Dallas Stars Conference Call: Johnny Oduya Full Coverage

At around 10 AM this morning, the Dallas Stars added another crucial piece to their 2015-2016 lineup in hopes of producing a long Stanley Cup run this coming year.

They signed free agent defenseman Johnny Oduya to a two-year, $7.5 million deal. He will become one of the starting six defensemen for the Stars opening night and will be a major boost to a blue line that clearly struggled last season.

Next: What Johnny Oduya Brings To Dallas And Where He Fits In

Just moments after the signing was announced, the Dallas Stars held a conference call with Oduya as well as GM Jim Nill. We have full coverage of the Oduya interview below. We will have the Jim Nill portion up at a later time in the near future.

Johnny Oduya:

If there was any chance he would have returned to Chicago:

Yeah. From the start that was something I was trying to do. From the organization obviously there was some will to make something work at some point. As a player, you want to wait when there is somebody in a situation like that who is willing to look into a little bit more where there is an option for you to stay. But as time progresses, other things become more interesting and maybe you start to see yourself in a different spot.

Why Dallas intrigued him:

We’ve played against the obviously numerous times here the past couple of years. I think they are a very fast team and a team that wants to play hockey. It’s another style than Chicago who want to have the top three things. Like I said, I think the speed is the thing that stands out the most. It’s a new challenge and a new chapter. It’s going to be a lot of fun. For me, I think I’m pretty comfortable with the role I play and the things I can bring and it’s not really going to change a whole lot for me. That is something I like.

How much he sees it as him being a veteran guy tending to young guys on the blue line:

If I’m not wrong I think I’m the oldest one back there. Of course you approach it maybe a little bit different. But I have to worry about what I have to do to perform and help the team as much as possible. But also I’m trying to be there and use the little things I’ve picked up through the years and help out. For me at this point I think just fitting in with the team and trying to find my role and how I will play. That’s obviously up to the coaches and management and from that on to trying to fit in as good as possible. That’s the main objective.

His role with the fellow Swede John Klingberg:

It’s fun seeing the young, skilled Swedish defensemen coming up. It’s fun to watch him play. He’s very dynamic. He reminds me a lot of Erik Karlsson coming up. He has the potential to be a great defenseman. It’s going to get to know [Patrik] Nemeth who I skated with in Stockholm a couple of times. It’s going to be fun with new teammates and to get to know those guys throughout.

Was Dallas’ contract the largest he received:

I’m not really going to comment on that. It’s something that’s not really needed to be brought up at this point. I’m really happy in my situation though and it’s really nice to get an offer from like this from Dallas. I think they felt it was a good fit and I do too. So I’m really happy about the situation and I’m looking forward to going there and starting to work.

Do you feel the Stars are on the cusp of making a run:

I guarantee it. Maybe last year was not the result the organization wanted. Like I said, anytime you play them they’re a really good team that is tough to play against. The potential is there, I guarantee. It could be a matter of just one or two players maturing a little bit more and taking that extra step and breaking through that barrier. I think the leadership is good and the coaching is right there now. There was some addition to goaltending too, so I think all parts look good. It’s just a matter of taking that next step and playing for it all the way up as a new team.

How influential was Patrick Sharp in his decision to come to Dallas:

Obviously I know Patrick from Chicago and he’s a great guy. He tried to get a hold of me and I got a text from him where he was just talking about the situation. So far, he only had great things to say about Dallas and the organization. He loved how he had been received and the overall impression was really, really good. I don’t know if that was the major breaking point in me making a decision. But when you have a guy like that giving a lot of credit, that’s something you take into evaluation and it’s always nice to have somebody in kind of the same situation. It’s something I see as a plus going forward.

We will have coverage of Jim Nill’s interview up later. Make sure to check back to Blackout Dallas!

Next: Where Does Patrick Sharp Fit In The Dallas Stars Offensive Scheme?

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