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Dallas Stars Offense: Evaluating Travis Moen’s Place On Team

By Josh Clark

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The Dallas Stars have proven to be a team of change and new faces over the past two years. After hiring new general manager Jim Nill, it was clear the Stars were on the verge of change.

For the most part, this has been an excellent change. Nill has yet to hold back whenever he decides a hole needs to be filled, and is always looking to bring top talent to the club. Just two years after taking over, Nill has turned the Stars offense into second best in the NHL. Along with a young defense that is coming along rather quickly and a one-two starter punch in the crease, the city of Dallas finally has hope that a Stanley Cup may not be very far off.

While Nill does most of his work during the offseason, there were a few exceptions this past year. He made his first move on November 11, 2014 when he sent aging defender Sergei Gonchar to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Travis Moen.

Once the trade was announced, Dallas Stars fans everywhere took a sigh of relief. Gonchar had ended up not panning out for Dallas, especially while earning $10 million during a two-year contract. His 2013-2014 was not a bright one, only posting 22 points and a -12 on-ice rating. Dishing him was a load off of the Stars cap shoulders. What many didn’t notice in the trade was that the Stars had received Travis Moen.

Moen was struggling to get off on the right foot with Montreal. Through his past 130 games with the Canadiens, he had only tallied 18 points. So the Stars added another piece to their offense.

This came with a bit of contrast, considering the Stars already had an explosive offense along with an eager farm system of forwards. Moen would simply become another extra piece to the puzzle.

Through 2014-2015, Travis Moen was a gap filler. Alternating between the healthy scratch and a starter on the lower lines, Moen was always a reliable place filler for a usual starter in a slump. Though he was not known for his ability to generate points, his physicality was welcomed on a somewhat scrawny fourth line. His tenacity and willingness to get physical is one of his strongest points.

But after another successful offseason by Jim Nill that saw Patrick Sharp become a Star, the space is getting tighter. Young and hungry prospects Curtis McKenzie and Brett Ritchie saw their first glimpses of prime NHL experience this past year and both proved themselves. They will be looking to gain a full-time spot on the Dallas Stars roster. It’s simply a case of too many workers, not enough jobs.

So what can the Stars do with a place filler like Travis Moen? He is currently under contract for one more year with a base salary and cap hit of $1,850,000. After 2015-2016, there’s no certainty of how the Stars will handle him. But for this next year, Moen will need a place.

While he only had 3 goals and 9 points through 34 games with Dallas, three of the points came in the final four games of his season. More than likely, the Stars will be using him the same way they used him last year. With a load of offensive talent, the Dallas Stars have plenty of options regarding line mixes and pairings. If someone begins a slump, Moen can be one of the first responders on the bench.

Moen’s physicality will be welcomed kindly by the bottom lines as well. So if the enforcing presence is lacking, Moen can fill the void.

At the current moment, it seems that the lines below would be a logical guess for what we see on opening night:

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Sharp

Valeri Nichushkin – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky

Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves

Brett Ritchie – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour

While this seems like a decent group to start, there are some potential pitfalls with certain players in certain positions.

Moen could end up starting on the fourth line left wing instead of Ritchie. There are just too many questions still floating in the air.

But training camp will be the deciding factor. Moen could end up outperforming a few forwards and find his way onto the opening night roster. Only time will tell, and we are less than a month away from seeing it in action.

Next: Dallas Stars Must Be Careful In Bringing Prospects To NHL

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