Dallas Stars: Assessing Andrew Cogliano’s Impact Following Trade
Assessing Cogliano’s Effect On The Stars
Jim Nill wasn’t attempting to fix his team’s depth scoring problems when he acquired Andrew Cogliano on Jan. 14. Sure, if Cogliano helped a Dallas Stars team starving for offense put more pucks in the back of the net, that would be a nice bonus.
But when Nill went out and made the deal for no. 17, he did so in hopes of adding one primary factor: speed.
“In acquiring Andrew, we are able to add a conscientious player who brings a veteran-presence to our room,” Nill stated in the press release. “His explosive speed, 200-foot game and iron-man mentality will help our team both on and off the ice.”
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“Andrew Cogliano is one of the faster players in the NHL and you can never have enough speed,” Nill told Sean Shapiro of The Athletic shortly after the deal was announced. “Then his resume of winning that he’s done over the course of the career — add that and the piece of his play — it’s something you can never have enough of.”
In almost every question asked to him about Cogliano, Nill’s answer included the word speed, pace, or tempo.
And at that time, it was something that the Stars desperately needed.
At 23-20-4, the Dallas Stars had no consistent speed element to talk of in their play. Their style had been rooted in “defense first” hockey. Their transition play was lacking, which in turn led to their offense being inconsistent and somewhat irrelevant at times. Their forward group had once again become top-heavy in terms of production, Jim Montgomery couldn’t find an answer through line juggling, and the Stars were a mediocre team because of it.
To Nill, that all sprouted from their lack of speed. The Dallas lineup didn’t boast much speed in the forward group outside of Mattias Janmark and Roope Hintz, and that translated to the entire team looking slow and sluggish in action.
So, the Dallas GM went out and acquired a veteran forward known for his quickness. After all, a good attack starts with a fast pace.
And so far, it’s paid off for the Stars. In the past 10 games, the team has looked remarkably quicker and seems to be playing at a higher tempo than in the first half of the season. Much of that is due to Cogliano’s presence in the lineup.
In his first game with the Stars (which happened just one day after the trade), Cogliano skated on the second line. Dallas was up against the Tampa Bay Lightning, arguably the fastest team in the NHL, and the need for speed was as prevalent as ever. And though the Stars lost 2-0, there is an argument to be made that the Stars outplayed them by a steady margin. That all began with their speed.
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Dallas was quick in the transition game, moved the puck well, and created steady offensive possessions and chances because of it. Cogliano played a large role in helping churn the offense forward throughout the 60-minute push.
A few nights later, the Dallas Stars arguably played their quickest game of the season as they out-skated and out-hustled the Winnipeg Jets. Once again, Cogliano’s presence made a sincere and influential impact.
His speed has earned him a critical spot in the Dallas lineup. He has been moved to various lines throughout the 10-game stretch, but is bringing the entire team to a new level with his skating and forechecking abilities.
As a result, the Stars are 6-3-1 since his arrival. They look markedly faster as an entire unit, and the 31-year-old has been a driving force in getting them there.
In addition, he’s served as a valuable member of a Dallas penalty kill that has gone 25/29 (86.2 percent) since his arrival.
“Yeah, good. It’s just good to contribute. At this point, it doesn’t matter who scores; it’s all about the win. I kind of needed it with the four-minute minor. But like I said, it’s all about winning at this point.” –Cogliano after scoring his first goal as a Star on Feb. 1
Cogliano has one goal and three points along with a rating of 0 in ten games with the Stars. He’s only averaging 12:23 of ice time per game, but is making the most out of it and filling a void that had held the Stars back from truly thriving through the first three months of the season.
His speed and aggressiveness have helped close out tight games during crunch time, he’s playing valuable shorthanded minutes, and he’s finding ways to get the Dallas offense going regardless of what line he skates on. His possession numbers are also remarkably impressive (59.8 CF%). To top it all off, he’s been a valuable and vocal veteran leader in the dressing room. Mix all of that with his extensive playoff background and the Dallas Stars seem to have gotten just what they needed at a critical point in the year.
Depth scoring additions can wait until the trade deadline, anyways.
Assessing Shore’s Impact On The Ducks
When a team loses eight games in a row like the Dallas Stars did in March 2018, the need for sincere change is clear.
But when a team loses 11 in a row (0-7-4) like the Ducks did from Dec. 18 to Jan. 13, the need for change is practically punching you in the face.
So, shortly after the Ducks’ 4-3 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 13, Anaheim GM Bob Murray picked up the phone. A few hours later, he made the deal to bring in Devin Shore.
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For the Ducks, the motive was simple: send a veteran forward that is struggling with scoring to another team in exchange for a cheaper, younger forward with enthusiasm and energy that has the potential to be a playmaker. That addition would hopefully lead to more goals for another team struggling to find offense.
As a former second-round pick from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Shore spent the past few seasons cementing himself in the NHL. He played two consecutive 82-game seasons for the Dallas Stars from 2016-18, but was never able to be what Dallas needed him to be: a consistent depth scorer.
After posting a career-high 13 goals during his rookie campaign, he netted 11 in his sophomore season. And through 42 games with Dallas in the 2018-19 season, his goal total sat at five.
But, the potential still seemed to be there. Shore was a solid penalty killer in his time with Dallas, had the ability to play both at center and on the wings, and could fit on just about any line. His creativity as a forward often earned him time on the power play as well, and that’s where Anaheim viewed his primary value (aside from the fact that he was seven years younger than Cogliano).
And through 11 games with the Ducks, he’s got a similar stat line to his trade counterpart. Shore has posted one goal and four points in his time with Anaheim while skating an average of 16:36 per game. That’s the highest ATOI of his career and he’s being given opportunities both on the power play and penalty kill.
The problem? Well, it’s similar to the one he had in Dallas.
Shore currently owns a -8 rating in a Ducks uniform. Last season, he posted the worst rating in Stars franchise history with a -30. And while a player’s on-ice rating isn’t the only judge of their overall effectiveness, it plays a part.
He’s been stuck in the defensive zone for much of his time in Anaheim and his possession numbers are lackluster (46.5 CF%). Shore also cannot seem to help their offense get moving again. The Ducks are averaging just 1.45 goals per game since his arrival. As a result, they are 3-8-0 since the trade occurred and are 3-15-4 since mid-December. They now sit in last place in the Western Conference, have fired their head coach, and are in search of some sort of positive note to build on.
The addition of Shore helped the Ducks get younger on offense and potentially build towards the future. But at the moment, it hasn’t helped them get out of their horrific midseason funk.
Grading The Trade Through One Month
After 31 days of action, it’s clear that the Dallas Stars gained the upper hand on this one. While the long-term results have yet to be hammered out, the Stars play and look like a better team with Cogliano in the lineup. Meanwhile, the Ducks are still trying to sort out a long list of problems.
This trade came at a critical time for the Dallas Stars. With their record trending towards the .500 mark and the rest of the Western Conference heating up, Nill knew that it was time to act.
But, instead of going out and trying to reel in a high-scoring offensive asset, he scanned the market in hopes of fixing a certain element of his team’s game. Picking up Cogliano helped the Stars with their speed, transition game, penalty killing, and offensive output. It gave Dallas a spark that wasn’t there before his arrival and put the team back on a winning track in an ever-so-crowded playoff race.
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If the Dallas Stars can continue rolling with Cogliano serving as a key cog in their game plan, this could go down as one of the better trades in Nill’s history as general manager of the team.
It’s tough parting ways with a homegrown player like Shore, but Nill saw the need and pulled the trigger. As a result, the Stars are 6-3-1 with the new no. 17 in the lineup and sit in a playoff spot in mid-February.
There is still room to improve and areas that need fixing in order for Dallas to be an assured challenger, but the Stars became a better team one month ago today. Cogliano is filling necessary voids and has added a new leadership element to the locker room.
And, if the Stars can continue getting production out of no. 17 and punch their ticket to the postseason, his 64 games of playoff experience will come in great handy with a relatively young locker room.
“This is playoff hockey at this point,” Cogliano said after the Stars’ win over the Wild on Feb. 1. “Is there a ton of experience in here? No. I think we have younger guys and have guys that have come up and played. But, at this point in the season, those are the games you are going to get. So, when you start winning those games, you gain confidence and then you start really believing you’re a good team and you can do some good things. Those are the games you want to win at this point of the season.”
Speed and leadership is what the Dallas Stars needed at the midway point in the 2018-19 season. They got both with the addition of Andrew Cogliano.
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Let’s see where it carries them through the final 26 games of the regular season.