Dallas Stars Can Use Upcoming Break To Sell Ahead Of Trade Deadline
By Josh Clark
After last night’s depressing meltdown, it’s time to face the facts. But on the bright side, it could help Dallas get a leg up on the rest of the NHL.
As painful as it may be to acknowledge and accept, the Dallas Stars’ playoff hopes are all but extinguished after yet another loss last night.
It’s been delayed for quite some time now. The Stars are in a 1-6-0 hole so far through February, yet they would still find a way to remain in the playoff hunt even after each loss. Everything would fall in their favor except for the results of their own game. Each night, they would somehow remain in striking distance even after coming up short in their game.
After each game, the solution was the same: all they need is a winning streak. Sadly, that streak never came. Even when the Western Conference was practically trying to hand them a playoff spot, they denied it. That winning streak never came, and now it’s come back to bite them.
Last night, the Stars lost to the Winnipeg Jets in yet another tight game. It was locked at 2-2 entering the final minutes of the third when Patrik Laine scored to take the lead for good. That’s been the story for Dallas for a majority of the season: getting close to a win and then falling just short. It’s like solving a Rubix cube and realizing that there are two squares out of place. They’re close, but not close enough. Not to mention that it’s frustrating as all get out.
Dallas Stars
The loss dropped the Stars to 22-26-10 on the season with 54 points. And since Winnipeg picked up the two points, Dallas now owns sole control of last place among the six teams still in contention in the Western Conference playoff hunt.
It hurts, it stings, and it’s just downright disappointing considering the season that they were coming off of. Where did it all go wrong? There are many different areas that fans will point to (coaching, defense, goaltending, special teams, injuries, etc.) as the source of the problem, but at this point it will do them no good. The hunt is as good as done.
The Stars would likely need to finish the season on an insane 18-6-0 run, or something that would get them to 90 points, to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. That’s the equivalent of six three-game win streaks with one loss separating each of them. And to be fair, the Stars have only completed one three-game win streak this season.
They have yet to prove that they are capable of doing such over the past few weeks. Essentially, they will need a miracle to push them back into the top eight. In other words, it’s time to pack up and look forward to October 2017.
But that’s where the Dallas Stars can finally do something right. The Stars have two more games this week (Thursday and Saturday) before taking off six full days prior to their next scheduled game on Friday, Feb. 24. Those six days will be crucial for the Stars.
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At this point, it’s clear that the Stars are going to be sellers at the Mar. 1 trade deadline. It’s time for Dallas to reevaluate the team, pick who they want to keep around for the long run, and try to dish everyone else to teams in need of an extra boost.
Some names that come up in the trade talk are Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, and Patrik Nemeth/Jamie Oleksiak. These are the higher-end talent on the Stars’ roster that could benefit a team in serious contention.
Considering that this year’s draft class has nowhere near as much depth as it has in years past, it may not be the smartest idea for the Dallas Stars to stock up on 2017 draft picks when they deal some of the players above. Their best option will likely be picking up prospect talent.
In years past, the Stars have done well with trading for prospects. In 2013, they traded Derek Roy to Vancouver in exchange for defenseman Kevin Connauton. Two years ago, they dealt Erik Cole to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Mattias Janmark and Mattias Backman. Both are now thriving in the Stars’ system and look to be full-time NHL players in the near future.
But if Dallas can get a leg up on the competition before the frenzy sets in on Feb. 27 and 28, they could get one of the better deals.
Not having to focus on play can give management time to make some calls, survey the offers, and take the best one. It gives them a chance to get some early calls in and potentially make a deal before another team can. The Stars management will have to sit down, examine where the team is at and where it needs to be come fall of 2017.
This does not signal a rebuild. This simply gives them a chance to re-rack and prepare to surge out of the gate in 2017.
This team is not a bad team, no matter what the results say. Having Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Jason Spezza in the top two lines signifies that. They are a solid team on paper, but they lack a solid direction. They can find that in the offseason and prepare to use it in 2017-18. They can also rebuild and grow some of their weaker points so they are even more well-rounded than they currently are.
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That’s what makes this upcoming week so important. The Dallas Stars can have an upper hand in talks and figure out the best deals. Who knows? Maybe they will land that one piece that they always seem to be lacking.
Keep your heads up, Stars fans. It just wasn’t in the cards this year. But that doesn’t mean the future can’t be brighter than ever. They can start reaching for that future come next week as they start making moves. Let’s just hope that Jim Nill has something big in store.