After giving the Stars current situation a lot of thought, I have come up with two names that I think Nieuwy should target at the trade deadline. Both players would be able to be part of the core group moving forward (assuming Nieuwy would re-sign them after their current contracts are up) because they are still relatively young. Additionally, these two guys are struggling somewhat and play for teams that have been struggling all season...

I'm talking about Derek Roy and Paul Stastny.

Both players are centers, which is beneficial because Ribiero isn't getting any younger and (IMHO) Benn needs to be moved back to wing. Both players have manageable cap hits - Roy's is $4m while Stastny's is $6.6m (personal note: I believe that Colorado overvalued Stastny - he should have been signed to a contract similar to Roy's). By way of point production both players are in the same range as Ribs - they are capable of putting up somewhere between 60 and 80 points-per-season.

Now, to be clear about my position and thinking - In considering a trade for either Roy or Stastny, I view it as a move to continue creating a core group to build around. As constructed, the Stars are heavy on veteran players and don't have the prospects to replace them as they retire. Nieuwy is not in an enviable position, and I would have to say that center is our weakest position - a trade is going to have to be made at some point lest we continue with depth issues for a few more seasons.