STARS WILL ADD IF RIGHT FIT IS FOUND

TORONTO, ON — After a weekend in Dallas, I almost forgot why this market is such an allure for so many pro athletes. The city, albeit quite spread out, continues to grow. Whether you’re single, dating or married with kids, DFW offers an array of accommodating areas and a multitude of options all within a comfortable drive.

For the NHL community, seeing the hockey fanbase expand is a big plus. The Stars have been doing their part to not only expand the game in the local and nearby neighbourhoods, but across parts of Texas, as well – and further growth is on the horizon, as team President and CEO Brad Alberts told us during our show, The Hot Stove, on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio.

Winning helps, too.

After a trip to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, the club missed the post-season the following covid-shortened season. Stars GM Jim Nill held firm, for the most part, recognizing the team’s young studs were on the verge of making an impact at the NHL level. Nill added a couple veterans – goalie Braden Holtby and defenceman Ryan Suter – to solidify the foundation of the dressing room, and the Stars secured the first wildcard seed in the West, returning to the playoffs but losing out in the first-round.

This past off-season, Nill made two impact moves to round out the roster – signing free agent Mason Marchment and acquiring defenceman Nils Lundkvist via trade. Their additions, along with youngsters Ty Dellandrea and Wyatt Johnston earning fulltime positions, suddenly gave Dallas a well-balanced, deep roster capable of competing for a championship.

The Stars are currently tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Central Division with 59 points, though Winnipeg has one game in hand.

With the NHL trade deadline just over six weeks away, the Stars could be an intriguing team to keep an eye on as Nill navigates the trade waters.

Nill joined me, Dennis Bernstein and Ryan Paton during The Hot Stove on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio from inside American Airlines Center, and he spoke candidly about his team and how they are approaching this year’s deadline.

The Stars recently wrapped up their amateur and pro scouting meetings, touching on all areas from the upcoming NHL Draft this June to how this year’s team is shaping up.

“We go through our team first. What’s our needs, what’s our weaknesses, what’s our strengths; what do we have for assets if we’re going to do something,” Nill said. “And then we go through the whole league.”

As I reported on NHL Network at the start of the season, the Stars are one of the teams that expressed an interest in entering the Patrick Kane sweepstakes if the veteran winger a) is willing to accept a trade out of Chicago, and b) would waive his no-movement clause and accept a trade to Dallas.

I get the sense the Stars would like to add to their middle-six forward corps. If Kane isn’t an option, I believe they’ll continue to explore alternative options. Among the players on the TFP Trade Watch List that come with attractive cap hits, which may still require their current club to retain on, Chicago’s Max Domi, Vancouver’s Bo Horvat and Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi could be targets.

Kane and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, along with their agent Pat Brisson, are still planning to meet with Chicago GM Kyle Davidson later this month – as I also reported last month – and the hockey world should have a little more clarity on their plans in the coming weeks. You can be sure Nill & Co. are just as curious.

While Nill wouldn’t address or hint to any specific player out there, he did acknowledge that there are some big names up for grabs around the league. He is also cognizant of the salary cap and any major addition the Stars make would likely result in someone coming off the roster, barring some incredible cap gymnastics.

“The league’s never been better. The parity has never been tighter. I think it’s going to go down to the wire,” Nill said, with respect to how active these six weeks will be leading up to the March 3 deadline.

“Leaguewide, it’s going to be interesting to see where this all goes. I’ve never seen the league so tight. Then you add in the cap, you add in the assets to get players. Who’s selling, who’s not. We hear out there that there’s some pretty marquee players available. How are they going to move? It’s going to be an interesting dynamic.”

With teams like the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes willing to take on contracts and weaponize their salary cap space, the Stars could explore the possibility of moving out a contract like Anton Khudobin’s to free up an extra $2.208 million of their own cap space. Certainly, they’ll have to add in a decent sweetener to entice a team, but that option is available.

Reminiscing on past deadlines both with the Stars and as an Assistant GM with the Detroit Red Wings, Nill also issued a word of caution. Some years, big moves pan out. Other years, they don’t. He and his staff are taking every possibility into account, from making adds due to potential injuries to even standing pat.

“Where I’m big on is the chemistry of your team,” Nill said. “These guys have battled hard all year. You’ve got to be careful of that, you don’t want to tinker with that. But you also want to be there and be able to say ‘hey, I respect what you guys have done, I want to be able to help you out.’ That’s where we’re going to balance the six weeks we’ve got until the deadline. A lot of things can happen.”

But for argument’s sake, if the team remains healthy and the right opportunity presented itself, would he make a move?

“We’ve sat down and we’ve analyzed it. You always want to get better,” he admitted.

OILERS REMAIN ACTIVE

The Edmonton Oilers have had talks with the San Jose Sharks about Erik Karlsson. They’ve spoken with the Montreal Canadiens about Joel Edmundson. They’ve chatted with the Arizona Coyotes about Jakob Chychrun. The list goes on and on.

Oilers GM Ken Holland is doing his due diligence, that much is clear. But when he decides to pull the trigger on a trade is anybody’s guess.

The Oilers want to add a top-four defenceman. They’re trying to move (stop me if you’ve heard this before) right wing Jesse Puljujarvi and his $3 million cap hit. Both items will happen, eventually. Perhaps in the same transaction. But the cap is definitely playing a role in Edmonton’s ability to make a move now versus later.

With Evander Kane expected to return to the lineup tonight – we’re waiting to see which player is being placed on LTIR to make the cap work – the Oilers want to see how their four lines play out before tinkering with their bottom-six, beyond potentially moving Puljujarvi.

Holland is active, but as Nill alluded to, leaguewide actively might not pick up until closer to D-Day.

THANK YOU, DALLAS

I’ve thanked the Stars organization privately, but I also want to acknowledge them publicly for all their work and help in allowing our crew to broadcast The Hot Stove from inside the AAC ahead of their game against Calgary.

From the PR and communication staff to the broadcast team, and to Alberts and Nill for taking the time to join us, y’all made the experience a fun and seamless one.