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Dallas Stars Have A Few Options At Trade Deadline

By Josh Clark |
Feb 18, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Patrik Nemeth (15) and Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) chase the puck during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Lightning 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Patrik Nemeth (15) and Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) chase the puck during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Lightning 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL trade deadline is approaching rapidly, and many teams are still searching for possible deals. The Dallas Stars are likely one of those teams.

The long break is finally over and it’s time to get back to Dallas Stars hockey. Is that a great feeling or what?

Whether you are dreading or are excited for the Stars as they exit their bye week, one thing is for sure: the next game or two will help decide a lot of things.

That first game is scheduled for tonight in Dallas as the Stars welcome the Arizona Coyotes, who sit last in the Pacific Division at the moment, for a Friday night showdown. The Stars have already beaten the Coyotes once this year, but with this Dallas team, no pattern or win streak can ever be expected.

But tonight’s game could determine a lot for how the remainder of the Dallas Stars’ season pans out.

Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars /

Dallas Stars

After going out in style last Saturday in an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Stars embarked on a five-day vacation. They rolled into the vacation at 23-27-10, giving them 56 points on the year with only 22 games remaining.

Those numbers are nowhere near playoff quality, and that has the Stars on high alert. Throughout the bye week, the Stars slipped from six points out of the final wild card spot to ten points out. That’s five wins to cover in 22 games.

“It’s been tough,” said Dallas Stars center Devin Shore. “You want to make a real push and collect as many points as you can in the standings, and we haven’t been able to do that.”

So not only will Dallas need to find a way to win five in a short span, but a good number of teams around them will need to lose five of their own. Currently, the Predators, Flames, Kings, Jets, Canucks, and Stars are dead-locked in a war in the standings for the final two spots in the postseason. Unfortunately, the Stars find themselves at the very bottom of this list of teams.

That being said, some are expecting the Stars to be in trade talks relatively soon.

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The NHL trade deadline is this upcoming Wednesday, Mar. 1, and it is looking to be like no other before. With plenty of talented players on the final year of their contract and the expansion draft causing every team to strategize, there could be a lot of action to cover on Wednesday.

And if the Stars are indeed going to sell, then they have some excellent pieces to use. It’s not been confirmed on whether Dallas will be hard sellers or not, but at this point a 17-5-0 or better run to end the season is about the only thing left that could salvage the Stars’ playoff hopes. Not saying it cannot be done, but it would require the Stars to shift into a new gear they haven’t yet experienced this season.

If they do indeed go with the trade route, then they could make themselves some highly beneficial deals.

First off, the current Dallas Stars roster has a lot of talent on the expiring end of their contracts that they could send to a team that is trying to make a run and in need of “that one extra player.”

Patrick Sharp and Patrick Eaves remain to be the Stars’ two top trade pieces on offense. Both are effective veteran scorers that can provide an offensive and special teams punch for an opposing team.

There’s also Jiri Hudler and Lauri Korpikoski. Both players are veteran wingers who were brought in just before the season started as an experiment. Though neither ever truly seemed to hit their stride, they contributed every once in a while. In the right system, those numbers could definitely go up.

On defense, Dallas is also stacked with tradable talent. Veteran Johnny Oduya would make a solid addition to any blue line that is trying to make a run at the Stanley Cup considering his vast playoff experience.

Some other names would be Patrik Nemeth and Jamie Oleksiak, considering Julius Honka‘s situation and the fact that the Stars are already carrying seven defensemen. Each of these young defensemen could provide an opponent with an already experienced addition to their defensive group.

And of course with trade comes the need for return. The Dallas Stars might want to stray away from hunting for draft picks exclusively, considering this year’s draft class is considered to be lacking in depth and energy.

Next: Stars' Season Proves To Be Important Step Toward Future

Prospects and potentially even a new goaltender could be on Jim Nill‘s mind as the deadline approaches. Whatever happens, it all depends on whether Nill is set on selling just yet. If the Stars pick up some steam and start up a win streak, there’s no telling what will happen.

All we can do is just rejoice that Dallas Stars hockey is back and rolling tonight in Big D. Make sure to tune in.

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