The Dallas Stars are in playoff position in February, and Stars fans once again wonder if it can last. And some of their best supporters may base their ticket-buying decisions on what the team does, or doesn’t do, at the NHL trade deadline.
Sean Shapiro of The Athletic DFW chased a random mailbag comment to survey 100 anonymous correspondents with some form of season-ticket plan. He found a mixture of confidence and skepticism about the team’s next moves:
“I went to renew my season tickets for next season this past week, but am now waiting to see if (or) what this team does before the deadline,” one season ticket holder said. “If they don’t do much or anything, I’ll want to see a major organization shakeup. Management has had six years, and this is the product we’re getting in return. It’s inexcusable.”…
“Last season when they didn’t make a move you didn’t think to much about it, then everything fell apart,” another season ticket holder wrote. “So this season I want to see what they do at the deadline and would like to see them prove they are in it. I’m going to wait a bit and see instead of renewing right away.”
About 18,174 people attend the average home game in American Airlines Center, with perhaps 60 percent of them holding some form of season ticket, according to Stars president Brad Alberts. (The front office doesn’t make the exact numbers public.) Shapiro found that most of his correspondents – 56 of them – didn’t hesitate to renew. Others renewed, but with reservations:
“I very seriously considered not renewing after Jim Lites went on that profane rant. I’m a huge Tyler Seguin fan, couldn’t believe the slap in the face he received from Lites after re-signing at a discount price,” one respondent wrote. “Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that not renewing would feel like I was removing my support from the team. I care more about supporting the players than I care about not supporting the front office and all of their mistakes.”…
“I think the Lites situation was actually sort of interesting from a fan base perspective,” another respondent wrote. “It hasn’t really blown up in the organization’s face as badly as it could have.”
Eight respondents won’t renew, and their reasons may look familiar:
“I’m tired of us making trades and the justification being things like ‘he’s a veteran leader’ or ‘we wanted to add size’ or something,” another season ticket holder said. “Give me some efficiency, some possession, anything that justifies making the trade that I can see on paper.”
There’s much more under the paywall. [The Athletic DFW]
Stars Stuff
Forward Joel L’Esperance plays his first home NHL game in Dallas tonight against the Nashville Predators. Get to know him.
Joel L’Esperance may be with the Stars at just the right time. He could get big minutes and even top power-play time during an important three-game homestand. https://t.co/XumLrv4dkX
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 19, 2019
Ben Bishop will be out again tonight, but it’s probably not a big deal, maybe. [SportsDayDFW]
Jim Montgomery said there is not concern that Ben Bishop’s injury will linger this season. Anton Khudobin allows the Stars to wait, he said.
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) February 18, 2019
Is Brett Ritchie coming off the first power-play unit? Jim Montgomery says they’d like to shake up special teams again.
Changes coming to the Dallas Stars’ struggling power play units? | @MDeFranks #GoStars https://t.co/7x4mXsCcuJ
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) February 19, 2019
Around The League(s)
In On The #Kill Taker
- Famously small forward Alex DeBrincat racked up five points as the Chicago Blackhawks won a scoring fest against the Ottawa Senators, 8-7. [Second City Hockey]
- Semyon Varlamov earned the shutout as the Colorado Avalanche blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0. [Mile High Hockey]/
Do the Boston Bruins owe an OT victory over the San Jose Sharks to a moment of carefully considered neglect?
An odd play in overtime took a potential goal away from Evander Kane 🙃https://t.co/KVitKPpogN
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 19, 2019
This was after Chris Wagner tied the game late on a goal that was clearly scored with a high stick. Was it legal? [Sportsnet]
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the Carolina Hurricanes’ Storm Surge, and Rod Brind’Amour ignores most of them.
Rod Brind’Amour: Hurricanes ‘don’t care what other people think’ about celebrations. https://t.co/yZoC72o3u6 pic.twitter.com/NlkiZJs7hw
— theScore (@theScore) February 18, 2019
Jared Clinton offers the timely reminder that not all TDL transactions are created equal.
Two notable deadline acquisitions from last season have already been flipped to other clubs. @THNJaredClinton on recent deadline flops that should give some teams reason to think twice:https://t.co/McYebugWvX
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) February 19, 2019
Jaromir Jagr will probably survive the heat death of the universe, so this is shocking but not surprising.
He’s baaaaack. https://t.co/YtE24sN8FG
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) February 18, 2019
The St. Louis Blues are back, and rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington has saved their bacon. We’ll be seeing a lot of this guy – learn more about him.
No Sweat: How goalie Jordan Binnington made most of his chance and turned #StLBlues into NHL’s hottest team: https://t.co/yxi8vyi2FB pic.twitter.com/HRTg4jRaOu
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 18, 2019
Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park
The Texas Stars are ready for Amplify Austin Day, and they’ve made it easy for you to get ready, too.
On Thursday, February 28th, The Texas Stars Foundation will be participating in Amplify Austin Day. A fun and rewarding way for the community to help local nonprofits.
Click the link to support Amplify Austin and the Texas Stars Foundation. https://t.co/CQR1VuGHTx pic.twitter.com/CpNz6X3Kea
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) February 18, 2019
Finally
What hath Don Cherry wrought? Possibly worth owning even if you normally have no use for the Canes. Enjoy.
We’re a bunch of jerks and we have the shirts to prove it.
Available later this week at The Eye. pic.twitter.com/TEefqETEau
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) February 17, 2019