Dallas Stars May Not Be Done With 2018 Offseason Moves
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars didn’t land a “big fish” like many expected them to on July 1. But just because they signed some free agents for depth purposes doesn’t mean they are done making moves overall.
Every year in the hockey world, the day of July 1 creates a bit of a “tunnel vision” standard for hockey fans. And somehow, this includes Dallas Stars fans as well.
In other words, July 1 is “the day” to hockey fans. And yes, it is the first day of the opening for free agency. But that’s not the point.
It’s almost like Christmas when you’re a kid. The buildup to the day is excruciating and when December 25 rolls around, the results are either exciting or disappointing. But come December 26, you could care less about the Christmas season and are already looking ahead to the next year.
But that’s not how it should be, especially with NHL free agency. After all, July 1 is only the first day where the majority of major trades and signings go down. That majority, however, does not account for every move that happens during the summer. The offseason still goes on after July 1.
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It’s now July 3, and the Dallas Stars still haven’t done what many wanted or expected them to do. They took their time in free agency, missed out on John Tavares, and signed a depth player for each position on the ice. Those moves didn’t necessarily follow the “Dallas needs high-powered scoring assets for their second line” plan.
To round out the day, the Stars watched the rest of the Central Division get arguably better and saw their Stanley Cup odds drop. That was enough to send Stars fans into a rage and/or panic.
But in an interview with the media shortly following the Stars’ final moves of the day, general manager Jim Nill didn’t necessarily share the same grief.
“Well, we’re excited,” said Nill about the day overall. “Some of these things we’ve been working on for probably the last two months. We’re excited with what we did and we think we filled in the holes we want. We’re looking forward to getting the team put together and starting camp with it.”
As the interview went on, Nill was quick to parry any speculation about the moves he made on Sunday and backed each of them up. It may not seem like the best situation for a GM to be in, but he was ready for it.
But midway through the interview, a question came up that serves as the basis of this article. It ran something along the lines of, “Is this how the team will look going into training camp?”
Nill answered by saying, “This is a good part of it. We’re still talking to teams and still have to get some guys signed. And once again, there’s still lots of things that I think could happen over the summer. But this is a pretty good core of our team.”
In case you’re missing the point I’m trying to make, it’s above in bold.
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The fact of the matter is that July 1 came and went without the Dallas Stars getting sizably better in any area. Anton Khudobin will likely be an upgrade from Kari Lehtonen in net, but it probably won’t be a significant one. Roman Polak will serve as a seventh defender that can slot into the lineup in certain situations. And Blake Comeau and Valeri Nichushkin are decent additions for the middle six. But there wasn’t a big fish landed.
Jim Nill knows this just as much as the fans do. And that’s why it was only July 1 (the first day of the offseason).
Take a look back at Nill’s track record in his summers as GM. He’s always been known for making one big move before the season begins. In 2013, he competed the blockbuster trade for Tyler Seguin on July 4. The 2014 offseason saw him trade for Jason Spezza on July 1. In 2015, he landed Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns via trade on July 10 and signed Johnny Oduya on July 14. And in 2017, Alexander Radulov signed on with the team on July 3.
Notice anything in particular about the paragraph above? The Jason Spezza trade was the only major move that happened on July 1. And if you go back to the first day of each July since 2013, you’ll notice that Nill was never too keen on making a big splash while the rest of the league does.
Nill enjoys working behind the scenes, laying low while the rest of the NHL does their business, and then landing a knockout punch a few days later.
In 2015, he needed defensive help and a top-line RW, which led to the trade for Sharp and signing of Oduya. Last summer, the Dallas Stars were once again in need of a top-tier right winger. Not a single rumor was leaked on July 1 linking Radulov to the Stars and Radulov even put up a story of him flying home to Russia on Instagram. A potential big signing seemed all but lost. But Nill turned things around two days later.
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So, now that you’re brain is churning again, where can Nill turn this time? The free agency market is all but dried up on big names. In addition, the Stars’ cap space might be a bit lacking once they sign their qualified RFAs. That’s where the trade market comes into play.
There are still some impressive assets that are rumored to be on the trading block. One of those is center Jeff Skinner from the Carolina Hurricanes, who averaged 30 goals and 54 points over the past three seasons. With the rebuild going on in Carolina, the Hurricanes are actively shopping some of their top talent, which includes Skinner.
Another option could be winger Artemi Panarin, who was a top-line threat for Columbus this past season. Panarin tallied 27 goals and 82 points and served as a main proponent in the Blue Jackets qualifying for the playoffs. But after turning down the offer to talk about his extension, Columbus has assumably made him available.
Whether Nill is connected to these names in any fashion is unknown. By all means, Nill could be set with his current roster and be ready to test it out in 2018-19. It may only be a slight improvement, but you have to remember the solid roster that he already owned going into July 1.
However, there’s a chance that this offseason could just be getting started for the Dallas Stars. No one quite knows what to think when Jim Nill is at the helm. All you know is that there’s never a time when he’s not working and scanning his options.
July 1 is the big day (the Christmas Day) of each offseason. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only day. Just because you might think that the Stars got socks for Christmas doesn’t mean that there isn’t a new jet ski on backorder. Nill is good at working behind his back like that.
Next: Breaking Down The Stars' Moves On Day One Of Free Agency
There is still a lot of time between now and the beginning of training camp in Boise, Idaho. Their current roster could very well be the one they carry into opening night (which would be fine, but more on that later). But there’s still plenty of room and time to make some moves if Nill chooses to.
Stay tuned.