Dallas Stars: Three Reasons To Make A Deal At NHL Trade Deadline

2 of 4

CHICAGO, IL – NOVEMBER 30: Jamie Benn /

1. It Can Never Hurt To Have More Offense

For the first time in what seems like forever, the Dallas Stars seem set in their backend. It doesn’t look like they will need to make any improvements to their defense or goaltending. All three defensive pairings have played quality hockey over the past two months and the goalie duo looks like the perfect two-headed animal.

With that being said, the Dallas Stars won’t necessarily have to look for a defensive filler at this year’s deadline. The lineup from the blue line back that they currently possess has proven that it can compete and win a good amount of hockey games, so messing with any of that could be detrimental.

More from Editorials

But what about the offense? Could there be any adjustments? Well, sure.

Scoring and offensive pressure has been the Stars’ lifeblood for the past three or four seasons. Ever since Jason Spezza joined Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin in the top six, there’s been a consistent clicking. The Stars always know how to find the back of the net and receive consistent production from all twelve forwards.

This season, however, things have changed a tiny bit. The Stars currently sit in eleventh place in the “goals for per game” category with a pace of 3.04. While that is still an impressive number, it’s a far cry from a few years ago when the Stars were at the top of the league in goals scored. It all comes with Ken Hitchcock’s system that has granted Dallas with an exquisite balance over the first 54 games. They are still aggressive and present on offense while staying focused on the transition game and the defensive side of the puck.

But with that being said, could the Stars add another face to the offense?

There’s never anything wrong with trying to bring some more offensive help into the ranks. The Stars’ current offensive lineup is already an impressive bunch, with a nice balance of speed, skill, and well-rounded abilities:

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov

Mattias Janmark – Jason Spezza – Devin Shore

Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Tyler Pitlick

Remi Elie – Martin Hanzal – Brett Ritchie

That’s a stacked offense. The top line is lethal, the second line has an awesome combination of a veteran playmaker mixed with young and energetic guns, the third line wears the opposition down whenever they are on the ice, and the fourth line can be deceptively fast and crafty at times.

They know how to make plays and make their offensive chances out. But wouldn’t another veteran skater with postseason experience make things even more fun? After all, while the lines are stacked, there are still periods of inefficiency or scoring droughts that each line goes through.

Rick Nash has been a name tossed around a lot over the past few days, and there’s a chance that Dallas could get in on those talks and test the waters with New York.

But there are other options as well. If Dallas wanted to truly bolster their offense and make it undoubtedly dominant, another forward in the trade market could work wonders in helping them reach that level.

If Nill could find a way to land a veteran playmaking forward without giving up too much or breaking the bank, it could really help the Stars’ offensive outlook and round out the top 12 even more.

The more scoring power the better, right?

Home/Editorials