The Simple Trade Deadline Addition: An internal star within the organization

The roster of the Dallas Stars has seen some wild changes in recent weeks. The Stars lost Tyler Seguin week-to-week with a lower-body injury and Evgenii Dadonov indefinitely with a lower-body fracture. The Stars also called up top prospect Logan Stankoven, traded for Chris Tanev, and lost Joel Hanley to waivers, all while getting back Nils Lundkvist and Jani Hakanpaa from recent absences. 

As we approach the trade deadline, the NHL club searches for consistency. This includes a dedicated lineup of players who can stay healthy and perform at the highest level as we move into the playoffs. If management thinks the team needs more reinforcements, we may see a player like Nick Seeler make his way to Dallas through trade. However, one key player who can contribute to a strong playoff team performance is already in the organization: Mavrik Bourque.

Mavrik Bourque is leading the American Hockey League (AHL) scoring race with 61 points in 53 games. Among players with more than 30 AHL games this season, Bourque is 2nd among active AHLers in Points Per Game (P/GP) with 1.15, behind only Samuel Fagemo, who has 1.26 P/GP, including 29 goals in 35 games with the Ontario Reign (the LA Kings’ AHL affiliate). 

It’s fair to say that Mavrik Bourque is a top AHL offensive force this season. Looking at the AHL scoring leaders, there are few players in the ‘minors’ at this point in the season with such high point totals and no NHL call-ups. Stankoven was leading the AHL in points at the time of his NHL call-up, and since he left for the NHL (and presumably won’t come back), Mavrik Bourque has kept his offense going:

Mavrik Bourque stats since Logan Stankoven's call-up (February 20th):

• Games: 7
• Goals: 2
• Assists: 4
• Points: 6

Bourque can hold his own. We saw it with Shawinigan, where he practically put up 2 Points Per Game in his last year of junior hockey. We’re seeing it now in Year 2 of pro hockey with and without Logan Stankoven's help. The last question is: can he hold his own in NHL games?

There can only be speculation at this point, but consider this:

Among U23 AHL players since 2009-2010 to play 50+ games, Mavrik Bourque is 2nd in Points Per Game behind only Seth Griffith’s 1.35 P/GP in 2015. 

Bourque is tied with Mikko Rantanen’s 2015 P/GP at 1.15. Bourque’s 1.15 P/GP is ahead of 50+ game AHL seasons from guys like Josh Norris, Dylan Strome, Drake Batherson, Daniel Sprong, Alexander Holtz, Jacob Pelletier, Jonathan Marchessault, etc. These are legitimate NHL players and highly-regarded prospects. Mavrik Bourque is in good company with the season he’s currently having, his NHL debut is right around the corner.

Keep in mind that there is no salary cap in the playoffs, so Mavrik Bourque can join Dallas for the playoffs either after Texas’ season ends or even earlier depending on their interest in Bourque as an asset to the Stars’ lineup.

Here is the current Dallas Stars NHL lineup without Tyler Seguin, Evgenii Dadonov, and Chris Tanev:

Here is what the Dallas Stars playoff lineup could look like (fully healthy + Bourque):

Extras: Bourque, Smith, Dellandrea, Hakanpaa

I don’t like Mavrik Bourque on the fourth line, and I’m having trouble finding a spot for him. If Joe Pavelski gets banged up and needs a rest day, I could see Johnston moved to 1RW and Bourque at 3C. This still leaves out guys like Craig Smith and Ty Dellandrea, which shows how crowded our forward group is. This could imply a trade before March 8th to free up a spot for Bourque/Dellandrea, or we may have 15 NHL-quality forwards going into the no-salary-cap playoffs. 

As we await Bourque's NHL debut, it's great to see him thriving in the AHL despite Logan Stankoven's absence. Bourque's consistency should push the envelope on an NHL call-up. When Stankoven, Bourque, and Johnston are at the NHL level together, they could be an unstoppable force.

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