Dallas Stars and off season moves.

Ahhh it has been a while since I have sat down and written anything about the Stars (4 years of missed playoffs after up and down seasons will do that to you).

So back in November 2011 the Stars received the news the team and fans had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity for, they had a new owner. Tom Gaglardi was introduced on the 18th November and instantly fans started to dream of a return to the competitive Stars teams of the past.

Of course it doesn't just happen like that and after some extremely good off season signings under a very strict budget, Nieuwendyk managed to put together a team that once again looked promising all year long but ultimately fell short down the stretch.

Coming into this off season everyone expected change. With some big names like Parise and Suter, fans again began to dream about the team Joe could put together now that the financial noose was loosened but first the draft....

A lot of fans were shocked/disappointed/downright angry at Ribeiro being traded away for Cody Eakin and a 2nd round pick. People started to question why and what the team was going to do given the lack of centres in the team. Nieuwendyk said it is the start of a process to get younger and that there will be more changes to come. In the first round many Stars fans had been hoping we could pick up a top end centre but most felt that by the 13th pick there wouldn't be any of the top ones left. As it transpired the Stars actually had a choice of guys with many of the top 12 teams picking D so we selected Radek Faksa, a guy some scouts believe could jump straight into the NHL. Stars fans were once again excited but some wondered if this also meant a full rebuild with the departure of Ribeiro, could Faksa be our 2nd line centre?

Jump forward a few weeks and the start of free agency. Once again Parise and Suter were doing the rounds but in an interview with Nieuwendyk he confirmed they put forward a substantial offer for Parise but were told he would be going elsewhere. The realisation that Dallas is not an attractive destination anymore for free agents suddenly hit many fans. With that Nieuwendyk went out and signed Ray Whitney from the Phoenix Coyotes leaving many fans to enter into an uproar over his age and contract ($9m for 2 years). What many seem to have overlooked is that Whitney has been a consistent performer for a long time and for any rebuild to succeed you need a veteran presence to help the young kids develop. Nieuwendyk then when asked about the defence said they are hoping to involve Brenden Dillon next season as he impressed a lot last year. He then went out and signed Aaron Rome from the Vancouver Canucks once again putting fans into an uproar over signing another 5-7 defender potentially taking away a roster spot from Dillon. They may have had a point as of that signing the Stars (if you include Dillon) had 9 defenders for 6 spots, something had to give.

Yesterday came the real shock to the fan base. Fan favourite Steve Ott, after many rumours had finally been traded, along with Adam Pardy to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Derek Roy. This move has really split the fans as Ott was more loved by more fans than just about any other player on the team (except for maybe Benn). For me personally it made me both happy and sad, I was gutted to be losing Ott but over joyed to receive Roy (and get rid of an over paid Pardy). What this move does is go some way to replace the offence lost with Ribeiros departure and clears a bit of the log jam on D. Ott did a lot of great things for the Stars but he was never going to be a top 6 player on a team built to win. The Stars (and their fans) needed change....they just got it. Following this the Stars also went out and signed back Toby Petersen and some guy I had never heard of to two way deals. Chances are both guys will play in the AHL to help out down there.

As of right now I still do not think we are done, we are still below the cap floor and have spaces to fill. Jamie Benn will receive a big raise when he finally gets his extension and that will go someway to reaching the floor but I think there are still changes to be made. Many of these moves are stop gaps, players brought in to give the team some much needed depth and allow us to fully develop our young talent rather than forcing them into roles that are above them. Most importantly however this completely changes the dynamic of our top 6 and should give Benn more room to really grow his offensive game. As Defending Big D noted in a few articles over the off season, the way Benn and Ribeiros lines were deployed differed greatly. It became well known that Ribeiro was not the best player in his own end and Gulutzen tried to mask that by giving his line the majority of the offensive zone starts while Benn started most of his time in the defensive zone. Benn also saw most of his ice time against a much higher level of competition than Ribeiros line yet still managed to put up the points. The off season moves will allow the Stars to at least split that more evenly as Roy is a very good 2 way centre, far more capable of playing in his own zone than Ribeiro was. This should allow the Stars to give Benn a lot more offensive freedom and utilize him to the best of his abilities. How the top 6 shakes out as far as combinations is anyones guess but we have become a more rounded unit than before.

Of the players leaving the Stars, via UFA I will miss Souray. He was an extremely solid player and became well loved by fans and team mates. Only issue is he wanted a 3 year deal and the Stars were not prepared to commit that long which is understandable as they are looking to create openings for the young guys. The Ducks gave him those 3 years and I wish him all the best. Similar with Burish, he was offered a 4 year deal in San Jose so i do not blame him for grabbing it!

Players in:
Derek Roy (trade)
Ray Whitney (UFA)
Aaron Rome (UFA)
Cody Eakin (trade)
Antoine Roussel (UFA)

Players out:
Mike Ribeiro (trade)
Steve Ott (trade)
Sheldon Souray (UFA)
Adam Burish (UFA)
Adam Pardy (trade)
Eric Godard (buyout)

My wish list going forward..... Shane Doan


TL;DR: Change is good

Showoff.

I think more needs to be made of Beef's constant digs at the Red Wings for being old men, but yet Lidstrom retires, and the Stars sign the 3rd and 4th oldest players in the NHL (Jagr and Whitney).