Dallas Stars Have Powerful Backup In Jiri Hudler

By Josh Clark |

Mar 30, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Calgary Flames left wing Jiri Hudler (24) tries to redirect the puck past Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) during the first period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars lost a regular piece of their offense on Tuesday morning. But the wit of Jim Nill has the Stars set up to get past it.

On Tuesday morning, the Dallas Stars offensive force lost a noteworthy yet non-crucial piece when Valeri Nichushkin decided to abandon his NHL career for the KHL.

After receiving an offer from CSKA Moscow in his home country of Russia, Nichushkin decided that Lindy Ruff was not the coach for him and that he would look for success elsewhere. He plans on coming back in two years when the Ruff’s contract expires, but until then the Stars are out of a forward.

But this is nowhere near fatal to the Dallas Stars’ chances at succeeding this season. Nichushkin’s departure does hurt a little bit, but it is not a crucial blow.

Over the past two years, Nichushkin’s production has dropped off when compared to his rookie season with the Stars. His goal numbers have gone down, he’s scaled the lineup, and he’s fallen into the “healthy scratch” rotation. In other words, he’s not having a great start to his career, especially with all the promise and hype that followed him into it.

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Nichushkin claims that he does not like playing under Ruff’s coaching style. But at the moment, that style of coaching is getting the Stars wins, titles, and playoff victories. So if it ain’t broke, why try to fix it?

That being said, Nichushkin may be playing Russian hockey for a little while. But that’s okay for the time being.

Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill must have had a sixth sense when he signed Jiri Hudler out of free agency back on August 24. The 32-year-old winger is an 11-year NHL veteran bringing a lot of experience and skill to the table.

When it was clear that Nichushkin’s contract negotiations were headed south, Nill insured the Stars offense by finding a cheap alternative on the market. Hudler has 161 goals and 417 points in 676 games, along with a +43 on-ice rating. He can play valuable time on the power play and scale the lineup when necessary.

He’s played with three different teams throughout his career and can play a valuable leadership role for Dallas.

The biggest point to make when talking about Hudler is the fact that during the 2014-15 season, he scored 31 goals and tallied 45 assists for a total of 76 points. That’s 11 less than Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn, who won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the league with 87. That’s pretty crazy for a then-31 year old to do.

Overall, Hudler will make a fine addition to the Stars offense, especially considering how cheap he was (1-year, $2 million deal). Losing Nichushkin is sad considering that Dallas spent a first-round pick on a guy that now refuses to play for their head coach. But when it comes to production, the Stars aren’t losing much.

Next: If Nichushkin Walks, Stars Won't Be Phased

Hudler will be able to not only provide leadership, but also a nice scoring touch. He can fit well in the lineup anywhere, considering the Stars already have four capable centers ready for action. It’s going to be a fun year, and it will be exciting to see where Hudler fits in to the powerful puzzle.

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