Dallas Stars Could Move Player In Light Of Hudler Signing
The Dallas Stars made waves in the free agent waters this past Tuesday that officially gave them a hefty imbalance of forwards. Are they planning to ship someone out?
Someone once said that there is an up to every down. It basically means that no matter what problem you face in life, there is always a silver lining hidden within. But do the tables ever turn?
For the Dallas Stars, they may have a down for one of their extremely beneficial ups.
That’s because on Tuesday night, the Stars made a surprising but impressive move by signing free agent RW Jiri Hudler to a one-year, $2 million deal. Though Hudler will contribute in an emphatic way and further round out the dominance of the Stars’ offense, Dallas now has a snag they need to find their way out of.
With the new signing, Dallas now has a massive overstocking of NHL-ready forwards. This might be leading to a trade in the near future.
First off, let’s take a look at Dallas Stars forwards who could be on the roster on opening night:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Sharp
Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza – Jiri Hudler
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ales Hemsky
Valeri Nichushkin – Radek Faksa – Patrick Eaves
Extras: Brett Ritchie, Curtis McKenzie, Adam Cracknell, Devin Shore, and Jason Dickinson.
That’s 17 forwards ready to hit the ice for Dallas. In other words, there may be just a couple too many ready for the NHL. So the biggest question on everyone’s mind is in regards to if the Stars picked up Hudler for extra padding in preparation to let another forward go.
It’s an interesting question that could go a number of ways right now. There are plenty of outlying variables that could send the Stars going any number of ways before or even during the regular season.
First off, let’s address the biggest elephant in the room: Ben Bishop. The Stars have been in talks with the Tampa Bay Lightning ever since the 2016 draft, and it is suspected that negotiations are still rolling. With the expansion draft coming up in June 2017, the Lightning are one of a few teams that have to make decisions regarding their goalies.
Each NHL team can only protect one goaltender on their roster, and the Bolts have two NHL-ready and capable starters in their crease. The assumption is that the Lightning will hold onto Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is younger and helped carry Tampa Bay to the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
That being said, it looks like Bishop is on the market. So why wouldn’t the Dallas Stars invest in trade talks so they can pick up a secure and reliable starter?
This is where dealing a forward would come in hand. Tampa would likely ask for one strong, young prospect on offense, and maybe even one on defense. The Stars would need to get rid of Kari Lehtonen or Antti Niemi as well. Names like Ritchie and McKenzie could fit the young forward part of the deal.
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Another suspicion is that Nichushkin could be departing. The Stars have yet to lock him up on a new deal and currently have on a qualifying deal. There are multiple reports that negotiations are going smoothly, but you just never know.
All in all, there are a couple of scenarios that could pan out to be true. The Hudler signing raised a lot of suspicions on the Stars’ offense, and there is still plenty of times for things to happen before the season kicks off.
Next: Where Does Jiri Hudler Fit On The Stars?
No matter what happens, the Dallas Stars now have options in their arsenal. It will be fun to see where they choose to go and how the offense pans out this season with the new lines. Either way, it will be entertaining to watch. Make sure you tune in this season.