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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Jim Montgomery’s Impact on the Stars’ Roster

Posted on by Tyler Mair

When he was head coach at the University of Denver, Jim Montgomery had total control of his roster, from recruitment to lineup decisions. As head coach of the Dallas Stars, he will have some say in who makes the NHL squad, but will ultimately have to deal with whatever hand GM Jim Nill deals him.

So what impact on the roster should fans expect from Montgomery? How the coach views certain players, such as Jason Spezza, might influence Nill’s decision on whether he will keep them around or not:

At some point soon the Stars are going to have organizational meetings where Jim Nill and Jim Montgomery will likely sit down and discuss the make-up of the roster.

If Montgomery sees Spezza as a key part of what he’d like to build, I think the Stars will give the coach a chance to work with the veteran this season. If he’s not part of the vision, then Spezza will likely be traded this summer.

One area where Montgomery won’t have much of a say in is the entry draft:

Hiring Jim Montgomery won’t change the Stars’ draft approach. Joe McDonnell will still run the draft, and the Stars still have much of the same scouting staff they’ve employed during Jim Nill’s tenure. There may be more of a focus on skill over size, but I think at the core Dallas will continue to draft with a similar approach.

You can read more on Jim Montgomery and a whole lot more in Sean Shapiro’s latest mailbag here.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Update

We have our final Conference Finalist. The Winnipeg Jets took an early lead against the Nashville Predators and never looked back, taking a 5-1 win in Game 7. [Arctic Ice Hockey]

The big story of the night — Pekka Rinne, who let in two soft goals and was pulled early in the first period:

Here was the eventual game-winner that chased Rinne, courtesy of first star Paul Stastny:

Speaking of Stastny, can you say “called it?”

Around the League

We now have our final four, and boy, is it an interesting combination:

The Eastern Conference Finals starts tonight. Greg Wyshnyski breaks down the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. [ESPN]

Stars forward Mattias Janmark gets a shoutout as one of five players breaking out at this year’s World Championship:

Down Goes Brown wants you all to know in an early Grab Bag that it’s okay to have goalie taunts, but only if you do them correctly. [Vice Sports]

Going to quintuple overtime must be a killer for the players, but what about the various stadium and broadcasting employees?

Finally…

First House Hunters, now The Office. What’s next, Brooklyn Nine-Nine?

(P.S. Too soon with the B99 joke?)

Talking Points