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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Can The Stars Live With Or Without John Klingberg?

Saad Yousuf examines one of the offseason’s most important questions in his latest mailbag. Plus, Finals fever, the Flyers make their move, and more.

The 2022 NHL Draft is nearly a month away – so what do Dallas Stars fans do to pass the time until then? Why, chat online endlessly about the Dallas Stars, of course.

The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf has been taking plenty of questions since the Victory Green Gang’s first-round playoffs exit. And he leads off his latest mailbag with something many Stars die-hards will find very hard to take. He figures the chance of John Klingberg staying in Texas is “35 percent, at the most,” and here’s why:

Over the last year, there have been two sides factoring into the Klingberg negotiations: Klingberg’s camp and the Stars’ front office. At this point in time, I don’t think either is going to really play into Klingberg’s destination. The determining factor now will be the market. How will the rest of the NHL view the upside of getting a skilled right-handed offensive defenseman, compared to the reservations of a 30-year-old defenseman coming off of two subpar seasons? How much will the overall suppression of skill in Dallas be a selling point by Klingberg’s camp and how much will other teams buy that?

I think Klingberg is being realistic in his asking price. He isn’t a flash-in-the-pan talent; he’s consistently shown how good he can be. The problem is, that’s not the most recent sample size, and Father Time is undefeated. But he’s looking at the market, especially last offseason, and is considering that this is the last monster payday of his playing career. He should get every penny he can, and he’ll deserve it.

Then there’s his view of what one fan called “‘playoff contender’ purgatory,” and why the front office may actually prefer that state of affairs:

The Stars believe their product needs to, at the least, be competitive to keep the fan base’s interest throughout the season. Playoff revenue is a boost so making it to the playoffs is the first goal. From there, the longer the run, the better it is for everybody, from ownership to the front office to coaches and players to, of course, fans.

Being Cup contenders means long playoff runs, right? So, why not build a roster that way? Well, if the Stars can do it without risking what often follows those high-end Cup windows, they’d love to. But to have a handful of years near the top and then a bunch of years at the bottom — again, see the Red Wings and Blackhawks — is not something this organization wants to experience or believes it can withstand.

There’s much more behind the paywall – including thoughts on Jake Oettinger’s trajectory, the Miro Heiskanen-vs.-Cale Makar fantasy redraft, the Stars’ most tradeable players, and more. [The Athletic DFW]

Stars Stuff

The Stars are getting more work done on next season’s roster. Evidence: this week’s signings of forwards Nick Caamano...

...and Fredrik Karlström.

Speaking of the future, check this update from the Stars’ digital manager.

And if you’re a Victory Green fan in the North Texas area, here’s your marker for the official start of summer.

Around The Leagues

As the Stanley Cup Final series begins, NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika examines the years-long processes that brought the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche to this point.

One of the Bolts’ top players is back from a lower-body injury just in time for tonight’s festivities.

Emily Kaplan’s on-camera work has been a bright spot even for those who aren’t fans of ESPN’s 2022 playoffs production. Here’s how she views the highs and lows of her journey.

Is John Tortorella no longer available? Rumor has it that the Philadelphia Flyers have made their move, and now it’s all over but the shouting.

Now this is one signing bonus you might not have considered yet.

So it’s come to this for the Chicago Blackhawks. “Hey, Alex DeBrincat is Alex DeBrincat, but a trade could be anything! Even an Alex DeBrincat!”

John Gibson is a Vezina-caliber netminder who has played in goalie Verdun for much of his career. But how likely is it, really, that the Anaheim Ducks can trade him (and his contract)?

Finally

Because you probably needed a video of Esa Lindell and Roope Hintz drawing each other, and you didn’t even know it. Enjoy.

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