Who Dallas Stars Should Keep In Expansion Draft: Forwards

In the year 2000, the NHL held their most recent NHL Expansion Draft. This draft was to help aid the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, the two newest teams in the NHL, to start off their franchise on a strong note. Otherwise, they would have no choice but to recruit non-NHL players and hope for a free agent signing or two, leaving them years away from even being a playoff contender.

It looks as though within the next two years there will be another one. As the NHL continues to grow and hockey becomes a more saturated topic on the market, new cities and locations are looking for opportunities to grow their own market. What better way to do that than to bring in a professional sports team?

While talks have dwindled for the past two years or so, footprints are finally being made. The cities of Las Vegas and Quebec City were the only two out of 16 invited cities to complete applications and return them to the NHL. These two cities have been promised that they will be the “primary focuses” going forward.

So if these two cities will be receiving franchises before the 2017-2018 season begins, what are the steps that will be taken in order to get them off and running?

First off, there is no set date on when, if ever, these cities will get their teams. It could be before the 2016-2017 season starts, it could wait until 2020. There is no set date on when it will happen, if at all.

But if it does, the expansion draft will more than likely run the same way that it did back in 2000 when Columbus and Minnesota were the two participating. There are two potential ways that the Stars can maneuver. The first is that they lock down nine forwards, five defensemen, and one goaltender. The second is that they lock down seven forwards, three defensemen, and two goaltenders.

Obviously, when you look at it right away, it seems as though the latter option would not suit the Dallas Stars in any way. With a team that holds a high-powered offense and a semi-reliable crease, the Stars would be much better off holding onto a larger majority of their offensive threats and their promising defensemen instead of their goaltending. But, we can never know for sure which route the Stars would take, so we will look at both sides.

We’ll turn this into a three part series, starting first with the forwards.

The First Option: Nine Forwards

There are a few players that will most assuredly be locked in as they are the faces of the Stars offense, and more importantly, the franchise.

It’s almost a given that the Stars would hold onto the likes of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, and Patrick Sharp. These four already have an established career behind them and are already considered some of the best talent throughout the NHL. As four of the six members on the top two lines, these players would be automatic lock downs for the Dallas Stars front office.

On another level, Cody Eakin, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, Valeri Nichushkin, and Ales Hemsky seem like the final five to stick to the roster. While the first four are young and promising players rising to NHL stardom, Hemsky is entering the prime of his career. After a misguided season largely due to a hip injury left him a few points back of his career average, he is on his way to recovery and is ready to come back as an offensive force on the second line.

That would leave the services of Patrick Eaves, Colton Sceviour, Travis Moen, Vernon Fiddler, and Curtis McKenzie would become draft eligible. While each of these players have their perks, the fact of the matter is that none are entirely necessary for the Stars offense to succeed. While Eaves, Fiddler, and Moen all have their spouts of offensive production and flexibility throughout the lineup, the fact is that they are all aging veterans. But to put it plainly, if it came down to one of them or Patrick Sharp, who would you rather lock down? McKenzie and Sceviour are both valuable prospects who are up-and-coming in the NHL, but neither are entirely too valuable to give up one of the Stars offensive centerpieces.

The Second Option: Seven Forwards

This option is going to look awful once it is put out there, but nonetheless we will take a look at it.

Of course, keeping Benn, Seguin, Spezza, and Sharp are givens and should be treated as such. The Stars offense will live and breathe off of the production from these players next season and many seasons to come.

So that leaves three spots open for the rest of the forwards to fight over. The Stars have an arsenal of forwards, with 14 waiting for a spot. Trying to speculate on who these final three would be is not an easy task, and really shouldn’t be messed with. Speculating about any of this is purely simplistic, yet here we are.

So with three spots left, who do the Dallas Stars keep on? Do they go with the young players and hold onto Eakin, Roussel, and Ritchie? Or do they keep 2013 first round pick Valeri Nichushkin on the roster? What happens then to Hemsky?

On the bright side, if they follow the 2000 expansion draft procedures, only two players will be taken from each team, and the rest will sink back to their current team. So the Stars may not lose any of their forwards.

This is all a true mess. But sadly, this is how the NHL grows and the market saturates. It’s only a logical conclusion, but it comes at the expense of other NHL teams. This is how growth happens.

We’ll have coverage of the defense and the goaltending on a later date. Who do you think the Stars should keep and give up in regards to their forwards? Leave your comments below.

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