It’s almost go time across the NHL with the free agency market opening, but the Dallas Stars are in a good position to take things moderately thanks to the efforts of Jim Nill.
The free agency market opens up tomorrow morning, and by tomorrow night the Dallas Stars could own a completely different-looking roster.
That’s both surprising and nerve-racking at the same time. Maybe the additions and subtractions that are made official tomorrow will help the Stars out next season. But what if they hurt the team or don’t pan out as expected?
There will be no way to tell that until the regular season starts, so tomorrow’s actions will only lead to more speculation on how things will go.
But what actions will the Stars take tomorrow?
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When the offseason started on Apr. 9, the Dallas Stars probably had one of the longest to-do lists across the NHL. When you drop off 30 points in one season and go from second to 24th in the league, that will happen.
The Stars honestly needed a little bit of everything: coaching, offense, defense, and goaltending. That’s not an easy list to overcome in one offseason, especially when you are shooting for a quick rebuild/turnaround and aim to be contenders the following year.
But nothing seems to be too difficult for Jim Nill to overcome. The Dallas Stars general manager hit the ground running on the first day of the Stars’ offseason and has made some impressive moves since then.
He signed Ken Hitchcock to be the next head coach, traded for goaltender Ben Bishop to give Dallas a new no. 1 starter, and recently traded for defenseman Marc Methot. Combine that with a soft blow from the expansion draft and an astounding draft class, and he’s had a pretty amazing offseason so far.
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But one area has remained untouched so far: the offense. Nill will likely address that come 11 a.m. on Saturday morning when the free agency market officially opens up. The Dallas Stars need help on the right wing and it shows. That’s why Nill has focused all of his efforts on this over the past week.
And if the Stars’ horrific 34-37-11 season had any silver lining, it would be the timing. The lack of playoffs gave Nill an extended period of time to make some moves and prepare the team for the offseason, and he took complete advantage of it.
Now the Stars have less to worry about come tomorrow morning, meaning they can wholeheartedly spend their efforts on offensive help.
I mean, can you imagine if the Stars entered tomorrow’s frenzy in need of a goaltender, defender, AND right wing? Or even two of the three? And what if his choices for a head coach were slim to none (as they are now)? The road would be sizably more difficult to navigate.
Nill did a great thing by acting early in his offseason endeavors, and now the Dallas Stars are sitting pretty. They can take tomorrow at a decent pace and make sure that they make the right moves.
Next: Five FA Right Wing Options For Stars
So, I guess the Stars ending their season on Apr. 8 had something good attached to it after all. It gave Dallas the opportunity to dust themselves off, build themselves back up, and get a head start on the rest of the league. Now all they have to do is focus in on tomorrow and round out their roster.
Well done so far, Mr. Nill. Now just bring it home.