The Stars will be volunteering at the North Texas Food Bank next week, and they're giving you a real good opportunity to get involved and meet some of them at a "private reception." No word on who all is going to be there right now, but if you have $500 just lying around somewhere you can automatically reserve your spot.

This is a dynamite opportunity for you Brad Richards stalkers with cash out there.

If not, you can donate $25 to help a good cause and get your name entered in the drawing.

You can donate online at ntfb.com.

Here's their official release:

Raffle tickets available now through September 6, 2010
Volunteer Experience and Reception on September 8, 2010

Reach for the Stars… the Dallas Stars, that is!  YOU and a guest could win the opportunity to volunteer with Brenden Morrow and a few other current Dallas Stars hockey players as they fill backpacks with nutritious food items for the Food 4 Kids program at the North Texas Food Bank on the evening of Wednesday, September 8th! 

Here’s how it works:

With a minimum donation of $25 to benefit the North Texas Food Bank’s child programs, your name will be entered into a raffle to win a chance for you and a guest to volunteer with the participating Dallas Stars players.  The opportunity also includes a 15 minute private reception with the players following the volunteer session.  For every additional $25 donated, your name will be added into the raffle.  The more $25 donations you make, the more chances you have to win! 

For every $500 donation, you will automatically reserve your spot for you and a guest to participate in the volunteer opportunity and private reception.  In addition, you will receive a hockey stick signed by the participating Dallas Stars players.

More photos » Harry How - Getty Images

2 months ago: LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Jack Campbell, drafted 11th by the Dallas Stars, poses for a portrait during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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The NHL has an agreement with the Canadian Hockey League. Teenage players must either stick in the NHL or be returned to junior.

But Morin skates on the shadowy edges of this understanding. He was drafted into the NHL in June, 2009 by the Atlanta Thrashers after two years in the U.S. national team development program. That Ann Arbor-based outfit has no agreement with the NHL.

So the Blackhawks, who traded for Morin in June, are working on the assumption that Morin can be assigned to their AHL team in Rockford should he fail to make the NHL.

The Rangers want him back in junior for a Memorial Cup run. The Hawks want the right to send him to the Rockford Icehogs, should they choose. Norm Maciver, Chicago's player development director, says the team believes Morin is AHL-eligible.

*snip*

Incoming Windsor Spitfires goalie Jack Campbell, 18, could find himself in the same situation as a first-round pick of the Dallas Stars - one and done for the OHL.

Interesting. Campbell was also drafted out of the U.S. national development program, so technically the NHL would not have much of a say if the Stars wanted to place Campbell on the Texas Stars after this season. At that point, he would be 19 years old as well. There's really no way of knowing what will happen, though. First off, as the article goes on to say, this is likely something that will be fully addressed when the NHL's collective bargaining agreement is up. Secondly, we don't know what the Stars' plans for Jack will be a year from now. 

That said, it will be interesting to see if this situation will arise again between the Stars and Windsor.  Like the article said, you can't convince me a player wouldn't prefer a $50,000 AHL contract to $50 a week in juniors.

After the jump, Matt Niskanen, Stephane Robidas, and Fabian Brunnstrom news...

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Marty Turco was officially introduced as a Blackhawk this week, becoming the second long time Dallas Star to don a central division, red-laden sweater of an original six team. Not quite as painful as the Modano press conference last month, no, but a little uncomfortable for the Stars fan anyway.

He's in full PR force this week around Chicago as he tries to get his feet set in his new home before starting his first non-Stars camp in a couple of weeks.

Turco aficionados can enjoy this video and Marty's celebrated media savvy. Particularly when these two clucking hens ask Marty Turco (35) how he can possibly step into Antti Niemi's (27) big shoes. Marty shoots that notion down quite easily and expertly. (via ABC affiliate in Chicago)

NHL.com has a good story on the goings-on yesterday. Details are starting to emerge in every Turco engagement suggesting that Marty had targeted/was hoping for the Blackhawks very early on in the process once he realized he would not be coming back to Dallas. Bowman indicated that he had spoke to Marty before the Niemi situation had been fully resolved, and told him that he was backup plan #1.:

He said Turco was his "Plan A" if things with Niemi didn't work out. But that meant Turco having to wait out a lengthy contract negotiation for Niemi that didn't get resolved until an arbitration ruling in late July.

"I said (to Marty), ‘If you've got to do something else, that's your prerogative,'" Bowman said.  "I didn't mislead him and say we've got anything in the pocket here. They were interested. From what he said, this is where he wanted to be. He obviously had hoped that it would work out." [NHL.com]

And in case you missed the fanshot posted a couple of weeks ago, you can see his new masks here.

He'll be wearing #30 in Chicago as #35 has of course been retired there for Tony Esposito.

Yesterday evening, sometime around 7 p.m. CDT on the last day of the month, Defending Big D celebrated our best month of traffic since we launched in January of 2009. At just over 86,000 page views for the month of August, we eclipsed our previous best of the 85,000 views we enjoyed in July.

What's impressive about these numbers is the fact that July and August are supposed to be the slow months, the time of the year when no one cares about hockey. August, especially is a rough month as we fight for ideas for content while the team stays out of the spotlight before starting training camp in September.

To give you an idea of how far we've come, last August we had just under 24,000 page views for that month.

That we have come this far is a testament to all of our loyal readers and those that find us every day. We hope that we provide you with the best Dallas Stars news and analysis (from a fan's perspective) that you can find. As Stars fans, we're going through a rough time together and my only hope is that we can continue to grow as a community and continue the excellent debates and comments we've been enjoying over the past year.

Heading into the season, we're committed to providing you with more original analysis and breakdowns than ever before. Hopefully September will soon become the best month in DBD history, and so on for each coming month.

Sometime in the next month we'll enjoy our 1,000,000 page view to Defending Big D. Then we'll really celebrate!

More photos » Ronald Martinez - Getty Images

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It's finally the end of August, and training camp is a mere weeks away. For about a month now, news concerning the Dallas Stars has been slow, as the team is apparently done signing free agents, the sale is moving on slowly behind the scenes and GM Joe works quietly on re-signing James Neal and Matt Niskanen. 

But ever since the offseason slowed down for the club, one nagging question has remained: What's going on with Jere Lehtinen? 

Today, we (kinda, maybe) have some news. Today, Sportsnet published a story online with the headline "Lehtinen To Retire". The article cited a story from a Finnish publication, which (thanks to Google Translate) reads:

One of the long Finnish Playing career is ending. Jere Lehtinen is seriously considering leaving.

Lehtinen, 37, met the Dallas CEO Joe Nieuwendykin last week, but that did not take place, that category should be continued.

Lehtinen did not participate in training camp in Dallas.

Seriously think about a career in an end, eh?

"Yes, you can put it in there. Is it true," Lehtinen said.

Summer placements Lehtinen took lightly. Their own words, he spent a difference in the summer. It was a step towards a career in the end.

Obviously, Google Translate is a bit shaky on this one. (I know we have some Finnish-speaking readers out there, this is your time to shine!). But taken for what it's worth, Lehtinen is at least seriously considering retirement at this point, if we are to believe that article. 

You'll remember that Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reported last week that Jere had met with GM Joe and he had not yet reached a decision, and Joe has no deadline for said decision. However, taking a look at the roster and the fact that the Stars currently have 23 players under contract (with two still unsigned) it appears as if the Stars are fully prepared to move on without Mr. Yellow Skatelaces.

Update: Heika again, after talking with Jere, says he has NOT made a decision yet. [LINK]

Now, this isn't an instance of Nieuwendyk "pushing" Lehtinen out; this is an example of Nieuwendyk takes the steps necessary to be prepared in case Lehtinen decides to retire. More so than with Mike Modano, it appears as if the Stars knew going into the summer that Lehtinen was not going to make a decision until just before training camp.

For many, Jere Lehtinen represented everything that has defined Dallas Stars hockey over the years. While Modano provided the flash and Sergei Zubov was the defensive quarterback, Lehtinen was the perfect combination of defensive prowess and offensive ability. Remember when he was the leading scorer on the Stars for a couple of seasons in a row?

It's going to be sad to see him go. Lehtinen is the last remaining remnant of those glory seasons in 1999 and 2000.

Judging by his comments both last season, this summer and above, it certainly appears as if retirement is what is on his mind.

More photos » Larry MacDougal - AP

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Breaking News...

Grossman extended on a two year deal worth a total of $3.25 million. $1.5 million in 2010-11; $1.75 in 2011-12

[Some quick thoughts from Brandon Worley]

Great news for the Dallas Stars and young Nik Grossman as he becomes the first of the Big Three RFA's to sign a contract.

Obviously, this is a bridge contract for a player that is still growing and learning and a team that isn't exactly capable of making much more of a long-term commitment at this moment to one of their defensemen. For Grossman, he gets paid and gets a nice little salary bump and two years to prove that the potential he showed this past season to be a top-pairing defenseman wasn't a fluke and cash in on a bigger deal in just a few seasons.

The Dallas Stars, on the other hand, were able to ink one of their young and promising players to a contract that is certainly below market value based on this past summer's free agent frenzy. While Grossman will never have the big numbers that go along with the monster contracts, he's developed into a solid and physical defenseman; the sort that every team wants.

This is also some great news for Stars fans as this proves that Joe Nieuwendyk is willing and able to sign his RFAs, despite the budget his operating under. This is also a great sign for those worried about James Neal slipping away; I highly doubt the Stars would sign Grossman or Niskanen first if they weren't sure they'd be signing Neal as well.

Press release after the jump.

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Here is the release from the team...

DALLAS STARS ANNOUNCE 2010-11 TELEVISION SCHEDULE

All 82 Games to Be Televised Locally; All in HD

FRISCO, Tex. -- The Dallas Stars announced today the National Hockey League club’s local television schedule for the 2010-11 regular season. All 82 games will be televised in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market and, for the first time ever, all will be offered in high-definition (HD).

"We are very excited about providing our fans all 82 Dallas Stars games for local television with every one of them offered in HD," said Stars Executive Vice President Geoff Moore. "I’d like to thank our great partners - Jon Heidtke of FOX Sports Southwest and Gary Schneider of CBS 11 and TXA 21 - in working together with us to make that happen. Along with Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket, we have an ‘all star line up’ for our viewing and listening public. With Ralph and Razor again calling the action, we look forward to a great broadcast season for the Dallas Stars."

No information regarding the Dish Network blackout issues of last season are available at this time.

12 games are scheduled to be on FSN+. FSN+ was carried by Directv, AT&T and various other providers but not on Verizon FiOS. We don't know at this time if that's changing or not.

Full release after the jump...

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There was a day not too long ago when the Stars and Red Wings were sure to be featured on national television against each other at least once a season. Now, even with Mike Modano, 20 year face of the Dallas Stars moving to the hated Wings, they get nothing. It says a lot about where the Stars are in the national hockey consciousness. They're now the Indiana Pacers of national television coverage: They don't get on much and people just kind of tolerate them being there. In other words, they're not very good.

The Stars will be featured on Versus three times this year:

• Nov. 29 @ Carolina
• Jan. 17 vs. Los Angeles
• Feb. 22 vs. New Jersey

The games on the 17th and 22nd are both schedule for 7:30pm starts, so that could change. The game against the Ducks on a Tuesday (10/26) that they changed inexplicably to an 8:00pm start is not on this list. On the behalf of season ticket holders with children everywhere: Why is there an 8:00pm start on a Tuesday if it's not a Versus (or a national tv game in Canada) broadcast?

There are two options for NBC games:

• March 13 vs. Los Angeles
  (But they'll probably go with Chicago at Washington)
• April 10 @ Minnesota
  (But they'll probably go with Detroit at Chicago or Boston at New Jersey)

The only thing I really want to know is a.) Will all the games be televised? and b.) How many will be in HD? The official Dallas Stars Twitter account had this to say on Tuesday...

#DallasStars TV schedule is being finalized and it looks as though all 82 games will be available in HD this season. More soon...

All 82 in HD? Wow, is it 2008 already? I kid, I kid. Production in HD is expensive, and we all know about how Tom Hicks lost his wallet in a bar fight.

The rest of the local TV schedule is expected to be released later today... We'll update when we have it.