Dallas Stars Might Make A Side Deal With Vegas Golden Knights
By Josh Clark
Over the past few days, the Vegas Golden Knights have bartered with multiple teams regarding their expansion draft situations. Could the Dallas Stars end up being one of those teams between now and Wednesday night?
The past three days have been filled with pure exhilaration across the National Hockey League. It’s been filled with constant deliberation and speculation from all 31 corners across the league, and that’s all that can be done at this point.
As we await the Vegas Golden Knights’ final selections for their inaugural roster that will be announced at the NHL Awards show on Wednesday night, everyone has their own thoughts on what is currently happening between closed doors.
That’s because Vegas GM George McPhee currently holds the cards. He has exclusive negotiating rights with all pending free agents, can pick any player from each of the 30 exposed lists, and has the power to bargain with every NHL team.
Maybe a certain team wants the Knights to avoid picking a player from their list that they couldn’t protect? Or maybe they want a player from another team and want Vegas to pick that player so they can trade for them? McPhee has said that he is open to all negotiations, but that they must come at the right price. The best part is that he has complete control over the prices.
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That’s a powerful place to be in. For the other 30 teams, all they can do is hope that McPhee will level with them. But that’s only if they need him to do something for them.
Are the Dallas Stars one of those teams? That’s a good question, and is one that we likely won’t know the answer to until later in the week.
Earlier this morning, it was reported that McPhee already has six side deals in place with six separate teams. These deals cannot be announced until tomorrow night, but there are already plenty of predictions regarding who the deals involve. The teams who were put in a tight spot when making their protected lists lead the pack in this speculation and likely struck a deal to keep Vegas from drafting a certain player from their team.
Are the Stars included in this list? More than likely not.
When going down their exposed list, there aren’t any standout players that would cause the Stars serious grief if they were stolen away. Cody Eakin is probably the most valuable player on the list, but with the Stars having considerable depth at center, losing him would not deal a serious blow.
So the Dallas Stars probably aren’t bargaining with Vegas to not take any specific player on their exposed list. But could Nill be encouraging McPhee to draft a certain player from a team and offering him a certain package if he flips the player to Dallas? That’s an entirely different story.
Jim Nill is particularly clever when it comes to flying under the radar on trade talks, and this is the perfect situation where that could come in handy. Considering it is a trade, it wouldn’t be announced until the trade goes down, which would likely be on Thursday or Friday.
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In an interview this morning, McPhee pointed out that the Golden Knights would be “claiming a bunch” of defensemen and would have to move some of them after the expansion draft ends. As luck would have it, the Dallas Stars are in need of a top-four defender. Could Nill have McPhee going for a certain unprotected defender and be promising him something significant in exchange, such a first-round pick (likely no. 29)?
Names like Marco Scandella, Matt Dumba, and Sami Vatanen come to the forefront on this thought. But don’t forget that the teams of these players could have deals in place with Vegas to keep them protected.
It’s a complicated web and is a mess to try and follow. But this is a prime opportunity for Nill to get the defender he needs via trade. Will it happen? That’s a good question.
As of yesterday, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reported that, according to a source, the Stars had not made a deal with Vegas. That could have changed over the past day, or it could still stand true. Either way, a side deal could be the perfect thing for the Stars, so long as it comes at the right price.
Next: An In-Depth Look At The Stars' Expansion Draft List
One thing is for sure: the crazy is just beginning. Keep your eyes peeled and your mobile devices refreshed.