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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Stars Are the DFW Team Built For the Future, Says Rick Gosselin

We all have opinions on the Dallas Stars‘ future, and many of us devote time when we should be asleep to scouring the internets for the hawt taeks of Great Hockey Minds (okay, the conglomerated hockey media). But sometimes it pays to get the perspective of those who spend most of their time on other sports, and that’s where Rick Gosselin comes in.

Gosselin, of course, is a Dallas Morning News sports columnist who’s probably best known for his work on the Cowboys, Mavericks and Texas Rangers beats. But he writes enough about local hockey to be able to compare and contrast across leagues, and as he shared in his Thursday chat, he’s already picked a Dallas-Fort Worth-area team to put on success watch:

Without question the Stars. The offense is already in place to win a Stanley Cup and the defense is on the way with Esa Lindell, Stephen Johns and Patrik Nemeth all scheduled to join John Klingberg taking regular shifts next winter. The Stars are so young they probably have a window of 5-6 years with this team as a strong Stanley Cup contender. Either this bigger, younger, more physical defense will help fix the goaltending or Jim Nill must find someone capable of winning a Cup. But I like the future of these Stars better than that of the Rangers, Cowboys and Mavericks because of the combination of talent and youth.

He also answered a “what if” question about how the Stars would have matched up against the Pittsburgh Penguins in an alternate-timeline Stanley Cup final:

The Stars would have matched up better against the Penguins because of their speed. The Stars played the Penguins twice this past season and beat them twice, outscoring them 7-1. But you have to win your way to the Stanley Cup final, which means beating some good teams along the way.

There’s more at the link, including a link to the rest of Gosselin’s DFW sports chat. [SportsDayDFW]

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Alex Goligoski to the Minnesota Wild? Vernon Fiddler to the Edmonton Oilers? Mike Heika muses on where the Stars’ UFA players may fit in if they don’t re-sign. [SportsDayDFW]

The Players’ Tribune collected personal reflections from players including Mike Modano and Tyler Seguin in this tribute to Mr. Hockey.

Tonight: The San Jose Sharks forced a Game 6, now they have to prove they can win two in a row. Either the Pens will lock up a Stanley Cup tonight, or they won’t. Tune in at 7 p.m. Central on NBC, CBC or TVA Sports to see what happens next. [NHL]

Mike Milbury’s worst attempt at a joke and Pierre McGuire’s most unnecessary junior-hockey reference were just two of the moments that won Puck Daddy’s Game 5 Postgame Awards this weekend. [Puck Daddy]

Justin Schultz belongs to that lonely fraternity of NHL players who endured a good working-over by Oilers fans and the Edmonton media before finally getting traded to another team. Life has been good to him in Pittsburgh.

Now that Logan Couture is racking up the playoff points at a record-setting pace and his name has entered the Conn Smythe Trophy conversation, it’s easy to forget that he lost a good 30 games earlier this season to injuries his coach called “catastrophic.” Here’s how he battled back.

Meanwhile, teammate Joe Thornton is setting records for veteran scoring in the playoffs, but his possession stats are the real story. [NHL]

The Boston Bruins have 99 problems, and deciding if they’re going to let Loui Eriksson walk away is one.

The Calgary Flames, looking for depth in goal, have reportedly signed 23-year-old Czech-league G David Rittich of BK Mladá Boleslav. [Today’s Slapshot]

Pavel Datsyuk and the Detroit Red Wings have postponed their discussion about the Magic Man’s future for one week. It’s for good reasons.

As for what Datsyuk’s expected departure could involve, here’s one rumor.

Speaking of cap space, some teams will be hit harder than others if rumors are true that the cap ceiling may actually go down next year. (Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus…we’re looking at you.) [The Hockey News]

Congratulations to Cleveland’s Lake Erie Monsters, who swept the Hershey Bears on their way to the 2016 Calder Cup. [AHL]

Finally: You thought it, but they did it. Block 3 Brewing Company in St. Jacobs, Ontario has created a lager in honor of Jaromir Jagr. I wait only for their version of the Most Interesting Man in the World ads.

Talking Points