Dallas Stars News: Patrick Sharp Full Conference Coverage

On July 10th, the Dallas Stars made blockbuster headlines for the third season in a row when they announced a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stars dealt away longtime D Trevor Daley and F Ryan Garbutt to Chicago in exchange for F Patrick Sharp and D Stephen Johns.

Today, the Stars introduced Sharp to the media. This was their first chance to ask him questions in public. Sharp and Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill sat at the table, awaiting questions from the media. New teammates Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Ales Hemsky, and Jason Demers also attended the event.

We have full coverage of the press conference below: You can also find the video footage of the event on the Dallas Stars website.

Jim Nill: I’d like to welcome everybody. On behalf of the Dallas Stars it’s a pleasure to welcome Patrick [Sharp] and his family to the organization. Going back two seasons ago, we sat down and were trying to figure out our organizational depth chart. We know we have a young core coming along, but the one missing piece was finding an experienced guy who’s won Cups and does things right. When you win Stanley Cups, you do things right on the ice, you do things right off the ice, and you do things right in the community. It’s hard to find those types of players.

We were very fortunate this summer to be able to trade with Chicago and take Patrick. We think he will be a great addition for us. Once again, it’s hard to find players like this. You’re talking three Stanley Cups, you’re talking World Championships, you’re talking gold medals. It’s hard to find those players. We’ve got a young core here, and they’re going to learn from him. Saying that, Patrick, welcome aboard.

Patrick Sharp: Thanks Jim. It feels like I just got drafted again. Thank you very much to everybody for coming. It’s great to be here. I’m very excited to be in Dallas, excited to be wearing the jersey. Thanks to Mr. Nill for his hospitality and for being so generous to myself and my family. Thanks also to my new teammates for showing up today. I’m ready for any questions you may have.

Patrick Sharp’s interview:

Is it helpful to come off of a Stanley Cup season and move to a new team:

Anytime you play deep into a regular season or playoffs, you hear the term Stanley Cup hangover or short summer effect. Being traded, especially coming to a team like Dallas with so many young players and enthusiasm you see just being here the past couple of days, it kind of reignites the passion to play hockey. I’m excited to join this group. I know from playing them in the Central Division that they’re tough to play against and that they’re a team improving in a lot of different areas. Just to come down here and be a part of that in any way, I’m very excited.

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What he thinks of team after additions of himself, Johnny Oduya, and Antti Niemi:

Well I know from last year’s experience and the year before that the team has been very similar. They’ve been a tough team to play against in a lot of different areas. They’re well coached and you can tell that from playing against them. They’ve got a lot of offensive players, whether it’s Tyler [Seguin] or Jamie [Benn], the seasons that they had last year were pretty impressive on individual levels. They got all the tools and the makings of a great team and to have my name a part of it, it feels pretty good.

On whether he wants to play right or left wing:

Either position is fine by me. Throughout my career, I’ve played all three forward positions and comfortable on either side. The two players that you mentioned [Seguin and Spezza] and have an opportunity to play with, that’ll all sort itself out down the road. I’m sure it will change a bunch of times, but at this point I’m more excited to fit into the locker room, meet my new teammates, coaching staff, get started from day one and try to be the best player I can.

On his expectations:

Expectations are something that really isn’t anything new to me as a player. The organization that I’m coming from set high expectations and standards right from day one of training camp and that filters down through the players as individuals as well. It doesn’t matter what team I’m playing for, I’m proud to be here. I’m proud to be a Star and my expectations are going to be just as high as they always have.

On Johnny Oduya joining the team and as a player:

Yeah, Johnny Oduya’s a guy that takes incredible care of his body. He’s always in great shape. He’s always trying to get better. He’s great on the defensive side of the puck. When he joined our team from the trade from Winnipeg, he really fit in well with the way our team was playing, up-tempo style of play, he was making the first pass, killing a lot of plays defensively for us and look at the teammates I have now in Dallas, it’s a similar makeup, so I have no question that Johnny’s going to fit in well. On top of things, he’s a great guy off the ice and he’s going to be a lot of fun in the locker room as well.

Jim Nill’s interview:

What he sees in Sharp and why he brought him to Dallas:

Well, I get back to when you’ve had the success that Patrick’s had, you do things right and that’s what we’ve been talking about for three years here, is to become a winner you’ve got to do things right. And we’re getting there and Patrick’s going to bring us someone who plays solid two-way hockey. I know going back the last two seasons, it seems like every time we played them, Chicago got a power play. I remember all the talk about we can’t let Sharp get the puck at the point, he’s going to fire it through the wickets and he did that many times. I know Opening Night here, I believe he scored the winning goal against us.

I’m all about resumes and the resume that he has, that’s what we need. We’ve got some great young players here that are going to learn from him. I think the young players are going to energize him also. I think he’s excited. I picked him up at the airport last night and we had some great conversations. He’s excited. So, I think it’s a great fit and we’re looking forward to it.

On how he manages the high expectations set:

Well, everything looks good on paper and I know we went through this last year but I think we’re a different team now. I go back to last season, October/November we struggled. We thought we were going to be this high-powered offense and we were, but in the end to be successful, and this is where Patrick’s a big part of this, you have to play good two-way hockey.

The Chicago Blackhawks have not won three Cups in the last six years because they have played the way they wanted to play. They all bought into playing the right way and that’s how we’re going to play. Lindy Ruff has already talked to the players, they know what they have to do. We go back to our record after December 13 last year, we were one of the top six teams in the league record wise and when we play the right way, we’re going to be successful and the players know that. Patrick’s going to be part of that, his leadership’s going to help with that, so we’re excited about that move.

Next: Johnny Oduya Upgrades Stars Veteran Presence On Defense

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