Dallas Stars Must Keep Up With Central Division At NHL Trade Deadline

The NHL Trade Deadline is approaching quickly, and there are plenty of expected buyers around the league. A good majority of those buyers happen to be in the Central Division. The Dallas Stars will need to take that into account when determining their deadline status.

The Dallas Stars are currently stuck in the middle of the traffic jam that is the 2018 Western Conference playoff race.

Now this is nothing unnatural, right? As each NHL regular season comes to a close, there is always a sprint to the finish. With eight spots available at the end of the race in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the final 20 or so games of every season always offer extra excitement. While there are typically five or six teams who are all but locked in by that point, three or four other teams are usually clustered up near the bottom as they claw and fight to earn one of the final few postseason spots.

But this season it is different, specifically in the Western Conference. With about a month and a half left in the regular season, very little is certain in the playoff race. Vegas, Nashville, and Winnipeg seem to be locks for the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But that’s it.

Immediately below these three teams, there are seven teams sitting somewhere between 69 and 72 points. And just outside of these seven, the Colorado Avalanche still linger in the race with 66 points.

With only 20-25 games to go in the regular season, this isn’t necessarily regular. Every team still in the race can make a case to be in the postseason, and the unpredictability of these next few weeks could be spectacular.

Things get even more confusing when you look at the Central Division by itself. Besides the Chicago Blackhawks who have removed themselves from the race over the past two weeks, every other Central team is lined up to potentially make a run. If all six teams can keep up their current pace, the season will end with one or maybe even two playoff-worthy teams missing out on the dance.

That’s both exciting and frightening for the Dallas Stars. While they sit in third place in the Central at the moment, the Blues are deadlocked with them at the 72-point mark. In addition to St. Louis, both the Wild and Avalanche are not far behind in the race.

With the margin for error growing slimmer with each passing day, there’s yet another wrench to throw in the already cluttered dryer: the NHL Trade Deadline.

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Around late February in every regular season, the trade deadline allows teams to do one of two things: buy or sell. If they are in a good spot in the standings and are planning on contending for the Cup, perhaps they go out and buy one or two impact players to propel them. But where do they get these players? Well, from teams that are likely throwing in the towel and selling off their expiring assets to prepare for the future.

Every year, things are pretty evenly divided in each division in terms of buyers and sellers. But this season, the Central Division likely won’t have much balance.

While the Blackhawks are already identifying as probable sellers, every other Central team has a reason to buy in. For the fledgling teams that are just outside the playoff picture, one or two big players could help them get into the middle of the race. And for the teams that are just inside the bubble, adding a name or two could help them ascend the standings even further.

As a result, it’s likely that most of the teams in the Central Division will be buying in some form or fashion at the deadline.

The Dallas Stars must take this possibility to heart when determining their own deadline status.

More From Blackout Dallas: What The Stars Do And Don’t Need At This Year’s Deadline

For the first time in a while, there is some uncertainty in regards to what the Stars should do at the 2018 deadline. On the one hand, their current roster is doing well and winning on a pretty regular basis. The offense, defense, and goaltending all seem to be in good standing with plenty of potential. But on the other hand, there are still some inconsistent parts of the lineup that could be filled using the deadline.

Dallas Stars

There’s still no absolute answer as to why one side or the other is better, but the divisional factor is coming into play now as well.

The Predators, Blues, and Jets have all been openly linked to trade talks over the last few weeks. The Wild and Avalanche are likely scanning the market as well.

So if the rest of the division gets better while the Stars stand pat, what does that mean in regards to how the rest of the season finishes out? After all, 23 games is a long time and a lot can change during that span.

If Dallas is truly prepared to dig in and keep themselves in the thick of the playoff race, making some waves at the deadline might be in their best interest.

For example, if the Predators pick up Rick Nash, the Jets snag Patrick Maroon, and the Blues pick up Mike Hoffman, what happens? Well, the easy answer is that those three teams get better and push Dallas out of the top three in the division.

Now, this isn’t a surefire thing. There’s a chance that Dallas could still keep pace with their divisional rivals and stay in the race even without altering their lineup. But if the rest of the division stacks their rosters while the Stars sit back and avoid making a splash, it could come back to bite them. And with the way this roster is currently made up, a chance like this to make a run may not come along after this season. Wouldn’t it be smart to go all in now?

Whatever the case may be, the division is an important factor to keep an eye on at this year’s deadline. If the other Central teams hit the market, it might be wise for Dallas to join in.

But this all comes with balance and moderation, both of which are strengths that Jim Nill possesses. Nill obviously has a plan for his team at this year’s deadline and is most assuredly keeping an eye on the competition around him.

Next: Who Should The Stars Target At The Trade Deadline?

Still, it’s something to think about. It would be a shame if Dallas got this far in the 2017-18 season but fell out in the end simply because they couldn’t keep up with the newly-acquired firepower of other teams in the Central. They’ve done too much this season to fall short at the end.