Dallas Stars: Wrapping Up, Grading Their 2019 Trade Deadline Moves

The Dallas Stars spent their Monday on a relatively quiet note as the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline came and passed. As a result, the team is done with adding players for their push to the postseason. Let’s take a moment to look back at all that they did during this busy trade season.

When the clock hit 2 p.m. CT on Monday afternoon, it seemed as though the future of the 2018-19 Dallas Stars became a little bit clearer. And yet, at the same time, there’s reason to believe that it’s foggier than ever.

The 2019 Trade Deadline kept the entire league stuck in a busy whirlwind throughout Monday morning and into the early afternoon. Rumors were passed around, big names were traded, and certain teams got stronger or weaker all at once. Quietly present in the middle of this whirlwind was Stars GM Jim Nill.

Just 24 hours prior, however, Nill had his sights set on one thing: the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After spending his Saturday afternoon heavily involved in the trade market, the Stars reeled in two new pieces in defenseman Ben Lovejoy and forward Mats Zuccarello. It looked as though the moves had all but wrapped up the Stars’ deadline endeavors and had the team set up for a strong final push to the postseason.

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But, things quickly changed in the most unfortunate way possible. Not even 40 minutes into what had been a stellar debut, Zuccarello broke his arm against the Chicago Blackhawks after blocking a shot. Upon initial evaluation, it was estimated that the injury would require at least four weeks to fully heal.

Just like that, the Dallas Stars were back to square one when looking for an answer to improve their struggling offensive attack. Zuccarello had provided an immediate boost and impressive force to the Dallas offense in his first two periods with the team, but now finds himself unable to aid the attack until at least late March.

So Nill quickly reassumed his deadline post, manning the phones and looking for another option to help his team along in their playoff push. But with limited assets (including no first-round picks) to offer to potential sellers and limited time to indulge in serious talks, the Stars somewhat had their hands tied.

And while there had been plenty of transactions in the NHL by the time the 2 p.m. deadline hit, the Dallas Stars weren’t involved in any of them. Nill confirmed shortly after the deadline passed that he had talked with some other teams throughout Monday morning, but that nothing transpired.

Meanwhile, almost every other Central division team made at least one move. The Nashville Predators picked up Mikael Granlund and Wayne Simmonds, Minnesota added Kevin Fiala, the Blues secured Michael Del Zotto, the Avalanche traded for Derick Brassard, and the Winnipeg Jets added a prime piece in Kevin Hayes.

But, with every deadline can come a certain sense of tunnel vision for fans. In other words, if their team doesn’t make a move on the day of the deadline, that team, in essence, has “failed” and wasted a valuable opportunity at bettering themselves in preparation for the homestretch.

The Stars didn’t waste this year’s opportunity. In fact, Jim Nill crafted multiple deals in an attempt to better his team. While some early-season moves were made in response to injuries and various other outlying factors, Nill has been particularly busy in the market over the past 50 days. And through 62 games, his actions have Dallas at 31-26-5 with 67 points and in control of the first wild card spot.

Though he may not have been able to do anything on Monday during a crisis situation, his early actions were committed in an effort to better the team ahead of time and get them ready for the playoff push.

So, as this 2019 trade season comes to a close, let’s take a quick look back at all that Jim Nill has done to improve the Dallas Stars over the last two months.

Stars Send Fourth-Round Pick To Penguins For Oleksiak

In a complete reversal of the trade that happened on Dec. 19, 2017, the Dallas Stars reacquired defenseman Jamie Oleksiak from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 28, 2019. In return, the Stars sent back the 2019 fourth-round pick that Pittsburgh had included in the first trade. In other words, it’s like the trade never happened.

With Dallas losing Marc Methot for the rest of the season with a knee injury and Stephen Johns still not playing in a game so far this year, the Stars needed size in their back end. With smaller, puck-moving defenders like Esa Lindell (6-3, 215 lb.) Miro Heiskanen (6-1, 185 lb.), and John Klingberg (6-2, 180 lb.) making up the majority of the team’s defensive group, there was a lingering need for a big, physical body.

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So, Nill brought Oleksiak back in. After playing an important role for the Penguins in 2017-18, he had fallen from grace and was stuck in the healthy scratch rotation. With that being said, the Penguins had put him back on the trade block when the Stars came calling.

Oleksiak hasn’t done anything spectacular since returning to Dallas, with no points and a -1 rating in an average of 12:56 of playing time per game. He’s been caught in some defensive breakdowns and still seems to struggle with shutting down the opposing offense at times, but his 25 hits and physical nature in 13 games makes him a somewhat favorable add.

FINAL VERDICT: C. The Stars didn’t get markedly better with this trade, but they didn’t get worse. Being physical can also come in handy at important times during a regular season or playoff run, so his presence could end up paying off in a big way down the road.

Stars Send Carrick, Third-Round Pick To Devils For Lovejoy

As the 2019 Trade Deadline approached and the Dallas Stars continued to assess their playoff position and needs, one thing continued to stick out: their lack of depth scoring (or any scoring, for that matter).

But on Saturday, they didn’t address that need immediately. Instead, they started the day off by acquiring defenseman Ben Lovejoy from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Connor Carrick and a 2019 third-round pick.

The reasoning for Dallas making the deal was rooted in their hopes of rounding out their defensive group. With the various injuries that had plagued the Stars’ blue line through the first 60 games of the season, Nill picked up Lovejoy to give the coaching staff another option to use.

Pucks and Pitchforks

Lovejoy is a veteran defender at 35 years old and has a competitive history that includes three different teams, seven trips to the playoffs, and one Stanley Cup championship in his 11 years of NHL play. He’s a stay-at-home defender that can help on the penalty kill, play heavy minutes, and work well with younger defensemen.

“He’s really what we’re looking for,” GM Jim Nill said of Lovejoy on Saturday. “A real steady guy, good penalty killer, he can eat big minutes back there. That’s just going to help to move the minutes around on the back end.”

Lovejoy possesses decent size and gives the Stars another veteran leader in the locker room. That kind of presence can be hard to come by at times, but can be a critical one to have during an intense race to the playoffs. That’s something that the Stars find themselves stuck in the middle of right now, so the hope is that he will be an asset that helps them close out big games and surge into the postseason.

In his first game with the team, he did a respectable job. Besides one turnover to Jonathan Toews that resulted in a breakaway, Lovejoy finished at a +1 with three blocked shots, two hits, and two penalty minutes in 18:03 of ice time. 3:13 of that was spent on the penalty kill.

“I thought he was really good,” Montgomery told DallasStars.com after the game. “He did an incredible job for us.”

In exchange, the Dallas Stars sent Connor Carrick and a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Considering the small number of veteran rental defenders on the market, Nill likely had to offer the pick in as a sweetener, which isn’t a terrible move by any means. It was becoming obvious that the Carrick experiment hadn’t worked in the way that the Stars had wanted and that he wasn’t a part of the team’s long-term plans. As a result, they had an opportunity to dish him for a valuable return.

FINAL VERDICT: B. Lovejoy isn’t necessarily a “game changer” by any means, but he brings leadership and experience to a young Dallas roster that could use it during the most important time of the season. In addition, his $2,666,667 AAV will come off the books in the upcoming summer, giving the Stars the option to extend him or move on, depending on how he does in the games ahead.

Stars Send Two Conditional Picks To Rangers For Zuccarello

To wrap up their 2018 trade season endeavors, Nill swung for the fences.

Just minutes after he watched his team get shut out in a pathetic 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on home ice, Nill finalized a trade for forward Mats Zuccarello in exchange for two conditional draft picks.

As a longtime Ranger, Zuccarello has been a cornerstone in the NYR offense for the past six seasons. While averaging 18 goals and 58 points per season, he provided a spark, speed, and a hefty dose of creativity to the NY scoring attack.

Gone Puck Wild

But with the Rangers in the midst of a rebuild and Zuccarello in the middle of his prime at age 31, he’s been one of the names on the trade market since the 2018 Trade Deadline. The Rangers finally pulled the trigger on Saturday by sending him to Dallas in exchange for a conditional 2019 second-round pick and conditional 2020 third-round pick.

And in his Dallas debut, Zuccarello was electric. He was all over the offensive zone, creating chances for himself and his line-mates. He was immensely crafty with the puck and knew exactly where to be when he didn’t have it.

Through two periods, Zuccarello already had one goal, two points, a +3, and four shots on goal in 13:35 of ice time. Unfortunately, that’s where his red-hot debut came to a skittering halt.

Zuccarello missed the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot by Connor Murphy late in the second period. Following the end of the game, it was determined that no. 36 would have to return to Dallas for further evaluation and would miss at least four weeks.

On Tuesday morning, Zuccarello will have surgery to put a plate in his arm that will help heal the broken bone. The timetable is still at four weeks, making his return set for sometime in March.

It’s a nightmare that every general manager fears but only few ever actually have to suffer through. The Stars made a trade for a big-name player and gambled a big portion of their future, got a small taste of how good they can be with their new piece, and then watched as that dream was crumbled up for four weeks. That’s a rough and scary reality.

On top of that, Dallas gave up two conditional picks that could become heftier prices. If the Stars win two playoff series this year, their 2019 second-round pick will become a first-round pick. And if Zuccarello re-signs with the team, the 2020 third-round pick will also turn into a first-round choice.

Pucks and Pitchforks

That’s your two highest selections over the next two years spent on a player that won’t be able to help in the most critical point of the season (which is why they initially brought him in). It was a calculated gamble that has now turned into a significant risk.

But it will now be up to the slightly-improved 2018-19 Dallas Stars to forge ahead and stay competitive in the postseason hunt over the next four weeks. They will have to go through most of it without the help of Zuccarello and will anxiously await his return from injury.

FINAL VERDICT: A. Speaking solely from a deal standpoint, the Stars got a good one here. Nill found a way to add one of the top names on the market and it was clear that he can make a significant difference when in the game. He helped the Dallas Stars offense see just how good they can be.

The sudden injury is a painful blow, but those cannot be prepared for. And while the price seems somewhat steep, put it in retrospect. If the Stars have to give up a 2019 first-round pick, that means they are at least in the Western Conference Finals and Zuccarello played at least 50 percent of the postseason games. And if they give up their 2020 first-round pick, that means that the Stars have Zuccarello as an offensive weapon for the next handful of years.

It’s unlikely that both end up coming true, but the Dallas Stars will get some good out of either situation. That’s a positive.

Overall, the 2019 trade season has been unusually busy for GM Jim Nill. Maybe that’s due to him feeling his seat getting warm, or maybe it’s simply due to his desire to do whatever is necessary to make his team better. Heck, maybe it’s even a mixture of both.

But whatever the case may be, Nill made sure to use the trade season to his advantage. He observed various holes in his lineup and tried to fix the majority of them in as cost-friendly of a way as possible.

And now, the regular season reaches it’s final marker: the homestretch.

Let’s see what this new-look Dallas Stars team has left in the tank.