Dallas Stars Official 2014 Offseason Thread

[terpsfball09]

Sorta shedding a tear as I make this, but here it is. So proud of the boys this year. We made a huge splash last offseason, so maybe we will again. This is what I want us to do.

*First off, anyone with espn insider please go to espn dallas and paste that article over what they should do next here*

Sign Roussel, Eakin, and Dillon.
It'll hurt, but let Fiddler walk.
SEE YA RAY FREAKIN WHITNEY
Do our best to trade gonchar, cole, Horcoff.
We have a huge surplus of defensemen, so try to trade one of the young guys and see what we can get. Whether its a Connauton or an Oleksiak, if the value of the return is right, pull the trigger.
Make a splash via a trade. Just like that year when we got Seguin, I want us to make one splash trade this offseason that no one expects. Ideally, a younger guy that can score goals, or play 2nd line center would be perfect. I really like Nazem Kadri, but there are others.
Sign someone big too, like a Kesler. Make one big trade and make one big signing.
This may hurt too, but I think we can get value from Chiasson, and I just see him as an average player. I don't think he does anything special. He gets in the trouble areas, but he's just average to me, but I feel that other teams may see differently cuz of his age, numbers, and price.
Call up Jack Campbell to back up Kari.

Then, through natural development of val, ALL of our defensemen, Sceviour, and pretty much anyone under the age of 30 will grow from this experience.

Let's see that espn article!

 

[jta4437]

After it seemed that they would be sending the series back to Southern California for a pivotal Game 7 against the Anaheim Ducks, the Dallas Stars lost in heartbreaking fashion, with a goal from Devante Smith-Pelly coming with 24 seconds left, and a Nick Bonino score just 2:47 into overtime to end the series.

It's a crushing defeat, but this season as a whole was a successful one for the Stars. Dallas ended its string of near-playoff misses, returning to the postseason for the first time in the past six campaigns.

The trade for Tyler Seguin was a complete success, as he built chemistry with Jamie Benn both on and off the ice. They’re going to be an elite duo that Western Conference opponents will have to deal with for a long time.

Now, it’s about building off this success without taking the step backward that sometimes follows for a young team that makes the playoffs. Here’s a look at the summer objectives for the Stars:

1. Construct a legitimate second line to ease pressure on the top line

The Stars are top-heavy, which typically doesn’t work particularly well in the playoffs. If teams find a way to shut down Seguin and Benn, who accounted for five of Dallas' 18 goals in the series, it puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of guys like Alex Chiasson, Cody Eakin and Ryan Garbutt.

Ray Whitney and his $4.5 million cap hit come off the books and there’s uncertainty about Rich Peverley's status for next season (at $3.25 million). The best young players in the organization up front are already playing at the NHL level, so it may mean another dip into free agency for the Stars, where there are plenty of wingers available.

2. Add another veteran defenseman

Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley are a legitimate top-four pair (Daley had two goals in Game 6), and posted strong possession stats together in the games against Anaheim. When Daley was on the ice at even strength through the first five games, the Stars controlled 61.8 percent of the shot attempts, although he started 58 percent of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone (per behindthenet.ca).

Brenden Dillon regularly played the toughest minutes against the toughest competition on the team during the regular season, and Jordie Benn finished the season plus-16, best among Stars defensemen. The Stars also have young defensemen coming, but could use at least one more veteran if they can move Sergei Gonchar, which they should.

Dallas can also let Tim Thomas walk, which gives Jack Campbell the opportunity to back up Kari Lehtonen as a way to ease into his NHL career.

3. Trade Sergei Gonchar

Okay, so not every move general manager Jim Nill made worked out perfectly. Gonchar will earn $5 million next season, which makes him the Stars' highest paid defenseman at 40 years old, after signing a two-year deal early in the Nill era. During the regular season, he played just 17:36 per game, and his possession stats weren’t good on a team that’s a good possession team, with the Stars controlling 48.8 percent of the even-strength shot attempts when he was on the ice, worst among Stars defensemen.

It got worse during the playoffs, where he was at 37.7 percent through five games (per ExtraSkater.com). He’s a guy who has averaged 0.64 points per game throughout his career, and that number dropped to 0.29 in Dallas this season, the lowest since he was a 23-year-old in Washington.

The Stars may have to eat some of the salary to make a deal happen, but sinking the full $5 million into Gonchar isn’t a wise move for a budget team.

 

[terpsfball09]

BTW... I just realized that we're gonna have ALOT of money to spend this offseason....

Whitney-4.5 mil
Fiddler- 1.8 mil
Peverley*- 3.25 mil
Rome- 1.5 mil
Thomas- (this is an estimate cuz of the trade) a little over 1 mil

Then, here's even more if we can manage to cut loose Cole, Horcoff, or Gonchare
Cole- 4.5 mil
Horcoff- 5.5 mil
Gonchar-5 mil

That may be the key to this offseason being something special guys. If we can get rid of those 3 names we'll have an extra 15 million to spend. Plus we already have something like 10 million from everyone else. We could manage to have 25 million dollars to spend this offseason. So maybe a huge superstar like an ovechkin, however unlikely it is, is feasible. I know forsure that we could afford Kesler, and and Ehrhoff.

If Nill plays his cards right, he could have 25 fuckin million to spend. Now, that's very unlikely because we'd most likely be paying for some of those guys to leave. But 20-21 million is possible. Ovechkin is worth 8 million a year. Plus I'm assuming we spend 6-7 million on Eakin Roussel and Dillon. Kesler would cost 5 or 5.5. I mean... that's all in the budget

 

[terpsfball09]

Thank you JTA, pretty much what I was saying we should do. I overexaggerate the things they need to do, as most fans do, but its the same line of thinking. Sign the RFA's, let the UFA's walk, trade Gonch, Horc, and Cole, and see what's available.

Chiasson, Connauton, I think Sceviour, and our first round pick (pretty weak draft this year, but next year is supposed to be BIG) should be fair game

 

[WilltheThrill]

We currently have 20 Million to spend on 8 empty slots (assuming we are forced to hold on to Cole, Rome, Horcoff, and Gonchar).

3 of the 8 "empty" slots are restricted free agents Dillon, Eakin, and Roussel. The Stars will keep all 3, I'm guessing somewhere in the 2-3 Million range per year on average for them. Let's say 2 for Roussel, 2 for Dillon, and 3 for Eakin. That leaves 13 Million to fill 5 spots.

However, if they use one of their compliance buyouts on Cole, that frees up $4.5 Million more. So that would give the Stars almost 18 Million to spend on 6 slots. A few of those slots will be filled with guys from the minors (like Campbell, Gaunce, Oleksiak, Ritchie, etc.). So assuming that 3 of those guys make the roster at a total of 2 Million, that would give the Stars around 16 Million to buy 3 top free agents.

They will have money to spend for sure.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I know we've mentioned Kesler already, but here are some of the best upcoming free agent forwards who the Stars might have some interest in:

Stastny
Gaborik
Cammalleri
Jussi Jokinen
Moulson
Vrbata

None of those guys are flawless, but any of them would be an upgrade to the Stars' 2nd line.

Also, a few guys who the Stars might look at acquiring via trade:
Weber
Kadri
Ovechkin
Grabovski
Myers
Byfuglien
Yakupov

Some of those guys are definitely available and some of them are more of a pipe dream.

 

[terpsfball09]

Oleksiak and Campbell should both be on the roster next year. 16 mil to spend.

BTW my mistake before, kesler actually isnt even an FA til 2016. He is probably very cheap though from a team looking to rebuild and costs 5 million. There's also names (in case the OVI plan falls through )
that I really like such as Matt Moulson, who would be perfect on our second line on the left side. Same goes for Kulemin of Toronto, although he may not be a playoff caliber second liner. Vanek's an FA. He would be nice, but expensive. Cammaleri and orpik are enticing names on the defensive side that arent TOO old.

Spend 3.5-4 million on Cammaleri. Spend money to get a player like the center from washington (graboski or something?) you could get him for about 3-3.5 million. Then make a trade for an impact player like an Ovechkin. I think that's very doable, and ovi and the other guy played on the same line together.

Tough to make all the pieces come together, and I'm sure its tough to get good FA's to wanna come here over pittsburgh and other places, but money talks.

 

[terpsfball09]

I know we've mentioned Kesler already, but here are some of the best upcoming free agent forwards who the Stars might have some interest in:

Stastny
Gaborik
Cammalleri
Jussi Jokinen
Moulson
Vrbata

None of those guys are flawless, but any of them would be an upgrade to the Stars' 2nd line.

Also, a few guys who the Stars might look at acquiring via trade:
Weber
Kadri
Ovechkin
Grabovski
Myers
Byfuglien
Yakupov

Some of those guys are definitely available and some of them are more of a pipe dream.

Was thinking Byfuglien as well. I like Gaborik alot, and I truly think he's the fastest guy in the nhl, but he'sll likely get more then any other FA this offseason.

 

[gregrey972]

My sports heart hurt for this team that I fell in love with over the past couple months...yes I know that qualifies me as a bandwagon fan, but after this season, I am in it for the long haul now! These guys are so much fun to watch and root for! Like I said, it was a painful loss last night, but the future has never looked brighter and reading your posts above has given me reason for even more optimism! I do not claim to be a life long hockey fan or know all the names you are referring to, but now is as good a time as any to start learning.

 

[terpsfball09]

I'm reading article after article that say that we need to replace Kari, because he's not good in big game situations. I don't think thats entirely true. Yes, he clearly choked last night. But there was a stretch where we couldnt score at all and he kept us in games. He's only like 30 years old. He's gonna get better and more mentally tough. Plus, Jack Campbell is gonna be really good as well, and he should be a very formidable backup. Many think that he's gonna be better then Fredrick Anderson, Darcy Kuemper, and other young prospects. He needs some NHL action because he's our goalie of the future. Its really nice when you have a stud in net. I watched boston play detroit, and Tuuka saved them so many times. When Campbell is in his prime I think he'll be something special

I think our goalie situation is fine. Defensively, we're gonna call up oleksiak, sign a veteran (hopefully someone like cammaleri) and pray to god we trade gonchar. Then, we can trade someone like Connauton who should get a good return.

Forwards, its all about our second line. We fill that out, we should be okay. I mentioned trading connauton earlier. Package him with another prospect and a pick and get a star. Sign a left winger and then put Sceviour or someone else on the right side.

I mean, I think that pretty much covers it. Our third line is great, and the fourth line will just be depth players like if we can't get rid of Horcoff or Cole. I guess putting it that way, its not THAT many changes. Goalie, you're simply calling someone up. Defensively, you're trading gonchar and hopefully connauton and making a big signing. Forwards, you're getting a second line that can actually score and has a big name. Kesler, Ovi, Gaborik, Kane, Moulson, Vanek (I really like those two) and so many more great options.

 

[terpsfball09]

I'm reading article after article that say that we need to replace Kari, because he's not good in big game situations. I don't think thats entirely true. Yes, he clearly choked last night. But there was a stretch where we couldnt score at all and he kept us in games. He's only like 30 years old. He's gonna get better and more mentally tough. Plus, Jack Campbell is gonna be really good as well, and he should be a very formidable backup. Many think that he's gonna be better then Fredrick Anderson, Darcy Kuemper, and other young prospects. He needs some NHL action because he's our goalie of the future. Its really nice when you have a stud in net. I watched boston play detroit, and Tuuka saved them so many times. When Campbell is in his prime I think he'll be something special

I think our goalie situation is fine. Defensively, we're gonna call up oleksiak, sign a veteran (hopefully someone like cammaleri) and pray to god we trade gonchar. Then, we can trade someone like Connauton who should get a good return.

Forwards, its all about our second line. We fill that out, we should be okay. I mentioned trading connauton earlier. Package him with another prospect and a pick and get a star. Sign a left winger and then put Sceviour or someone else on the right side.

I mean, I think that pretty much covers it. Our third line is great, and the fourth line will just be depth players like if we can't get rid of Horcoff or Cole. I guess putting it that way, its not THAT many changes. Goalie, you're simply calling someone up. Defensively, you're trading gonchar and hopefully connauton and making a big signing. Forwards, you're getting a second line that can actually score and has a big name. Kesler, Ovi, Gaborik, Kane, Moulson, Vanek (I really like those two) and so many more great options.

BTW, something I havent mentioned yet. I would like to personally apologize for my criticism of goli back in october and november. We often talk about how we got screwed in the Neal trade, which we did, but we had a choice between two defensemen. Goli and Letang. We chose Goli. Although Letang has played better in his career, it looks like Goli has finally found what he was missing, and now plays with a little edge. I was reading comments on pittsburgh's espn stories, and the fans want letang out. I know he had a stroke, but before AND after he's been back, he's played awful. He keeps taking really stupid penalties and is doing a very poor job at mishandling the puck. Meanwhile, Goligoski and Daley came into form and look like top-4 defensemen. They should be good for another season or two while Oleksiak, Dillon, and others grow up.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Terps, I hope you're watching Game 7 between Colorado and Minnesota because if not, you're missing one hell of a hockey game.

Also, it looks like San Jose is on the verge of losing their series after being up 3-0 in the series. Yet another playoff collapse for the Sharks. Maybe they might be looking to shake things up after yet another quick playoff exit... maybe a trade partner for the Stars?

 

[terpsfball09]

I watched it. I've always thought that the Neiderreiter guy was a stud. He's like a better version of Garbutt. He's so chippy and he hustles on both ends of the ice. That wrister is absolutely insane. Even the replay couldnt follow the puck.

I'm getting obsessive over this offseason. I'm constantly trying to find articles of what the experts think we'll do. So many combinations. With the rangers, we all had a general idea of "they'll go after choo" or "they'll trade a middle infielder." This I honestly don't know what to predict at all

 

[WilltheThrill]

I watched it. I've always thought that the Neiderreiter guy was a stud. He's like a better version of Garbutt. He's so chippy and he hustles on both ends of the ice. That wrister is absolutely insane. Even the replay couldnt follow the puck.

I'm getting obsessive over this offseason. I'm constantly trying to find articles of what the experts think we'll do. So many combinations. With the rangers, we all had a general idea of "they'll go after choo" or "they'll trade a middle infielder." This I honestly don't know what to predict at all

Yeah, there are so many ways the Stars could choose to address their needs this offseason. They have a good chunk of cap space to sign free agents and some assets to use for trade bait. The free agent list is already known and, while it's kind of thin on talent, there are definitely some names on there which would upgrade the Stars significantly. It's not exactly known yet which players might be on the trading block, although there are a few rumored names already.

One thing is for certain though. Jim Nill and Lindy Ruff have both said publicly that by far and away the team's top offseason priority is to bring in a true #1 defenseman. That would most likely be via trade since there aren't any true #1's in free agency. If I were Jim Nill, I would see what it would take to pry Shea Weber away from Nashville. They just re-signed him to a big contract, but there are rumors out there that Nashville might be re-thinking committing that money to him since they drafted Seth Jones, who will ultimately replace Weber down the road as the team's #1. I would back up the truck to bring Weber here. Basically name your price... Nichushkin, Chiasson, Ritchie, Nemeth, Oleksiak, Dillon, draft picks... you can have your choice. Trade for Weber and sign a true #2 center and the Stars are a contender in the West.

If Weber is out of play, my next choices would be Byfuglien or Letang (stroke and all). They are both rumored to be available and are better than anything Dallas has now. But I wouldn't pay anywhere near the same price for them as I would for Weber.

 

[terpsfball09]

I'm iffy on letang. I'm good friends with a die hard pittsburgh fan who watches every game and played semi professional hockey himself, and he says that letang is an awful defensemen. Gets beat alot so he's forced into stupid penalties, and he is not very disciplined. I think he's better then a Jordie Benn, for example, but I really like Shea Weber. You trade for him, I have a really hard time seeing us trade for an Ovi or a Kesler, but its a good start. Weber will be on the ice for significant amount of time per game and he's right handed... right? I think he is. When I watched him play in person I think I remember him being right handed. Its always good to have a split defensive line and not two lefties, like we had this season.

Now, Byfuglien is a guy I like. I also like Christian Ehrhoff. He's a guy that we could sign and he'd fit in nicely on the second line, assuming we want to keep Daley and Goli together on the first.

Throwing this out there, but what about a guy like Cam Fowler? I don't know what his price is, but I saw an article that said that we could trade that new goalie we just signed (Desrosier? or something) and a 2nd round pick and acquire him. If that's the case, we need to make it happen the second we can. Campbell is our goalie of the future, so everyone else is expendable at this point.

So many ways we could go. Frankly, I would rather talk about this all day then watch that god awful display in arlington right now.

Edit: Now that I think about it, when I watched him play, I think Weber was a lefty. I know I could google it and find out in two seconds if I wanted to, but I'm almost certain now that he's a lefty lol I was thinking of someone from st.louis.

 

[terpsfball09]

There are a few centers that I think would mold perfectly with our second line that we could get via trade. Kadri, and a guy I think hasn't been mentioned is logan couture. He's only 24 or 25. Carolina isn't close to contending, and Eric Staal is another name I like, except he is grossly overpaid imo.

We've talked about trading for Ovi alot.. but what about Niklas Backstrom? He's young, and I think he meshes with what we're trying to do better then ovi does, and is probably cheaper. He is also a decent two way player.

There are other names like Jason Spezza, Nugent-Hopkins, and of course Kesler. I just think this team needs a guy, ideally under the age of 28, who can go there and give our second line a scoring threat and also help on the power play. A right handed guy who's good at faceoffs would be nice as well. We have the pieces to trade for any of these players.

 

[terpsfball09]

On nhl trade rumors, there was a lot of talk about our offseason this morning. An article said that we were most likely NOT to keep Eakin as the number 2 center, and that we were probably either going to trade for kesler, or sign Paul Statsny. It said "Statsy is definitely on the stars radar."

Then, it spoke about the defense. "The Stars could look at Alex Edler, Christian Ehrhoff, Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov." It also said that "Matt Niskanen could be intriguing" but that he may not be interested in coming back.

Lindy wants a "top tier defensemen." OMG I can't wait for the draft. There are two really really good talents in the draft that may fall, similar to Val last year. One is the brother of bret ritchie, so we may have two sets of brothers on the team! The others name is Ehlers. Both are left wings. We are at number 14. Scouts say, that after the first 4 picks or so, all of the talent level is basically the same at each position for the next 20-25 players before it drops off. So, in seeing this, we have a ton of options. We can either trade up to assure us of one of the two players I mentioned before, stand pat and hope the rumors of one of them falling comes true, or we can trade down, considering that all of the talent is basically the same if those two names are taken, and hopefully we can get a good piece from whoever has the number 24 or 25 pick.

 

[terpsfball09]

If we were to get one of the two big names that could fall, either ritchie or Ehlers, people say that they could immediately go to our number two line at left wing. Then we could trade for a Kesler or Kadri That would be awesome, cuz then we would still have the prospects to trade for a Weber and still have the money to sign a RW, like a Gaborik, ryan callahan or even a guy like Jarome Iginla to two year deal. A line of a 1st round pick, Kesler, and Iginla would be incredible.

look good will?

 

[WilltheThrill]

If we were to get one of the two big names that could fall, either ritchie or Ehlers, people say that they could immediately go to our number two line at left wing. Then we could trade for a Kesler or Kadri That would be awesome, cuz then we would still have the prospects to trade for a Weber and still have the money to sign a RW, like a Gaborik, ryan callahan or even a guy like Jarome Iginla to two year deal. A line of a 1st round pick, Kesler, and Iginla would be incredible.

look good will?

I like your thinking with a lot of this, but there are just a few problems.

1) We wouldn't have enough money for Stastny, Weber, AND Gaborik/Callahan. We have a total of 20 Million to spend (approx). If we acquired Weber, that would eat up 8 of that 12 because Weber makes just a shade under 8 per year. Stastny is going to command 6-7 Million. He's already making 6.6M and he will get at least that much due to his great season and playoffs. So let's even figure low and say 6M. That would leave the Stars 6 Million to spend. Gaborik, Callahan, or Iginla would command 3-4M. So let's say 3. That would leave the Stars only 3 Million to re-sign Eakin, Roussel, and Dillon plus find a backup goalie. Even if the Stars use a buyout on Cole, that would leave the Stars only 8 Million to sign Eakin, Dillon, Roussel, and the backup goalie. Those guys will all get 2.5 M or somewhere close. Even if the Stars managed to trade away a few salaries for Weber and squeak in under the cap, they would have no wiggle room at all for any future moves.

2) The Stars would likely have to trade up to get Ritchie or Ehlers. There isn't much hope of either of them falling all the way to 14th. Nichushkin only fell to #10 because teams were scared off by the Russian KHL factor. There are no signability worries surrounding Ritchie or Ehlers. They might slip a few spots, but it's doubtful they'd fall all the way to 14.

3) It's also a bit of a long shot to pencil in Ehlers or Ritchie on the 2nd line. Ritchie is probably physically NHL-ready but maybe not quite skill-ready yet. It takes a very special player to be able to make the jump directly to the NHL right out of the draft, much less contribute significantly on a top 2 line. Last year's draft class was loaded with premiere skilled forwards and only MacKinnon performed as a top-6 forward. Barkov, Monahan, and Nichushkin all had spells of success, but none were true top 6 guys. And Drouin and Lindholm stayed in the minors. So just being realistic, I wouldn't pencil in a draftee onto their 2nd line.


I do like your thinking though. I think you proposed some great ideas. It might just be too much to make all of that come together. I see 2 realistic options:

1) Somehow land the big fish Weber in a trade, possibly sign a 2nd line center for around 5M, and then fill in with a few character depth players (maybe someone like a Cammalieri or bringing Fiddler back)
2) Spend more money on 2 forwards, for instance like a Stastny-Gaborik combo and then trade for a buy-low/high upside defenseman like Tyler Myers (who makes 5.5 M).

Also, I want no part of Christian Ehrhoff. He carries a cap hit of 4 Million for 7 more seasons. That's an absurd contract. He's 31, so he won't come close to playing those 7 seasons. He has only been very average since Buffalo gave him that crazy contract. He would upgrade the Stars' defense, but the cost would not be worth the small upgrade.

 

[terpsfball09]

Good stuff WIll. For whatever reason, I didn't factor in that after we traded for them, we'd have to still pay their contract. That's probably the first time in my life I've ever done that, but I read the article and got really excited about it.

So, we need to acquire a good defensemen and build a second line. The scouts were saying that Ritchie or Ehlers could be put at the number two line, but they're so young, I'm wondering if they need a year to develop. Our best option might be to trade for a young cheap center to run this line, like kadri. Hopefully we have more then 20 mil to spend by trading away 2 of the 3 large contract players that provide little to the team like gonchar cole and horcoff. If we manage to trade away two of these guys, then we can use the money from trading these guys to sign our 3rd line.

Then, we'll have 20 million to spend on 4 players. All on our 2nd line, and one defensemen. Assuming we trade for 2 of these 4 players, the teams we trade with will pick up a portion of the contract right? So, realistically, we'd be spending 20 million on 3 contracts worth of players, even though we'd be getting four players.

IDK will, we could be talking about all of this, and then they might end up putting a chiasson on the right side of that second line. That's fine and all, but it takes away his impact in a trade. Its also far more likely.

Okay, so if we keep chiasson, I'm assuming we make one trade and sign another guy to fill the rest of the line up. So, we could have a line of Cammaleri or Moulson/ Kesler/ Chiasson. Or if we do it the other way, we could have a line of Ovi or Kane or someone we could acquire realistically/ Statsny/ Chiasson.

In either of those scenarios in the last paragraph, unless we manage to somehow someway get Ovi, we'd have about 7 or 8 more million to spend. That's enough for a Weber, assuming Nashville takes some of the contract