Chicago Blackhawks in addition to defensive prospect Stephen Johns.

The cost of those two guys? Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt. Not too high of a price for a Dallas Stars team that has too many defenseman, and no need for legal problems. Ultimately, the trade helped both sides and it should allow the Stars to develop Johns into a solid NHL defender, while reaping the benefits of already established Sharp at the wing.

So, now that Sharp is officially one of the top-six forwards for Dallas where does he fit in? The line-up is a tricky thing to predict, especially with a coach that loves to move players around as much as Ruff, but here is the best guess.

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First Line: Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Val Nichushkin

I find it hard to expect Sharp to be slotted in with Seguin and Benn just because their style of play and youth would be hard to keep up with. They also had a good amount of chemistry a few seasons ago prior to Nichushkin’s hip surgery last fall that kept him to four games last season.

In the event that Benn misses the first few games or weeks of the season, though, they might try out Sharp just to see how it works.

Second Line: Patrick Sharp – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky

Pairing Sharp alongside Spezza and Hemsky gives him, in my opinion, the best opportunity to succeed. They’re all extremely skilled players with good skating ability and they could be phenomenal together.

Third Line: Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves

Dallas’ third line would then have a little bit of everything: Roussel’s grit, Eakin’s speed, and Eaves’ finishing skills. They’d be a new and improved “pit bull line” that would hopefully have significantly fewer issues with the player safety division of the NHL.

Fourth Line: Curtis McKenzie – Vernon Fiddler – Brett Ritchie

Last but not least is the fourth line for the Stars. This combination would allow Fiddler to fall into the role of the veteran center that could take Ritchie and McKenzie under his wing, like Shawn Horcoff had done last season before signing elsewhere (Anaheim, he signed with Anaheim).

Power Play Units:

As far as special teams goes it’s even more challenging to determine what Ruff will do. Daley used to be on the first unit, so he might be replaced by another defenseman, or they might elect to throw Sharp out there with Benn, Seguin, and Nichushkin for a more offensive group. Then again, they could hold off and use the second line as the second power play unit which would have Sharp being slotted there.

Those are the best guess I have for the Dallas Stars’ lines this season; however, it will all change with injuries, illness, and other variables included.

Where do you think Sharp will fit into the line-up? Leave your thoughts in the comments and, as always, thanks for reading!

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