The Dallas Stars continued their trading ways yesterday by sending the elder Benn to the Montreal Canadiens. Why did they make the move and was it the right one to make?
Yesterday, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill threw an unexpected curveball by trading D Jordie Benn to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for D Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick.
Surprised? More than likely. Appalled? Maybe. However you might feel about the trade, one thing is clear: Jim Nill is prepared to go down any path during this trade deadline. It doesn’t matter the stakes or the players involved. If it sounds good, he very well might take it.
Before we break down this trade, everyone needs to do one thing: check your emotions at the door. Yes, Jordie is a homegrown player and a fan favorite. Yes, he’s the older brother of Stars captain Jamie Benn. And yes, he has a luscious beard that everyone is going to miss dearly.
But no matter how painful this trade may sting in the emotions department, that has to be gotten over pretty quickly. You can take a moment to sob and purge out your negative feelings, but then it’s back to the action. After all, the NHL is a business. Don’t ever forget that.
Dallas Stars
What did the Stars lose?
So what exactly are the Dallas Stars losing in this deal? Besides yet another facial hair aficionado, the Stars are losing a 29-year-old veteran defender that has proven to be one of their best defensemen this season. He’s a veteran stay-at-home defender with grit, skill, and knowledge of the game. He can play consistently on the penalty kill and provide a
Not only are the Canadiens receiving a second or third pair defender who can play significant minutes and brings plenty of determination and grit with each shift, but also a multidimensional defender who knows the definition of perseverance very well.
Benn has come a long way from being an undrafted free agent. From the BCHL, to ECHL, to CHL, to AHL, and finally to the NHL at age 24, he has constantly hopped over boundaries and obstacles to get where he is now. He’s a determined defender and knows how to play a consistent style of game in the defensive zone. That’s hard to come by nowadays for a guy being paid just $1.1 million a year.
Why did the Stars do it?
Once you look through all of the cluttered mess, there’s a pretty clear potential explanation for why the Dallas Stars decided that Jordie Benn needed to be the next one to go.
Expansion. With the expansion draft coming up this offseason, the Stars made a move while they could and capitalized on Benn’s worth. Knowing that Dallas is all but out of playoff contention, Nill looked for a way to unload Benn so he wouldn’t have to do it this coming offseason or even potentially lose Benn to the new Las Vegas team for nothing in return.
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Every NHL team must lose one player in the upcoming expansion draft, and Benn would likely have had significant appeal to Vegas.
But why wouldn’t the Stars protect him?
Each team is allowed to protect either seven forwards, three defenders, and one goaltender OR eight combined skaters and one goaltender. Considering Dallas is stacked on offense, it’s likely that they will go with the 7/3/1 setup.
That being said, the Stars would have had three spots to use on names like John Klingberg, Jordie Benn, Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, Stephen Johns, Esa Lindell, and even Dan Hamhuis. Which one of those players would have the highest appeal to Vegas? Besides Klingberg of course (who is basically an automatic protection), it’s Jordie.
Nill likely wants to protect the kids and give them a chance to continue growing. He’ll likely protect Klingberg, Lindell, and either Oleksiak or Johns. In other words, Benn was simply the odd domino out who would have had significant appeal to the Golden Knights. So why not trade him and get a young defender like Pateryn in return?
What did the Stars get in return?
To put it plainly, the Dallas Stars received 26-year-old defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick in return.
The pick gives Dallas yet another selection in the 2017 draft (nine total picks, six in first four rounds). Although the draft class is not as substantial as it has been in years past, it gives the Stars a chance at striking gold.
Pateryn is a big-bodied defender at 6-3, 221 pounds. He’s a right-handed shot and has played 82 career games for the Montreal Canadiens ever since being selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL entry draft.
He has a heavy shot and can play a physical brand of hockey. Though he is not a proven NHL starter just yet, he’s a perfect piece that the Dallas Stars can incorporate into their system. He is excited for his fresh start, and the Stars might have found yet another physical righty to put into their scheme.
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And who knows? Pateryn could prove to be a solidified piece of the Stars’ defense down the road. Nill watched him plenty in college and obviously must like something about him if he were to trade a regular starter away.
Either way, it’s just part of a wave of change coming for the Dallas Stars. The Stars are on a short-term rebuild and it’s going to help out in the long run. We promise.