Dallas Stars Report Cards: Kris Russell
All the stats are in on one of the Dallas Stars’ newest defensemen, Kris Russell. Check out his season report card below!
The Dallas Stars acquired 29 year old defenseman Kris Russell from the Calgary Flames before this season’s trade deadline. Having made jumps between teams three different times in the past five seasons, Russell wasn’t a stranger to change and fit in well in Dallas.
The 5’10, 170 lb. player wasn’t the stereotypical looming defenseman that most Stars fans thought the team needed to trade for, but Russell’s merits attracted the attention of the Stars and proved to be an asset during the latter half of the season and during Dallas’ playoff run.
Regular Season Recap
In the time that Russell spent with the Stars this regular season (which spanned across 11 games), he notched 4 assists and accumulated 2 penalty minutes while also generating 14 shots.
Although he had no goals, Russell’s shot blocking ability was quickly apparent and, along with the addition of Oduya and Johns, Russell’s arrival helped to reform the Dallas Stars’ defense into a unit capable of intimidation and not afraid to get physical. Due to some injury issues after coming to Dallas, Russell was probably unable to reach his full potential this season.
Playoff Recap
Russell participated in more playoff games for the Stars (12) than he did regular season ones. In these 12 games, he generated 4 assists and nothing much else. However, just as during the regular season, Russell was able to provide courage on the blue line.
The Stars arguably would not have made it to the second round, or to the playoffs in general for that matter, without a different defense than they had last season. Russell contributed to that in a great way. While some of his thunder was perhaps stolen by the stellar performance of Stephen Johns, Russell was a good, timely acquisition for Dallas and filled the defensive void they needed him to.
Contract Situation
As everyone probably knows by now, Kris Russell is currently one of the four UFA defensemen the Dallas Stars have to make a decision on this coming offseason. With the cap space growing tighter and all four defensemen expecting raises and long-term extensions, the Stars will more than likely not have enough space to satisfy and bring back all four.
Russell’s two-year, $5.2 million deal expires at the completion of the 2015-2016 season. Considering he is only 29 years old and still has plenty of life left in him, he will more than likely be looking for a big contract.
The opinion section
Even though Russell’s contract expires this offseason, the Stars shouldn’t be setting their sights on getting rid of him. Bringing Russell back would give him time to fully settle into regular season play with the Stars.
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Having only experienced 11 games with the Stars before having to shift into playoff mode, Russell became a valuable piece of Dallas’ defense and should be allowed to grow in that area. As I previously mentioned, the novelty of Russell may have been overshadowed by Johns this season, but in the future, both will provide a good foundation for a growing, improving defense.
Although Russell isn’t necessarily large and looming, he is unafraid to sacrifice the body when it comes to shot blocking, and doesn’t back down. He may not be the two-way defenseman that Klingberg is, but his style of play adds to the mix and is needed for Dallas to achieve well-rounded play on all levels.
Bottom Line
Russell is still a newbie to the Stars, and they should keep him around as the still-growing defense matures. Although it may come at a price of losing Goliogski and Demers, he could become one of the Stars’ most prolific blue liners in the years to come and adds a crucial piece to a defense that is almost complete.
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Until then, Russell is a fearless shot blocker and with only 11 regular season games under his belt, could still have a lot up his sleeve to impress us with.