Dallas Stars: Assessing Andrew Cogliano’s Impact Following Trade
By Josh Clark
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.