Dallas Stars Daily Links: Deciphering Doable Deadline Deals

Last season, the Dallas Stars chose to not make any trades at the trade deadline and ended up missing the Stanley Cup playoffs by a couple points. This year, it seems unlikely that they do the same, and instead will try to trade for a top-six forward:

I think [Stars GM Jim Nill is] juggling a lot of options. I do believe he would add a rental before the trade deadline, because there are good ones out there who fit. I also think that we’re to the point in the building of this team where they definitely need to make the playoffs and possibly even win a round or two.

While Nill is a bit hesitant to trade his first round pick, the Stars have a decent share of prospects who could be shopped instead. They also have some young players, such as Valeri Nichushkin and Julius Honka, who could be shopped instead:

It depends on what the other team wants, but you have plenty of draft picks, plenty of young players on the roster... and plenty of prospects with some amount of upside ... So, in the traditional sense, you have exactly what it takes to get a big-name rental. Now, the question is always what do you give up, and that’s what makes a shrewd negotiator in the NHL.

Mike Heika answers more questions about the upcoming trade deadline and more in his latest mailbag: [NHL]

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More Stars News

Hey look, another deadline-themed mailbag!

Tyler Seguin has been riding high since the infamous comments by CEO Jim Lites, but is Lites really the reason why Seguin has improved?

Speaking of Seguin, enjoy:

Man, that win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday was nice. Plus, it was a shutout win as well, which is always fun. Gotta love Stars games in Florida that end as a shutout.

On a completely unrelated note, John Klingberg was injured last night. I assume it was in a street hockey game, since the Stars most definitely did not play competitive hockey last night:

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Central Census

It was a busy Valentine’s Day for the Central, as every team except for the Minnesota Wild (and the Dallas Stars) showed up to the rink ready to play NHL hockey:

• The Chicago Blackhawks are suddenly thinking about the playoffs again, with their latest win a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. [Second City Hockey]
• Elsewhere, the Colorado Avalanche got a nice break with their 4-1 win over the division-leading Winnipeg Jets. [NHL]
• The Nashville Predators took advantage of the Jets’ loss to gain some ground in the race for first, beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. [On the Forecheck]
• Finally, the St. Louis Blues have now won eight straight after blanking the Arizona Coyotes 4-0. [NHL]

Well this could be better:

Note: the Minnesota Wild currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the West.

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Around the League

Speaking of the standings, the Western Conference playoff picture is crazy:

I don’t really like these kinds of interview videos, but this made me laugh regardless:

Trade deadline acquisitions typically cost prospects, but do the buyers have prospects worth selling?

It’s not even March, but is it time to start resting certain goaltenders?

This would be... interesting?

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Finally...

Is it just me, or is anyone getting a case of déjà vu from Links today? This all feels a bit familiar for some reason...