Dallas Stars: Breaking Down The Devin Shore/Andrew Cogliano Trade
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars opened up their 2019 trading season on Monday morning by sending Devin Shore to Anaheim in exchange for Andrew Cogliano. What exactly are the Stars losing and what are they getting in return? Let’s break it down.
Unexpected trades have become a bit of a natural occurrence for the Dallas Stars.
In the 2015 offseason, they crafted a blockbuster deal for Patrick Sharp even after claiming that they weren’t looking to trade for him. In 2017, they sent Jordie Benn to the Montreal Canadiens just 58 games after signing him to an extension. Even though the Stars turned into sellers at the deadline, trading Benn was not necessarily on the agenda.
On Monday morning, GM Jim Nill added another unexpected chapter to his trade history when he sent forward Devin Shore to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Andrew Cogliano.
It’s an unexpected move for a few different reasons. On the one hand, Shore signed a two-year deal with the team in the 2018 offseason. As a 2012 second-round pick by the Stars, he had established himself as a durable and energetic winger that Dallas used throughout their bottom nine. Shore worked his way up through the system, was a homegrown piece of the organization, and served the Stars in a variety of ways both at even strength and on special teams.
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On top of that, the NHL Trade Deadline is scheduled for Feb. 25, 2019. With over one month to go before the trade market heats up, it’s a bit strange to see the Stars make an early player-for-player move simply for depth purposes.
Now, the trade came together relatively quickly for the two sides on Sunday night and was finalized on Monday morning. It’s a move between two teams in the Western Conference playoff race, with Dallas sitting third in the Central division and Anaheim tied for the final wild card spot. Both teams are currently looking for a spark on offense and saw an opportunity to make a deal. But still, the move kind of came out of nowhere.
And yet, this is a move that could change the Dallas Stars landscape. Emotions aside due to Shore’s status as a fan favorite, this was a move that the Stars might have needed.
Losing Shore hurts the Stars in a handful of different ways and gaining Cogliano should improve various areas of their strategy and execution. But, is this a move that will ultimately help Dallas in the long run? Is this a trade that will spark further moves? Are the Dallas Stars a better or worse team because of it?
Let’s break down the trade from each side and take it in from different stances.