The NHL Trade Deadline is closer than you may think. With that being said, the Dallas Stars are already being mentioned in trade talks. What are the reasons for them to actually make a move before the deadline hits?
It’s February, and you know what that means for the Dallas Stars and the rest of the NHL: trade rumors.
The 2018 NHL Trade Deadline is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 26 this year, and it’s already shaping up to be one of the most intense deadlines in recent memory. The rumors are heating up and there seems to be a wide variety of potential teams and players involved.
Will the New York Rangers blow it all up and move veteran pieces? Is Max Pacioretty being shopped by the Canadiens? Will Evander Kane move on from Buffalo?
To put it plainly, there is a lot to keep up with. That’s how it is at every trade deadline, and this one promises to be no different.
Dallas Stars
One team that is always thrown into the mix of trade talk with each passing year is the Dallas Stars. When Jim Nill took the helm as general manager in the 2013 offseason, it’s not likely that Stars fans expected the aggressiveness that they have seen over the past five years.
Nill is no stranger to the trading block and takes each trade deadline and offseason as an excellent opportunity to better his team as much as possible. That is a good quality for any GM to have, though sometimes it can cause some negative outcomes.
But still, Nill’s quick and influential trades have put him on the NHL map as one of the league’s best general managers. He traded for Tyler Seguin in 2013, Jason Spezza in 2014, Patrick Sharp in 2015, and Ben Bishop in 2017. These are just a few of the blockbuster moves he’s made at GM and show that he’s never afraid to swing a big deal.
Does that mean that he’ll have the Dallas Stars in the middle of the trade frenzy this year? Possibly.
In the 2016-17 season, Nill made it clear that the Stars were sellers at the deadline after an ugly first 60 games in the season. Dallas traded away many of their expiring assets in an attempt to take prospects or draft picks in return and start a quick rebuild.
It’s safe to say that it worked. Less than one year later, the Stars sit with a confident 31-19-4 record with 64 points. They own the first wild card spot in the West and are making a case with their play to be considered serious playoff and even Stanley Cup contenders.
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With that being said, what will Nill’s angle be this season? Will he be aggressive and aim at landing a big player that could potentially bolster the roster for a playoff run? Or will he play it calm and let his current roster continue building momentum as they approach April?
There are arguments to be made for both sides, so that’s just what we are going to do here at Blackout Dallas.
Today, we will point out three major reasons why the Dallas Stars would be smart to go big at the trade deadline. Tomorrow, we will go the other way and point out the primary reasons why it would smart for the Stars to stay quiet at the deadline.
So let’s dive right in. Here are a few reasons why Dallas would be wise to make some offers and potentially land a big name.