A lot of us are getting sick of being patient around here. It’s high-time the Stars started getting their act together, given the talent on this roster. No one thinks they’re a top-three team in the conference, but there’s still no way you could have looked at this team before game one and put them alongside the dregs of the West.
Patience, though, has its place. I’ll not harp on it right now, partly because I just don’t feel like waving my arms downward like you do when a sporting match starts to get out of hand, and partly because it’s been said. Yes, we’re trying to be patient, but great Jolly Rancher soda, Batman, this is getting ridiculous.
Speaking of ridiculous, the opposite of patience is probably, I don’t know, wanting to trade a player signed to a three-year deal when you’re just 19 games into his contract. (At least, when the contract is a good one. Toronto has some contracts that you could probably be like, yeah, that one…we could lose that one.) I bring this up because one of the suggestions that has come out of the Stars’ magnificent and spectacular gravitational collapse is for Jim Nill to, oh boy I’m going to have to type this, trade Ales Hemsky:
The same type of [trade] could be made with Ales Hemsky. While the situation is totally different [from Gonchar], the Stars could still benefit from getting his $4 million cap hit off the books. Some team would take a chance on Hemsky for the right price.
Hemsky has been a healthy scratch as of late. This is probably the worst possible time to trade him as his value has never been lower. However, the Stars are desperate to make something happen. After an offseason that saw them bring in former Ottawa Senators Hemsky and Jason Spezza, they are currently the second-worst team in the Western Conference.
Dallas needs to make more moves to bring in better players. Their defense has been awful to say the least. There probably isn’t a top-flight defenseman on the trading block right now, but they need to make room in case one comes by. [Rant Sports]
I think this piece actually does a better job of countering the “trade Hemsky” argument (again, I just had to type that) than anything I could do. Let’s see if we can rebut this argument using its own petard:
Point 1: The Stars traded Gonchar, who was underperforming his expected contribution. The same thing could be done with Hemsky!
Counterpoint 1: “The situation is totally different.” Hemsky is signed for 2.8 more years, is like 10 years younger, and isn’t blocking any of the kids. He’s also still really good.
Point 2: The Stars are desperate, they need to make something happen!
Counterpoint 2: “This is probably the worst possible time to trade him as his value has never been lower.” Even if you indulge this silly urge, you are trading from the weakest position I can imagine, outside of the Stars having literally only Hemsky on their roster. What on earth could you expect to get for him at this point?
Point 3: The defense has been awful, the Stars have to address this!
Counterpoint 3: “There probably [definitely] isn’t a top-flight defenseman on the trading block right now.” As has been said frequently, you can’t just “trade” and fix your team whenever you want. Much like line dancing, you need a partner willing to subject themselves to the ridicule of their peers, and many other onlookers if the steps don’t work out. In other words, please never ever ever suggest “it’s time to trade player X” without giving an example of how that trade could reasonably benefit the team.
Point 4: Did I just fall for clickbait that was just trying to rile people up?
Counterpoint 4: “Hey, check out these great links below.”
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I present to you, Thursday’s Pointless Links:
It’s official: Dallas has the worst home record in hockey as well as the worst record in the league when scoring first. [DMN]
Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy fame asks the questions on all our hearts: What’s gone wrong for Dallas? Good to know Toronto isn’t the only team capable of drawing attention through losing in fabulous fashion. [Puck Daddy]
Our favorite defenseman to spell will be playing on Thursday night, so go ahead and have a guess: who will be coming out of the lineup for Jyrki Jokipakka? Remember, that player’s grandparents might read your comment. [Stars]
Ryan Garbutt is going to be out longer than we thought. Current timetable is one week of rest as he continues to recover from his upper-body injury. [Mark Stepneski’s Awesome Twitter]
Mike Modano will be honored at the AAC before Saturday night’s game following Modano’s recent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. [Stars]
Today’s blast from the past article is a Seattle Thunderbirds-perspective Q and A with Brenden Dillon from the Jagr season in 2013. Learn about Dillon’s favorite dessert, granola bars, and what’s on his iPod! These seemed like happier times (although sadder, big picture). [King5]
Really sad news about Jack Johnson, who just filed for bankruptcy–yes, that Jack Johnson–after his parents appear to have borrowed $15 million in his name. He currently claims less than $50,000 in assets and over $10 million in debt. I can’t imagine how that must feel. [Columbus Dispatch]
Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis has received another run of bad luck, as he will be out for at least six months with a blood clot in his lung. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Dupuis. [Sporting News]
Kevin Connatuon was “hoping someone would claim him off waivers.” Now doesn’t that just melt your heart? Again, I miss Kevin and I hope he does just great in Columbus. Here’s a look at what happened to him in Dallas this year. [The Hockey Writers]
This was kind of crazy: Rocco Grimaldi left his AHL game in the 3rd period in order to play in Florida’s game in Los Angeles that same day. I guess they won’t be questioning his fitness any time soon, eh? [The Hockey News]
Finally, check out the highlights from the Oilers/Canucks game last night. This one had action all over the place, including a game-tying goal that was waved off immediately (and correctly) in the dying seconds of the game;