Dallas Stars Daily Links: Jim Nill Talks About the Stars' Offseason With The Ticket
It's always worth listening when the GM is talking. Plus, figuring out the NHL-MLB Advanced Media deal, and keeping up with Tyler Seguin.
The offseason wears on, but there are bright spots out there as we wait for the official 2015 training camp schedule. Like, for instance, Jim Nill on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) to talk about another fairly epic offseason for the Dallas Stars.
Nill discussed the tandem-goalie plan and confirmed that one of its most important features is the option not to ride Kari Lehtonen into the ground while he's injured:
There was a lot of games last year, people don't know this part of it, where Kari Lehtonen was pretty banged up and we didn't have a choice but to ride him. Now he knows that he can get four or five days off and get re-energized. Same thing for Niemi. He knows that he can get some time off when he's not 100 percent.
And here's what he has to say about the youngsters who could be knocking on the door:
The best thing is that Lindy and I are going to sit back at training camp and at the start of the season and if there's some young guy there who's just saying, 'You know what? I deserve to be on the team,' and he's earned it, then we'll have to make the decisions. But the one thing that I don't want is kids coming up, sitting in the press box with me and some popcorn when they can be down playing 20 minutes in Austin becoming a better player. If they're in the top-12 forwards or the top-6 defensemen and they deserve to be here, we'll find a way to make it work. If not, the development time in their careers is so important that they gotta be playing.
SportsDayDFW posted the highlights in two parts. Find them here [Part 1] and here [Part 2].
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No doubt you've heard about the new multimedia partnership between the NHL and Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), but what does it mean? Here's the official NHL explanation. [NHL]
Allan Muir sees it as a win for hockey fans and foresees "significant upgrades" to the NHL app and to GameCenter Live. [Sports Illustrated]
...And here's a techie's take from Mario Aguilar of Gizmodo. One word: Statcast. [Gizmodo]
Beijing has won the 2022 Winter Olympics (pause for just a moment to let that sink in), and China has big plans to grow its hockey infrastructure. Sheng Peng writes about how the NHL can join the gold rush. [Jewels From the Crown]
The Dallas Stars' biggest mistake in 2014-15 was believing their own hype, says Tyler Seguin. He also discusses new teammates (Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya) and old friends (Jamie Benn) in his latest interview, with SportsNet's Luke Fox. [SportsNet]
"We felt we had all these top players, all this firepower that could score a ton of goals. Automatically in training camp we were scoring a ton, but we weren't focusing on defence....
"That's not ... on the coaches or GMs at all. That was all on us. We felt we could outscore every team."
You'll also find this deathless exchange between the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars on Twitter:
IT'S OFFICIAL: Rangers land pitcher Cole Hamels & reliever Jake Diekman from the Phillies. #WelcomeToTexas pic.twitter.com/B00hYRbKDK
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) July 31, 2015
.@Rangers that's a lot of handsome traded to DFW this month. pic.twitter.com/6K09hi1nPt
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 31, 2015
@Rangers AND he fits into the all-purpose family photo. pic.twitter.com/ssNVgkkz3a
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 31, 2015
Keeping up with Tyler Seguin is probably a full-time job for somebody. Thank Mike Heika for this recap of Seguin's year to date, from The Players' Tribune to the rubber ducky to the Goon squad. [SportsDayDFW]
Players and fans may never know what Gary Bettman said in his sealed deposition in the NHL concussion lawsuit — but they deserve to, says Allan Muir. [Sports Illustrated]
After shoulder surgery and a cancer scare, 21-year-old defender Olli Maatta is healthy and ready to take on an expanded role as a core player for the 2015-16 Pittsburgh Penguins. [The Hockey News]
John Klingberg has made it onto a list of the 10 best defensemen in the Western Conference, and your fantasy hockey league may never be the same. [Dobber Hockey]
In case you missed #StarsSunday, Owen Newkirk is here with this public service announcement:
Episode 10 of #StarsSunday is now up on the @DallasStars website: http://t.co/v6stgDAADb and also on iTunes: https://t.co/i10LjSRJR8
— Owen Newkirk (@OwenNewkirk) August 3, 2015
You've seen Victor E. Green in the NHL 16 Gameplay Balance trailer. Now take a look at other NHL mascots who are part of the game's Arena Atmosphere enhancements. [EA Sports]
Angela Ruggiero is having a busy year in career honors. Just over a month after her selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, the Team USA legend joins former NHL'ers Chris Drury and Mathieu Schneider and retired USA Hockey president Ron DeGregorio in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2015. [USA Hockey]
One week after being traded to the Vancouver Canucks, center Brandon Sutter has signed a five-year, $21.875 million extension with his new team. [Puck Daddy]
And here's your feel-good hit of the summer: Two Canadian college students have invented an audible puck for visually impaired players. [The Canadian Press]
Have you signed up for the Stars Insider yet? Get that done by 5 p.m. Thursday, August 6, and it's good for an invite to the regular-season presale that begins at 10 a.m. Friday, August 7.
REMINDER: Sign up to become a #Stars Insider by 5pm Thursday to receive your code for the pre-sale Friday at 10am. pic.twitter.com/9DvLqQaDBW
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) August 4, 2015
Finally: Jeff K shares this 1996 photo of The Cure's Robert Smith in a Dallas Stars jersey, from the Dallas Municipal Archive. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT YOU GUYS.
08.21.96 Robert Smith of @TheCure in @DallasStars jersey. courtesy Dallas Municipal Archive / Reunion Arena Project pic.twitter.com/ZmZwjaHvAL
— Jeff K (@jeffk_stars) August 3, 2015