Hope and Change could be an illusion for the Stars as well

by Brad Gardner on Jun 2, 2009 4:13 PM CDT

[Note by Brandon Worley] Big thanks to Flacolaco for his contribution. This FanPost is a perfect example of what will automatically get promoted to the front page.

The Dallas Stars finished the 2008-2009 season with the 6th highest goals against average in the league; A whopping 3.06 GAA. Some will point fingers at the goaltender, and rightfully so, but blame can be equally apportioned between Marty, the PK, the coaching, the injuries, and the defensive players themselves. The general consensus is that a two pronged off-season attack of, a) Trade or sign new defensemen and, b) Find backup goaltender is a sensible and prudent course of action to take.

In other words, Stephan Robidas is not a #1 d-man in this league.

But it's not as easy as going to the store and picking up a new #1.

The signing of Joe Nieuwendyk as the Stars general manager has done little to dissuade anyone from expecting this approach to the off-season and free agency. While discussing the budget limitations of the the new sports market place, Mr. Hicks said that they would have a budget in place in roughly three weeks. Great, let's go out and 65spend some money, right?

How many roster spots do you have?

Cap room?

Will Zubov play? Will he play 60 games? 40?

What free agents do you go after?

Can you swing a trade?

The cases for new faces

When you think Joe Nieuwendyk, you think of the guy that would fly down the right side of the ice and unleash a wicked wrister from 25 feet out that would somehow find the top corner of the net. Not defense. But Joe played for the Stars in a time when Hitch had things buttoned down tight. The team was known for shot blocking. The team was known for grinding things to a screeching halt and absolutely smothering a hockey game once it got to the third with a lead. Then Mr. Nieuwendyk went to the Devils. Same thing, right? Defense. Goaltending. Stanley Cup.

So when the new Stars General Manager looks at what he's got, and thinks about how he won as a player, there's a pretty large disconnect there. We don't have a Matvichuck. We don't have a Hatcher or a Ludwig. We had a Sydor last year, but it ain't the same model, now is it? We have a Zubov. But it's old and it's broken down. Joe might want some new toys to play with.

But what about Niskanen? What about Fistric? What about all that time spent bringing along this young crew? Joe Nieuwendyk didn't draft them. He didn't scout them. He didn't spend a lot of time bringing them along and giving them a shot. He certainly didn't give Trevor Daley that contract. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what weighed heaviest on his mind when he pondered the job offer. Everything we thought we knew about how the team was invested in these young players might get completely thrown out the window.

Or is it more of the same?

All that being said, the reality of the situation might cause the Stars to pick up a favorite saying of Avery Johnson and Donnie Nelson's in recent years regarding the Dallas Mavericks: "We like our team"; Which I always took as "We are unwilling or unable to move anyone right now or sign any free agents, so stop asking."

Reality #1: The Tom Hicks "internal budget": We heard a lot about the "internal budget" last year, and though more than enough Stars hit the long term IR to free up some cap space all we ever got out of it were Steve Begin and Brendan Morrison; both presumed gone now.

Reality #2: Trade chips. We don't "got em": Call another GM and who are they going to ask you about? James Neal? Jamie Benn? (if they're feeling lucky)...Ivan Vishnevskiy maybe? They were clamoring for Matt Niskanen at the trade deadline of the infamous Brad Richards deal, but what could you get for him now? Could you trade Trevor Daley and his bloated contract? GM-Joe was hyping "building through the draft" yesterday, I doubt we'll be parting with any draft picks of significance.

Reality #3: Free Agents: Which ones do you like? Here is a list of defensive free agents in this years pool. Which one's float your boat? And forget Bouwmeester, it's not happening and you know it. Let's assume we're not gearing up for an all or nothing season, first of all. Heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Modano and Zubov, but I don't think a win right now this year approach is being applied. Let's assume free agents in their twenty's, and reasonably priced are ideal. After reading between the not so subtle lines of yesterdays press conference, let's assume we won't be handing out any 8 year deals (a la Gomez or Cambpell, etc) either. Who does it leave? Who will be reasonably priced after the Canadian teams jack up the prices and give away crazy contracts?

Reality #4: That little tidbit yesterday offered by GM-Joe: "onus on the forwards". That was one of the first things that came out of his mouth yesterday, and caught everyone's ear.

Reality #5: Nieuwy called Zubov "one of the elite players in the league" yesterday. That's his opinion, and could be just words, but they don't comfort my need to see some real change on the blue line.

Soooo.....?

GM-Joe certainly has good cause to go this way or that as he chooses, but unless he pulls of a monster of a trade, the defense could look much the same next season as it did the last. The young players could continue to improve, Robidas could benefit from less minutes, and Zubov could return to form for another year or two. In a world where Brett Hull was General Manager of a National Hockey League team, anything is possible.

This is a user-created FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Defending Big D. FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable hockey and Dallas Stars fans.

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Comments

While I agree that the Stars certainly need to acquire a defenseman

I still think that with one key addition this unit could become much more balanced than they were last season. While they certainly had some growing pains at the beginning of last season, the young guys really grew stronger later in the season and should continue to improve next season.

Fistric is turning into a Hatcher-like physical presence and has shown that he does have the ability to contribute some offensively. Grossman is solid, and has a big shot. Niskanen has tremendous upside and had a much better second half than first.

Daley is Daley. Some great plays, some boneheaded ones. But when he is flying with the puck, it’s a lot of fun to watch.

I can absolutely see Nieuwendyk spending the next few seasons putting together a defensive corps that is much more to his liking over the net 4-5 years, but for now they have to do what they can with what they have. Perhaps Vishnevskiy is the next big offensive d-man for the Stars. Perhaps Fistric can be that booming physical guy in front.

But hoping for a return to the blue liners of the late Nineties just because Nieuwendyk is back with the team is a pipe dream. It’s just not that easy, although I do agree that he will be focusing on defense in the near future. Starting with the draft.

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by Brandon Worley on Jun 2, 2009 7:45 PM CDT reply actions

I would love to see more plays from Daley (like you said, when he’s flying with the puck) that result in a goal, an offensive face off, or a penalty drawn.

Too often we see him come with speed in the neutral zone with the puck (which is great, that part is awesome) but then subsequently see him out of position when it comes roaring back the other way. I don’t know if that’s a support issue from the forwards or what, but it’s something that bothers me.

by Brad Gardner on Jun 2, 2009 7:54 PM CDT reply actions

Good read

I really disagree with the notion that Zubov is old and broken down. Before the last 2 seasons, he was considered an ageless wonder. 2 seasons ago, he was out scoring Lidstrom when he went down. I’m of the opinion that you only let Zubov go if you feel you have a better lineup in waiting. After watching our PP suffer so much last year, I seriously think the Stars should bring Zubov back, if only on a 1 or 2 year deal. He’s given them years of underrated blue line play on both ends, and hopefully they’ll give him a chance to see if he’s still got it with us.

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by Maximilian on Jun 3, 2009 1:18 PM CDT reply actions

You make it sound

like Daley has one of the worst contracts in the league. 2.3 million is hardly financially handcuffing this franchise going forward. He has flashes of offensive brilliance and I hope Newy and company will open up the offense and make our style a little more transitional where Trevor’s skills will have a better opportunity to shine.

Regardless, 2.3 million for what he can bring to the table is not a bad deal for him or the Stars.

by Hull Fan on Jun 5, 2009 3:18 PM CDT reply actions

Shut-Down Defenders...

Say what you will about the advantages of small and nimble players. There is also a flip-side to that coin. And Dallas Stars fans know what I mean. If you can remember when Marty Turco set the GAA record, then you’ll also remember some of the defensive pairings that the Stars parked at the blue-line. Those guys never let opponents setting in long enough to get quality shots. As a matter of fact thanks to the sinister and volatile reputation of Derian Hatcher and his bone-crushing hits, whenever opposing players would try to carry the puck into our zone, their heads would be on a swivel, trying to figure out from where the Dallas D-Men were coming. It’s also interesting to notice that no team tried to just dump the puck deep and go get it with guys like Sydore, Matvichuck, and Hatcher roaming around unmolested.
I think we really need to look into picking up some of those “Scare the hell out of the opposition” defenders. It would also take a little pressure off of Marty to win every game on his own.
PS.
A nice backup for Turks would be nice too… Hey, maybe we could get Mike Smith back!!!

by konor2399 on Jun 15, 2009 4:34 PM CDT reply actions