Dallas Stars Daily Links: Inside the Mind of Jim Nill
Pierre LeBrun chats with the Stars’ GM about the trade deadline, coaching changes, and more. Plus, potential trade targets for Dallas, how the KHL promotes women’s hockey, and more.
As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches, Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill has some crucial decisions to make. More likely than not, the Stars will finish the season either second or third in the Central and will have to beat both the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Now obviously, the Stars would like to add some offense at the trade deadline. But with a weak trade crop this year, Nill has to decide if the cost will be worth it:
“The biggest question is what’s the price of acquisition? There’s a balancing act there. Draft picks are becoming more and more valuable in today’s game. That’s what we got to balance… There’s a short-term risk/reward to that and a long-term risk/reward that we always have to balance between the cap, the draft picks.”
If the Stars don’t make any moves, then they’ll have to rely on their own players to step up. Dallas is 28th in the league in goal scoring, so it’s safe to say that nearly everyone on the roster could stand to improve a little offensively:
“I think there’s more for high-end players to give there … And even our support players, I think there’s more to give there, too. I think we can be a more determined team in the offensive zone, possession time and all that. … I think we can still be more of a possession team in the offensive zone and I think that’s where our game will change a little bit.”
You can hear more from Nill in Pierre Lebrun’s interview with him here.
Stars Stories
Speaking of the trade deadline, Heika talks about potential targets and more in his latest mailbag:
Catch up on your Stars news here:https://t.co/C1J7d72iUo
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) January 29, 2020
Jason Spezza returns to Dallas tonight as the Stars take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here’s what Jason Dickinson has to say about his return:
Jason Dickinson on playing against Spezza for the first time tomorrow:
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 28, 2020
"It'll be weird to play against Spez. He was great to me and he's an awesome guy to be around."#TORvsDAL | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/StiUN7lvCQ
Here’s what Rick Bowness has to say about tonight's matchup:
"We got back to playing Dallas Stars hockey." - Rick Bowness#GoStars pic.twitter.com/MwCRcmh2R0
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 28, 2020
Former Stars goaltender Ed Belfour got in a bit of trouble yesterday...
Former NHL star Ed Belfour was arrested in a hotel early Tuesday morning https://t.co/VjgyDu6PPQ
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) January 28, 2020
Around the League
With so many teams on the playoff cusp this year, the deadline could either be a dud or very interesting. Here are some teams to keep an eye on:
Which teams will have the greatest influence on the trade deadline? @THNMattLarkin on six 'swing teams' who could shape trade action:https://t.co/jdB29U5MDR
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) January 29, 2020
For the teams that are already clear sellers, maybe it’s time to look ahead to the NHL Draft?
If your NHL club is in search of a forward in the upcoming draft, you're in luck writes @coreypronman as he offers up his midseason 2020 NHL Draft top prospects rankings. https://t.co/LfIY2cfVju
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 29, 2020
The Nashville Predators are struggling this year, which warms my heart:
The Predators' season hasn't gone according to plan and has potential to end as a step backwards for a promising group. What would that mean for Nashville?@THNJaredClinton with more:https://t.co/LaNnKkrZeX
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) January 29, 2020
Finally, apparently the KHL is a big supporter of women’s hockey. Perhaps the NHL could follow in their footsteps?
Went to Russia and came back pleasantly surprised by their support and promotion of women’s hockey. Is the KHL setting a model the NHL can follow? https://t.co/SYyeBp8iTm
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) January 29, 2020