Dallas Stars Daily Links: Connor Carrick Gets Ready For His Close-Up

The bad news for the Dallas Stars is that star defender Stephen Johns has an undisclosed ailment that has put him on the injured reserve list. The good news is that they appear to have made a sound decision to trade a conditional seventh-round pick for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Connor Carrick yesterday.

GM Jim Nill explained the reasoning behind the deal, as documented by Sean Shapiro of The Athletic:

“You can never have enough depth on defense,” [Nill] said. “We’re gonna start the year now, we already got one guy banged up in Stephen Johns, we’ll know more in the next couple days where he is at. The other thing is we are very young on the back end. [Miro] Heiskanen is a good player, he’s going to be a great player, but it is his first year in the league. Julius Honka is still a young player in the league, and it’s a tough league for young defensemen. You can never have enough depth between injuries.”

He also took a good look at the signing in terms of how Carrick may fit into the organization:

Carrick brings a similar game to [Gavin] Bayreuther, but he’s slightly more refined due to his NHL experience. Based on conversations with a couple of NHL scouts after the trade, Carrick is viewed as a player with decent offensive skills and a good shot. He plays well in transition despite being an average skater.

He likes to make plays with the puck and thrives when given the green light in that regard, which should be the case in Dallas.

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Carrick struggled to stick in the lineup in Toronto on a consistent basis and was often behind [Roman] Polak on Mike Babcock’s depth chart last season. Babcock was looking for more of a stay-at-home defender in his third-pairing role and Carrick didn’t fit.

There’s more behind the paywall. [The Athletic DFW]

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Stars Stories

Sean also shared Nill’s thoughts after putting forward Remi Elie on waivers:

And speaking of Sean, his brand-new book will be here in exactly one week.

@NHL is excited about Ben Bishop’s new cage, created by the legendary David Gunnarsson.

The most fun thing about this photo is that “tiny” Honks had to stand one step down to keep from blocking the teammates behind him.

If you’re a college student, or you know one, you might be interested in this opportunity to work with the Stars.

Around the League(s)

It was all quiet in the Central Division last night, so we can get right down to the headlines. First of all, former seventh-round draft pick Radim Vrbata is ending a 16-year NHL career.

On the other end of the career spectrum, Nico Hischier turns out to be a gift to the NHL’s international outreach program.

Even on injured reserve, Shea Weber has the confidence of the Montreal Canadiens: He’s just been named their 30th captain.

The Boston Bruins have lost Torey Krug for at least three weeks after he reinjured the left ankle he broke during the playoffs.

The player most endangered by Tom Wilson may be Tom Wilson. He has an in-person DoPS hearing on Wednesday, and the Washington Capitals can’t be too happy about it.

Check this angle on the hit under review, dealt to the St. Louis Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist:

Anton Burdasov, currently stacking apples with Salavat Yulaev, could become the next KHL star to make the jump to the NHL.

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park

The Texas Stars are welcoming goalies Landon Bow and Colton Point to training camp.

With the NHL cuts almost complete, Ryan Pennington examines the state of the T-Stars roster. [100 Degree Hockey]

Send Justin Dowling your best wishes – he celebrated his birthday yesterday.

Finally

You already know some of the advantages of the Stars’ trade for Connor Carrick. You may not know that one of them is his French bulldog, Hoagie, plus her Instagram account. Now you do. Enjoy.