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Dallas Stars Must Be In Talks With Ottawa About Goalies

By Josh Clark |

The Dallas Stars are just weeks away from entering an offseason filled with questions and voids. With a hefty amount of free agents that need to be dealt with, to plenty of ideas regarding the rosters, it will have it’s fair share of challenges.

One of the biggest challenges they will face is the dilemma with their backup goalie position.

Over the past three seasons, the Dallas Stars have used a total of nine different goalies. That is an astounding number. And through all nine goalies, only one has proven to be consistent…. at least consistent enough.

The Stars have tried new signings, trades, and even call-ups from the Texas Stars of the AHL, but nothing seems to work. As a result, the 2015 offseason may very well end up being another one of searching for a new, competent backup among other things.

On the bright side, this offseason will feature one of the highest quality goaltending pools in years. Just a few names include Antti Niemi, Jonathan Bernier, and Karri Ramo.

But the Stars may not be shooting for a free agent signing. Instead, they may be looking to Ottawa for a trade.

After signing rookie superstar Andrew Hammond last Wednesday to a three-year deal, the Senators cornered themselves a bit. They built a three-headed goalie monster. After starting the season with Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner as the two goalies on their roster, they ended it with a third in Hammond.

Now, with three high quality goalies on their NHL roster and two thriving goalies in their AHL farm system, they will need to unload one of the three NHL net minders.

The Dallas Stars could act on that dilemma.

The Senators GM Bryan Murray said in a recent interview that “five or six teams” have already called inquiring about Anderson and Lehner. He noted that the talks would continue and that he hopes something will come out of them.

The Dallas Stars need to be one of those teams, and I’m almost positive they are. It’s no secret that Stars GM Jim Nill enjoys trading up and is skilled at doing so.

Both Anderson and Lehner are both still under contract with Ottawa, so the only way of picking either up would be through trade.

Next: Dallas Stars Could Have New Trading Partner In Ottawa

So, if Nill is in talks, it would depend on who he would be looking to trade for. Anderson (.923 SV%) sits at 34 years old, and has not been available for a full season since 2011-2012. He is injury prone and growing old, but still knows how to play the game well and endure. Lehner (.905 SV%) is just 23 years old and is still growing, but is a promising young goalie with a lot of time left.

But there’s an underlying factor. That is that the Stars technically still have a chance at Jhonas Enroth, who has a long, promising future ahead of him. Enroth played excellent down the stretch for the Stars and left a positive effect on Stars fans. He may be interested in testing the market for a starting job, but nonetheless the Stars will probably give him an offer, and he may accept.

If that doesn’t happen, Anderson and Lehner are probably next on Nill’s goalie list to fill the backup void. Though if that falls through, there are plenty of other options for GM Jim to sink his attention and cleverness into.

Next: Could The Dallas Stars Trade For Brent Seabrook?

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