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Dallas Stars Should Have Left Valeri Nichushkin Off Protected List

By Micaela Hamid

Feb 27, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Valeri Nichushkin (43) takes the ice to face the New York Rangers at the American Airlines Center. The Rangers defeat the Stars 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Valeri Nichushkin (43) takes the ice to face the New York Rangers at the American Airlines Center. The Rangers defeat the Stars 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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If you’re a Valeri Nichushkin groupie, maybe you shouldn’t read this one. Then again, maybe it’s just the thing you need to prove that he shouldn’t have been on the Dallas Stars’ protected list- you decide.

Although it was a standard procedure, no-surprises kind of affair, we’ve been pouring over and analyzing the Dallas Stars’ expansion draft protected list ever since it was released yesterday morning.

And, like I said, even though there were no real surprises there, we’ve got a lot of different takes on the group of players the Stars have chosen to protect. And with only 11 spots for players that the Stars want to hoard for themselves, Nill and co.’s picks are bound to rub somebody out there the wrong way.

That person, surprisingly enough, was not me- at least, until I read Valeri Nichushkin’s name (so I didn’t get very far). I don’t have any strong preferences for the player that should have had that spot, but I can tell you that it shouldn’t belong to Big Val. Let me explain why with a little recap.

Nichushkin was drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2013 as the tenth overall pick. As the Stars’ first line started to take a more definite form in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, Nichushkin’s style and skills seemed to be the perfect match. The management touted him as a diamond in the rough, a soon-to-be superstar.

Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars /

Dallas Stars

And it was easier to swallow then. Nichushkin did show a lot of promise in his early days as a firstliner with Benn and Seguin, with his 13-14 season being his most productive with the Stars- 14 goals in 79 games played. While this surpasses many of the Stars’ 2nd-4th liners, his potential didn’t live up to the hype, in my opinion.

What’s worse, he had to undergo hip surgery after that season that kept him down for quite a while. He only played 8 games in 2014-15, going goalless. The hope was that after recovering, Nichushkin would come back stronger and continue on his trajectory to greatness.

After a 9 goal 15-16 season and his following departure to the KHL, that hope seemed more and more fairy tale and less reality. Well, to me at least. In his 16-17 season in Moscow, he put up 11 regular season goals and 1 playoff goal. Altogether, that’s less than John Klingberg this season.

Obviously, comparing Nichushkin to Klingberg is your classic apples to oranges situation. But I make the comparison nonetheless to hopefully illustrate that Nichushkin continues to fall short of the hopes that the Stars have had for him.

This personal conclusion of mine was confirmed and filed away in my mind as settled this May when Nichushkin was proportionately quiet as a 4th liner during the IIHF World Championship.

But, to give credit where credit is due, Big Val recorded three assists to get team Russia to bronze. Playmaking has been something that, when on his A-game, Nichushkin is exceptional at. Like most forwards, the assists come easier than the goals.

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However, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to protect him over other Stars forwards. With a year left on his contract with the KHL, it’s a toss-up as to whether or not he’ll even return to Dallas this season. To protect a player that, forgetting technically and embracing practically, isn’t really even your player, doesn’t seem like the best route to me.

It seems that Nill and the Stars management are still star-struck and hanging onto the glimpse of potential that Nichushkin showed years ago that may not ever come to fruition, saying that his end-outcome could be comparable to that of Evgeni Malkin. Just because they want him to be the next Jamie Benn of the organization, or the next Malkin, doesn’t make it so.

Although it’s not a sure thing that Vegas will take a forward that has been more valuable and consistent to the Stars over time than Val has been (and it’s not a sure thing that Vegas will take a forward at all), I have this slight pinch of terror that the Dallas Stars have made a mistake.

Next: Taking A Deeper Look At The Stars' Protected List

What are your thoughts about the Stars’ expansion draft? Should Nichushkin have made the cut or not? If not, who should have taken his spot?

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