Dallas Stars Acquire Marc Methot From Vegas Golden Knights
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars needed some defensive help and they got it. Late Monday night, Marc Methot was traded to the Stars from the Vegas Golden Knights. What a steal.
Monday must be the Dallas Stars day to get things done.
Since this morning, the Stars have been wheeling and dealing. First, they put Antti Niemi on waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract, officially eliminating the three-headed goalie monster.
Just minutes later, they re-signed defenseman Esa Lindell and center Mark McNeill to new contracts. Lindell had an outstanding rookie season with the Dallas Stars last year and earned himself a two-year extension. He has promise and could be a key part of the blue line going forward. McNeill, on the other hand, signed a one-year, two-way deal and will provide veteran leadership in the AHL.
Following that, they extended qualifying offers to six RFAs (Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Gemel Smith, Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, and Matej Stransky) in order to retain their negotiating rights and keep them from going anywhere on July 1.
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They capped off the night with the biggest move of them all: trading for defenseman Marc Methot.
The Stars sent a second round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and their 2017 seventh-round pick (goaltender Dylan Ferguson) to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for the veteran defender.
Methot was chosen by the Golden Knights on June 21 in the expansion draft after spending five seasons with the Ottawa Senators, who just made a postseason run but fell one win short of the Stanley Cup Finals.
There are two seasons remaining on Methot’s contract with a cap hit of $4.9 million. That’s a reasonable price considering what he will bring to the table for the Stars.
He is 32 years old and will be entering his 12th season in the NHL in 2017-18. In 579 career games, he has 21 goals and 120 points. But that’s okay.
Methot is considered a defensive defenseman, and that’s just what the Stars needed. They have needed stay-at-home defender that thrives best when in the defensive zone. Methot is strong in his own end and always makes the smart play to keep the puck out of the high threat areas. Not to mention that he’s left-handed, which helps balance out the blue line perfectly with three lefties and three righties.
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This is a move that the Dallas Stars had to make this offseason, and they are getting it out of the way before the season even begins. It seems that Nill is trying to get as much done as he can before the high time hits on July 1. That’s a good sign.
Great move by the Stars that will only pay off for Dallas over the next two years.