Two weeks ago, the Dallas Stars traded for Taylor Fedun after the defensive injuries really hit their lowest point.
The Dallas Stars were already out Stephen Johns, Marc Methot, and Connor Carrick, but then the unthinkable happened and John Klingberg went down.
Shortly after that, Roman Polak got sick, and suddenly the Stars were playing the 12th guy on the depth chart because there were also injuries at the AHL level.
The Stars made the choice to go out and trade for an older defenseman who had some experience as a little bit of extra help that wouldn’t have a serious impact on their salary cap, and that guy was Taylor Fedun.
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Fedun is 30, but he only has 46 NHL games under his belt, and he’s spent most of his time in the AHL.
During those NHL games, he hasn’t been amazing, but he’s been alright, and he might be able to help out with the mess that is the Stars defense.
To free up a spot for Fedun, the Stars sent Ben Gleason back down to the AHL. Gleason had an amazing first game, but he had some struggles through his two stints with the team, and they decided to switch things up again.
One of the great things about both Gleason and Fedun playing for the Stars this year is that they were low-risk guys for the Stars to add. Gleason was a cheap free agent and Fedun was traded for just a draft pick.
The pick that the Stars used to acquire Fedun is conditional. Buffalo only gets a 2020 7th round pick if he plays at least 25 games for the Stars during the 2018-19 season, including the playoffs. If he does end up playing in some playoff games, Stars fans will be thrilled, since it means they’re actually in the playoffs, but he probably won’t get 25 games this season.
Carrick will hopefully be back in the next few weeks, Methot is skating, and Klingberg only has another month. Even with one or two of them back in the line-up, Fedun will probably head back to the Texas Stars unless he’s outplaying the other call-ups.
Of course, if he’s outplaying the other guys and earning a roster spot, the Stars will be happy to give up a 7th round pick to have him play more than 25 games. It was a win-win trade for the Stars, except for the part where they’re missing half of their defensemen to injuries.
Fedun will start tonight with Joel Hanley on the third pairing, but pairings have been changing a lot mid-game, so that may not stick.