Is a Mike Ribeiro Trade Still Possible?

If baseless rumor mongering has a place (and a time) in this hockey world of ours, mid August might just be it. At a time when we're scrounging for news in every nook and cranny we can get to, an off hand comment made on Twitter in passing by someone at a big network qualifies, and that's just what we have today.

What follows should be taken lightly, and for what it is; Perhaps not taken seriously in the slightest. I know I'm not.

EJ Hradek, of ESPN.com fame (@ejhradek_espn) was asked yesterday if he thought it possible that Mike Ribeiro still be moved. He responded as such...

RT @mikehhockey: Do U think the Stars will still trade Mike Ribeiro? EJHradek_ESPN: I think they'd lk 2, but they cant find the right deal

RT @Overkamp: wht kind of return do U think they're looking 4 (Ribeiro)? EJHradek_ESPN: i'd think they'd wnt a top 4 puck-moving D

Nothing new there. We've all known they were dangling his name out there. We were led to believe that a trade was imminent at the draft in Los Angeles and we were bracing ourselves to hate it, but it never came. Player movement died down and so did the rumors. It seems Mike Ribeiro will be a Dallas Star next season, and personally I don't think that is such a bad thing.

There was speculation that the decision to let Mike Modano go signaled a white flag on the Ribeiro front. It was assumed by many that if Ribeiro were moved, Modano would be needed and his role would be significantly greater. The Stars have enough centers (and potential centers, including Benn) that this is not necessarily the case, though their supposed strength down the middle would be greatly compromised.

So while this is a case of idle bemusement and speculation on a long hot summer day...a "the news is there is no news" kind of thing, there's still the question of what we would think about such a deal now that we've had this time to think about it. In most cases, the answer will be "depends on what comes back."

Others have some sort of odd disdain for Mr. Ribeiro and want to see him gone, despite all that he has done here. I would be dismayed to see him anywhere in the West, personally. He would love to hurt the Stars if he were sent packing, you can be sure of that. We all know he could, too. He may not be a perfect fit here, and his faceoff % makes me cringe just thinking about it, but he's a wizard with the puck.

We've seen commenters from other SB Nation communities here belittle the thought and dismiss Ribeiro as not being worth much, but in the right situation and with only adequate help on his line (seriously, it's not like Brenden Morrow is an offensive power house and look what they've done for three seasons...) he could easily get you 70-80 points; Not something to scoff at.

Meanwhile, the Kaberle rumors have hit their 14th or 15th month stride and now the reports are that 7 teams (or as many as 10 now, depending on where you look) have made offers, none of which have tickled the Leafs' collective fancy yet. Do you think the Stars are one of those teams? I rather hope not.

Without Ribeiro, would the Stars be OK at the center position next season? Would such a trade, depending on the return, need to be viewed as short term pain for long term gain?