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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Stars Will Take On the Penguins Without Jordie Benn

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

Yesterday’s biggest news came from the Dallas Stars’ main office, as the team traded longtime defender Jordie Benn to the Montreal Canadiens.

GM Jim Nill says the deal was all about the expansion draft:

The expansion draft was a factor in the deal. Nill said there was concern that they could lose Benn in this June’s expansion draft when Las Vegas selects one player from each NHL team. So, the Stars made a deal now and got a player and draft pick in return.

“With expansion coming up we have to make some decisions,” Nill said. “We just felt it was a deal that would help us going down the road with expansion and everything else. And we got a return on it, which was important.”

…

“Jordie has been a great player for us and has done a great job for us,” Nill said. “I wanted to make sure he was going to a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. I think it is a good situation for him to have a chance to win the Cup.”

Right-shot defender Greg Pateryn is coming to Dallas in the deal:

“He went to the University of Michigan, so he’s a player I’ve seen coming up,” Nill said. “He’s a big, heavy body. He’s a right-shot, which came into play. He’s more of a defender than an offensive guy. He’ll come in and get his opportunity, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Mark Stepneski has more. [Stars Inside Edge]

Lindy Ruff discussed today’s meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins (puck drop at 7:30 p.m. Central time), and the possible returns of Antti Niemi and Ales Hemsky, after Monday practice. [SportsDayDFW]

Sean Shapiro reports from a conference call with incoming defender Pateryn. [Wrong Side of the Red Line]

I think it’s huge for me. I think it’s a great opportunity and I think it’s exciting to start somewhere fresh. And I’m going to come in hard and make sure something happens.

And Mark Stepneski has his number.

The Canadiens prepare to welcome Jordie to Montreal, and head coach Claude Julien says he’s looking forward to it.

The Elder Benn will meet with the local press today.

Yukon Cornelius has already said he’s looking forward to “a new start in an amazing city.” [Montreal Canadiens]

He’ll also get a new number on his new team.

The Stars-Bruins game may have ended in a loss, yet the second annual PEVS Protects event was a big success.

But there’s been fallout since the Stars organization dropped the ball on honoring Hockey Is For Everyone Night. [SportsDayDFW]

The Minnesota Wild have been hit by the latest round of mumps, with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville testing positive.

It didn’t stop the Wild from winning last night’s only #MDK game, as they beat the Kings in OT. [Hockey Wilderness]

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning have traded gigantic center Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The St. Louis Blues dealt blue-chip blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals as part of a much bigger picks-and-players package.

The move clearly shows that the Caps “will stop at nothing” to win a Cup this year, writes Matt Larkin. [The Hockey News]

Yet Pierre LeBrun suggests the Shatty haul should have been larger.

Now that the Los Angeles Kings have landed Ben Bishop, Frank Seravalli takes a look at the state of the goalie market. [TSN]

Gary Bettman doesn’t like the current bye-week format, either. [Sportsnet]

And now for something completely different: Meet the nine current and former NHL players who were born on a Leap Day. [NHL]

The Texas Stars have fallen off a cliff in the past couple of weeks and will almost certainly miss the 2017 Calder Cup playoffs. [100 Degree Hockey]

Finally: One hard-working class got to see the Stars practice and meet Antoine Roussel and Devin Shore after winning the Stars’ annual Stick With Reading competition. Here’s the video. Enjoy.

Talking Points