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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Seeking a Long-Term Partner for John Klingberg

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

It’s June, and silly season is about to kick into high gear, so of course the conversation turns to fixing up John Klingberg. …No, fixing him up with a long-term wingman on the Dallas Stars‘ first defensive pairing.

Mike Heika made no bones about what he thinks Jim Nill should focus on during the weekly DMN chat last Tuesday:

I personally think he should see if he can pull off a big trade at the draft and let [all the pending UFA defensemen] test free agency. If he gets the D-man he wants, he could go with:

Defenseman X-Klingberg
Oduya-Johns
Lindell-Nemeth
Oleksiak

He also talked about how the Brenden Dillon–Jason Demers trade looks now that it’s two seasons down the road:

Brenden Dillon has been fine. He’s a third pairing defenseman. [The Stars] needed a righty on a short-term contract and got that in Jason Demers. Now, they can clear the path for young defensemen who might be better than Dillon. I think it has worked out fine.

Read the whole chat here, including Mike’s thoughts on Tyler Seguin and the World Cup of Hockey (after you clear your cookies!). [SportsDayDFW]

*****

Set reminders: Game 4 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks begins tonight at 7 p.m. Central time on NBC, CBC and TVA Sports. The Pens lead the series 2-1. [NHL]

And suddenly it’s that time of week again: Heika’s weekly chat takes place at 2 p.m. Central time today. Send him your questions here. [SportsDayDFW]

Corey Masisak has come up with a way for every not-Canadiens team to pry P.K. Subban out of Montréal. Is it possible for the Stars to put together a package for the Subbanator that doesn’t include Klinger? [The Sporting News]

In other championships, North Texas’ own Allen Americans can complete a Kelly Cup repeat with a Game 6 victory over the Wheeling Nailers in Allen Event Center Thursday night.

James Mirtle says the Sharks‘ best strategy going forward may be addition by subtraction.

They probably would prefer not to shorten their bench this way: Tomas Hertl is still day-to-day and unconfirmed for Game 4 after his lower-body injury. [San Jose Mercury News]

They may not have any marquee blueliners, but the Pens’ “no-name D” is doing work, says Scott Burnside. [ESPN]

Now that the Sharks have the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup Finals win under their belts, their key players “might feel a little more relaxed,” says former NHL coach Craig Berube.

Speaking of the Sharks and being relaxed, Michael Farber’s new feature on Joe Thornton goes into the strange tie between Jumbo Joe’s nickname and his hometown, and also the story of why the whole team has Sharks bathrobes. [Sports Illustrated]

Also in SI: Alex Prewitt profiles Olli Maatta and how he’s rebounded from injury, surgery and illness to become “a piece of Finnish lumber” on the Pens’ blueline. [SI]

Tongues started wagging when superprospect Patrik Laine was unable to complete lower-body testing at the NHL Combine on Saturday – but doctors and Laine himself say he’ll be fine. Full Combine results are here.

Now that everyone’s had time to digest the 2016 World Cup of Hockey rosters, Andrew Berkshire decided to find out how all eight teams compete on paper. [Sportsnet]

How much does league parity hurt players and teams? A whole lot, says Larry Brooks. [New York Post]

File under “stars of the NBA Finals representing the home team during the Stanley Cup Finals”: The Golden State Warriors’ Marreese Speights was caught wearing a custom Sharks jersey before Game 2. [CSN Bay Area]

Finally: Listen to Finnish sportscaster Antti Mäkisen yell “Joonas Donskoi!” like it’s a freakin’ Viking war cry after Donskoi’s OT winner in Game 3. By the way, that’s former Star Janne Niinimaa sharing booth duties. You’re welcome. [Sportsnet]

Bonus track: The same goal, called by Bhupinder Hundal and Randip Janda of Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi:

Talking Points