Dallas Stars: Three Reasons To Make A Deal At NHL Trade Deadline
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.
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.
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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?
2. The Central Division Won’t Sit Back
The Dallas Stars currently sit with a record of 31-19-4 on the season. Through 54 games (or two-thirds of the season), that’s an undeniably solid record to own. The Stars are on pace for 99 points this season, and just about every 99-point team makes it to the postseason.
But even if the Stars make it to that 99 point mark or even crack triple digits, they still might not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs race. Yes, it’s shocking. But it’s also the truth.
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Blackhawk Up
That’s because the Dallas Stars are locked in one of the most intense divisional battles that the NHL has ever seen. The Central Division is the only division that has seven teams in it. It’s also the only division right now where every team still has a logical shot at the playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks currently sit in last place in the division (as crazy as that may sound), but are still only seven points out of a wild card spot with 29 games to go.
The Central Division as a whole holds a goal differential of +135. They are the only division in the NHL where every team owns a positive differential and is the only division above 0. Yep, that’s a pretty sharp contrast.
So with the entire division on a completely different level than the rest of the league this year, every point is entirely crucial. Every team knows that from the Winnipeg Jets to the Chicago Blackhawks, and each one will likely do anything they have to in order to stay in the running.
That’s where the trade deadline comes into play. Not only do a majority of these teams think that they can make the playoffs, but they also believe that they have a legitimate shot at lifting the Cup. So don’t be surprised if a few different Central teams make moves near the trade deadline to beef up their lineups and give them some extra jolt going into the playoffs that will help spread them apart from the rest of the division.
That’s where the Stars have to be careful. The Jets are reportedly looking for a top-six winger to round out their offense. The Predators have been linked to Rick Nash and a few other high-caliber skaters.
If the Dallas Stars want to not only stay in the midst of the playoff race, but also compete with their own division for position, some added depth might be the best answer. The last thing Dallas would want is for every team around them in the standings to get better while they stay quiet. That would more than likely lead to a potential first round exit (if they even make the postseason) and a long offseason to wonder what they could have done differently.
The Stars are in fourth place in the Central right now, but would be in second place if they were members of the Pacific of Metropolitan Division. It’s disheartening to a certain point, but it’s something that the Stars have to deal with. They have to learn how to want it more than the next team in line.
If they are trudging along with their same lineup in early March while the teams around them are revitalized with new additions, that could be a difficult lesson to learn.
If the Central Division is getting a move on with the trade deadline, the Dallas Stars need to make sure they are stacking up their own roster to stay toe-to-toe with their competitors. If everyone around them gets better, the Dallas Stars need to match that progress with acquisitions of their own.
3. Injuries Can Be Prepared For With The Deadline
This one isn’t necessarily one that can be predicted, but let me give you a scenario.
It’s Feb. 29, 2016. The extra day that comes with every Leap Year. But it’s also the day of the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline. The Dallas Stars sit atop the Central Division and Western Conference and look like they could make a serious Stanley Cup run. As a result of this feeling, Jim Nill makes a trade for defenseman Kris Russell just before the deadline hits in an effort to shore up his blue line and add some much needed consistency and balance on defense.
Dallas Stars
The move isn’t necessarily a shocking one, and Stars fans are happy for the most part with Nill’s efforts to fix a weak spot and give the team an even better chance at running the table.
But then March 17 comes along. As the seconds wind down in a matchup between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, Tyler Seguin has his achilles cut by a skate blade. He only plays one game for the rest of the 2015-16 season. As one of the top scorers and most dynamic skaters in the Dallas lineup, his presence in the postseason is dearly missed.
It happens, people. Freak injuries occur to prime/superstar players in the late portion of the season and put teams in unpredictable and tough situations. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a fallback option regardless of what happens?
It might be a smart idea for the Dallas Stars to consider. After all, it would have been nice to have a skilled forward to fill in for Seguin.
A team can never plan for injuries, but they can prepare for them. If the Stars want to land a top-six winger for various reasons, they would likely take one of their fourth line wingers out of the lineup. That player would then be a capable and functional substitute should anything go wrong throughout the final month of the season and into the playoffs.
All in all, there are a few reasons why the Dallas Stars should highly consider making a move at the trade deadline. These factors could be just what Jim Nill needs to work himself into trade talks.
Next: Bishop, Lehtonen Forming Dangerous Duo In Stars' Backend
What else could push the Stars towards a trade? We’ll have to wait and see. But for now, it seems like they are in pretty good shape.
These next three weeks are going to be a fun ride. Make sure to stop in tomorrow and see why the Stars shouldn’t be active at the trade deadline.