Deadline Day in Dallas

It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride this year for the Dallas Stars. The highlights included a 4-game win streak to start the year, before mediocracy stepped in. Then a mid-season 8 game win streak lifted the team out of the depths of despair. But it didn’t last long before the team fell back into the black hole which is the Central division. The only thing that has kept the Stars season alive is the dismal play of the teams around him in the standings.

So going into the trade deadline with the team spinning its tires, the team was stuck at a crossroads. Throw the towel in on the season and prepare for next year, or beef up a little and try and sneak into the playoffs.



Well, the competitor that GM Houghton is, throwing in the towel was never an option. The team was able to flex their financial muscle at the deadline and mostly send out a bunch of cash, a couple of picks, prospects, Johan Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak. In doing so, the team brought in a pair of rentals to anchor the 3rd and 4th line center positions in Alex Wennberg and Sam Bennett. While bringing in Cam Fowler on an affordable 2-year deal and added rental Radko Gudas for some defensive depth. With the moves as well, the team is mostly set for next season so don’t expect the Stars to be major players in free agency.

The early returns on the trades appear to be positive, as the team has strung a couple of wins together in hoping to create a bit of separation in the playoff race. With the playoffs just around the corner, the team will be looking to get some of that playoff mojo and get back to the Western Conference Finals for the 3rd consecutive year, and hopefully make it another round further. We should be in for an exciting finish in the Central playoff battle. The teams projected line-up now looks as follows:

Labanc-Barkov-Hughes
Huberdeau-Zib-Saad
Gurianov-Wennberg-L’Esperance
Ritchie-Bennett-Kunin

Pionk-Lindgren
Fowler-Spurgeon
Lindholm-Murphy
Gudas

Campbell
Lankinen