Thanks to DTCBob for his FanPost this afternoon...

If Mike Modano does indeed decide he's willing to go through another long season in the NHL, I think we can all agree that there are few worse places to see him play than in Detroit. No one wants to deny him the chance at another Stanley Cup or the opportunity to be a wanted and needed player on a team, but Modano wearing that red jersey on opening night at the AAC is just too much for this Stars fan to handle.

Until now, it seemed that Detroit was really the only team that had the chance and the interest in landing the veteran, but today word spread that the Minnesota Wild and the San Jose Sharks have also put their names into the hat. From ESPN Dallas:

The market for Mike Modano's services appears to be growing. The 40-year-old forward said Friday that the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild have contacted him about the possibility of playing next season.

After the story started to spread that the Wild were indeed interested, Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star-Tribune sought out the Wild GM to verify that yes, indeed Minnesota was interested:

"We’re interested in speaking to Mike about his future plans," Fletcher said. "We obviously have interest in doing anything that will make our team better and we just want to sit down with him and see if there’s a mutual fit."

Both stories are sure to mention that no meeting has been set up yet as both Modano and Fletcher have prior engagements that prevent them from meeting at this time. Yet it certainly sounds as if Minnesota is doing a bit more than just a polite inquiry and are serious about trying to pick up Modano. This isn't just about a "feel-good story", this is about the Wild trying to improve their team and Modano being a short-term piece of that puzzle.

Russo mentions that while at first it doesn't seem there's a fit for Modano, Fletcher and coach Todd Richards may have come around this past week or so as free agency has shaken out. The Wild decided to move on without Owen Nolan, mainly because they are trying to move to a younger, faster team and they need some of their young forwards to start getting more minutes. Yet the situation with Modano seems to be a bit different, as it's likely Nolan wasn't willing to take a pay cut and take less minutes on the third line.

I think we can all agree that Modano going to San Jose is downright vomit-inducing.

Once again, this comes down to Modano having to decide if he's willing to not only go through another season again in the NHL, but also if he's willing to take on a reduced role with whichever team signs him. He's not going to be a top-six forward anymore -- he's going to be a depth center on the third or fourth line who is likely on the second power play unit, and who will get time on the PK as well. Can he live with the paycut and the reduced minutes, especially after it seemed to truly bother him last season?

Let's not blind ourselves about what Modano is, right now and at this moment: he's 40, he's inconsistent and while he still has the scoring ability he'll be lucky to approach 20 goals in a season again. He's always been a bit of an iron man, but with each passing season it's tougher for a player to recover from those nagging injuries.

He's taking his time on this decision, and now that there's more than one team involved I can't imagine it will make that choice any easier.

Ronald Martinez - Getty Images

How about orange gargoyles?

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There is some speculation out there this morning (and last night) that the Flyers are attempting to move Simon Gagne and his $5.25 million cap hit so they have some room to address other things on their roster; Things like goaltending, and Marty Turco's name is omnipresent in the rumors. As a Stars fan and someone who watches mainly Western Conference hockey, I think we could be happy for Marty in Philadelphia, and at the same not worried that he's going to come back to bite us in our "behinds" like he could with San Jose.

The bad news in all of this is that the Los Angeles Kings are angling to get Gagne, and depending on who you listen to  Kovalchuk as well. And a veteran defenseman. The Kings are going all out to add nice pieces to their already dangerous team.

The Fourth Period:

According to several reports stemming from Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Kings are the front runners to acquire Gagne, who has a cap hit of $5.25 million.

The Kings are still very much involved in talks with unrestricted free agent Ilya Kovalchuk and would like to add a veteran defenseman to the blueline.

The Flyers would like to free up additional cap space to address other areas on the roster, and speculation continues to link Philadelphia to free agent goalie Marty Turco.

CSN Philly:

Hockeybuzz.com first reported that the Flyers had asked Gagne to waive his NTC.
 
It is believed the Flyers would deal the 30-year-old to Los Angeles.
 
The intent here appears to be to clear $5 million off the Flyers' cap so they can re-open talks with goalie Marty Turco and have enough cash left to re-sign both Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe.

Delco Times:

The rationalization behind the deal appears to be so the Flyers can clear enough salary cap space to sign restricted free agents Darroll Powe and Dan Carcillo and to sign another, higher-priced goalie.

I spoke with someone who knows former Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco really well and was I was told "Turco really wants to go to Philly."

"I spoke to some who knows Marty Turco..." That's a bit much, so take it with a grain of salt. At this point though, I'm sure Marty would love to go anywhere so it's probably true. I got that from a guy who saw Turco once at a restaurant.

I say: Go east, Marty. Go east and have fun.

The cap may have gone up, and somehow the New York Rangers decided to pay Derek Boogaard a real life hockey players salary, but goaltenders in this years' free agent "frenzy" are either taking modest deals, or losing out entirely. We speak of course, of Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov. The former #1 goaltenders in the Pacific Division both fancy themselves worthy of at least $3 or $4 million a season but have seen interest waffle, wane and eventually disappear altogether.

There is a trend (or a theory, rather) in the league right now that makes GM's think they don't need to sign the big name, expensive goaltender to win in the playoffs. Look at Jaro Halak. Look at Niemi. Look at that hodge podge that got the Flyers to the finals. The Red Wings have rarely cared who their starting netminder is. (Re: Osgood, Chris, mediocrity). And so the Dan Ellis' and the Marty Biron's of the world found jobs yesterday and Marty Turco has not.

There was speculation that Turco could go to Washington and compete for the starting job. The Capitals said they are committed to youth in Michal Neuvirth, who you may remember (bitterly) from following the Texas Stars/Hershey Bears series, and then later they went out and signed Dany Sabourin‎ to a one year, 2 way deal. No room there. Philadelphia has been rumored but now seem content on sitting tight with their situation, and they're in cap hell right now. (Though the Flyers have a defense so good now that maybe they just put a trash can in front of the goal...)

For weeks San Jose was everyone's best guess when talking about Marty Turco, but they have hopped on the cheap goaltending train as well, signing Antero Nittymaki for $2 million a season.

Later in the day some Stars fans were asking "Why can't Marty come back here and backup Kari?" Two problems with that: The Stars answered the quesiton later in the afternoon by showing us how much money they wanted to spend on a backup: $700k. The second problem was that Marty would never have come back here out of self respect, what we suspect is a little grudge (understandable), and pride. He's earned that pride and he's got skins on the wall in this league.

Still, this was a bad time to be choosy about the details of his situation next year. He is, as of this moment, without a dance partner, but he's going to have to pick one of the ugly girls, take another swill of beer, and deal with it. Even if one of the ugly girls turns out to be a one year backup job, or a European gig.

Who'd have thought that Matt Climie would be the first UFA Dallas goaltender to get a deal? (Phoenix, one year)

You all know the deal...  Stars have an ownership issue, very little money to spend, probably won't do anything in the first few days of the opening of NHL free agency...  blah de blah...

Still, that won't stop us here at Defending Big D from keeping an eye on things.  If any signings or trades do go down today and they affect the Stars, you can be sure we'll be all over it here!  Feel free to leave your own comments and reactions here as well as the day progresses!

And as the token Canadaian on the DBD staff...  Happy Canada Day!

July 1st: Canada Day. Hockey fans on both sides of the border salivate every year at it's arrival. It's the beginning of Free Agency, a yearly ritual where general managers act like drunk sailors, passing out long contracts and big bucks haphazardly in an attempt to take their club to the next level.

The Dallas Stars used to participate in this annual debauchery. Brett Hull, Pierre Turgeon, Bill Guerin...Dallas used to be in on all of the big fish out there; Casting a line and usually getting at least a good hard listen. My, how times have changed. And by times, I mean Tom Hicks.

Just like last year, the Stars will be quiet. The deals will be announced throughout the day, some big, some small, and you will see the tweets and perhaps watch the coverage on TSN and you will feel like the fat chick at the prom sitting at a table by herself while everyone else is out there dancing and going to the cool parties afterward. He of the "sloppy seconds" was the last big free agent strike by the Dallas Stars. Not exactly ending on a high, is it?

I hold out hope, however. I hold out hope that this ownership transfer will be completed by the end of the 2010 calendar year, and that after a trade deadline and another draft this franchise will have an idea of where it's headed and what kind of give the purse strings have, and then July 1st, 2011 will be a better day. Hopefully not a silly contract day, but a better one nonetheless.

As for what you can expect today? My guess would be nothing. Not a single thing. The only logical possibility at this point would seem to be the backup goaltender position, and even that's no sure thing. Maybe Matt Climie signs an extension. As a further cost cutting measure, Brent Krahn could very well be your backup goaltender next year. It's really hard to say at this point what the Neal and Grossman contracts will leave leftover in the budget. "Not much" is a good guess though.

Nieuwendyk told the Dallas Morning News "It's safe to say we're not going to be a big player in free agency, just as we weren't last year. But even though July 1 is the deadline, if we can do something that makes sense (later), we'll do it.''

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The Free Agent class of 2010 is looking slimmer and slimmer by the day, but rest assured that some cavalier general managers out there will find a way to overpay some folks in an attempt to give their fans something to grasp onto in the long wait between July 1st and the October start of the season. The Dallas Stars will not be one of these clubs. Our owner, who was a good owner for a great many years, has fallen on hard times and has flushed the financial flexibility of his hockey team right down one of his gold toilets. The result is a team, that was perennially in the conversation for the big free agents in years past, sitting on the sidelines as July rolls around, watching and waiting to perhaps pick off a low end straggler after the fun has died down. And even that might be a stretch.

However, if you've found your way here and you're looking to see what exactly the situation is in Dallas as we enter this frenetic and tumultuous portion of the NHL off-season, you've come to the right place.

The 2010-2011 Dallas Stars Roster: (Information via Capgeek.com)

Roster Size: 18 players under contract. 11 forwards, 6 defensemen (Larsen included on NHL roster presently) and 1 goaltender.

Payroll: $41,713,333.00

Cap Space: $18,116,667

Expected Budget: ~$45 million. The exact figure is not known, but for the third straight season the $45 million mark is a rough estimate. Sean Avery's $1.9 million salary is not though to be included in the teams budget.

Key Needs: A backup goaltender and extensions for forward James Neal and defenseman Nicklas Grossman are all that the team is expected to consider in addition to small contracts for F Fabian Brunnstrom and possible D Matt Niskanen. Salary could be moved in order to fit these deals under the target budget.

Defense is the real "key need", but no outside defensive help can be added due to budgetary constraints and the pending sale of the team.

RFA and UFA list after the jump...

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I know what you're thinking. How big can news about Krys Barch be?

There's not really good answer to that question, but earlier this evening the agency that represents Krys Barch, @NortonSports, tweeted that there's "BIG news coming tomorrow for client Krys Barch of the @DallasStars!"

At the risk of getting bogged down in analysis of 67 characters, here's what I think: If they were trying to distance Barch and his name from the Stars for the coming UFA period, they wouldn't say @DallasStars. And what other big news could there be 2 days before free agency? If they think it's big news that he's going to become a free agent, they're pretty funny tweeting about it. No, it would seem the Stars are going to sign Barchy up for an extension, right? Any guesses on the dollars?

Update: As some of you pointed out, Nick Kypreos of Rogers Sportsnet in Canada tweeted that the deal is 2 years, $825k per.

We talked about this earlier in the month here on DBD...

Barch made $575k last season and is probably looking for a bump similar to what Toby Petersen got (up to $775k) but where as Petersen plays 11 minutes a game and in more situations, we're talking about barely 7 minutes a game for Barch in a fairly limited role.

There are alternatives in Cedar Park in guys like Ray Sawada and Francis Wathier. Wathier's cap number last year (when with the big club) was just under $500k, and he will become a UFA on July 1st (despite the fact that he's only 25...I'll try to dig up more on that). Krys Barch is 30 years old, by the way. Did you realize that? Wathier played 5 games for Dallas last year, going scoreless with an even +/- rating and one fighting major. He's a big body and after seeing him in Cedar Park a couple of times this post-season, I was reminded that he uses it very well. He's not the fastest guy in the world, but could he give you 7 minutes a game and not kill you in your own end? Probably.

None of that's changed. If he is indeed extended, it's just further evidence that this roster is going to be brought back very nearly in it's entirety for another uphill 82 game climb.

Then again, perhaps he's hosting some charity event or he won his first fight or something (I kid...) and this tweet was even more unnecessary than we thought...

Marty Turco is quickly discovering the harsh realities of the free agent market facing him as he departs the Dallas area: He might not be worth as much as he'd like to think he is.

ESPN is reporting that the Flyers have reached out to Marty and offered him a 3 year deal worth only a total of $6 million. Last year with the Dallas Stars he made $5.4 million and had a cap hit of $5.7 on a deal he signed in the first year back from the lockout.

This is from the E.J. Hradek Blog:

Before turning his eye to Nabokov, however, Holmgren had quietly received the green light from Dallas to speak to another soon-to-be-free netminder, Stars UFA Marty Turco.

In fact, Holmgren offered Turco a three-year deal worth roughly $6 million (or a bit more than $2 million per season). The 34-year-old Turco, who confirmed the offer via text message, politely declined, opting Thursday to test the market.

"Quietly received the green light"

Brandon Worley wonders if this is borderline tampering...

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun shakes this off and says it's o.k., since the Dallas Stars "gave permission" to the Flyers to make an offer to Turco. I still don't understand how that would work, since the Flyers wouldn't be able to sign him to that offer anyways, since he's still under contract by the Stars.

One option would be that if Turco did agree with the offer, then the Stars would likely trade his rights to Philadelphia in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Even if that were the case, it still feels as if the two teams are dancing on a fine line with tampering.

If it leads to the Stars getting a conditional draft pick, it's hard to be all that upset about it because we've already resigned ourselves to the fact that he's leaving without compensation, but it is a pretty dicey issue.

Check out Broad Street Hockey for more on this.

Even though it looks unlikely, how would you feel about Marty Turco in orange? (Playing with Chris Pronger....yuck)