Hey, remember how the Texas Stars won the Calder Cup last year? That was cool. check out the resultant bling:
Check out the 2014 Calder Cup Champion Texas Stars rings #baronrings @BaronRings pic.twitter.com/ovUCBaWSFX
— Paul LaMantia (@baronringspaul) January 16, 2015
It’s Saturday, so let’s just remember how strong this system is for a second. Sure, there are holes–every team has holes–but this organization is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was four years ago. Yes, a few of the pieces of this team have moved on (farewell, Dustin Jeffrey), but many of them are still there. After all, here is one of the guys we didn’t really get to see much of this year:
After about the 1:20 mark, you’ll hear a few names being rattled off. Just realize that every single one of those names have seen time in Dallas this season. That is pretty cool for those guys, right?
There’s a long way to go yet before the Dallas Stars are the Dallas Stars we yearn for; but let’s try to take a big-picture view today and just enjoy this season, whatever it may hold. It’s Saturday after all.
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Fallout Boy will be headlining the All-Star Game entertainment. Say, that reminds me: Back when Facebook was still new and cool (i.e. only used in universities), there were these fun Facebook Groups. One of my absolute favorites was the group, “Fallout Boy is nothing but a Simpsons reference to me.” I stand by my membership in that group to this day.
I’ll bookend links with videos today, because they are both too good not to share. Check out Reto Berra, who is a goalie, scoring the 11th goalie goal in AHL history. Next, check out his fist bump at the bench. Colin Fraser channels the spirit of Brett Hull in expressing his displeasure:
Hey, speaking of the Stars’ minor league players, OHL prospect Remi Elie potted four points (and a natural hat trick to boot) for Lake Erie last night. That is not bad, not bad at all. [Otters Hockey]
But wait: there’s more! The Texas Stars shut out the OKC Barons last night, and that’s the first shutout any team has earned against the Barons this season. Jussi Rynnas stopped 39 shots, and Travis Morin (of course) and Maxime Fortunus (of Christmas Eve rhyme fame) scored. [100 Degree Hockey]
What are the Stars trying to do to fix the power play? [DMN]
And if you somehow haven’t seen it, Mike Heika’s latest Observations piece is on point. Do we demand perfection at the expense of enjoyment? Or, as one of my old college professors would say, are we sacrificing the good for the sake of the perfect? [DMN]
The Dallas scoreboard was up to its usual Winnipeggery Thursday night, in case you missed it. [Global News]
Winnipeg fans are not enamored with the Jets‘ performance Thursday, but a win is a win is a win, right? [Arctic Ice Hockey]
Barry Trotz left quite an impression on Josh Cooper of [Puck Daddy.]
How good is Mark Giordano? Very good, is how good. [SB Nation]
Was Adam Burish waived before he was told about it? Well, maybe not. No one’s really sure how much dysfunction there is in San Jose, but there’s no denying there is some. [CSN Bay Area]
Kyle Okposo scored four goals as the Islanders and their raucous crowd downed the Penguins, 6-3. Seriously, this game was electric. Can’t wait to see the Islanders in the playoffs. Hey, on another note, do you remember the last Islander to score four goals? Well, it was Matt Moulson, who victimized Andrew Raycroft, Jake Dowell, Sheldon Souray, Adam Pardy and all our other favorite Dallas Stars in this game (video) back in 2011. [Islanders]
Brad Marchand got two games for his slew foot. Do you think he deserved more? Ryan Garbutt probably does. [NHL]
Look at li’l baby Sidney Crosby. Literally. Here he is, all young and well-spoken for his age and junk. [Bar Down]
Marc Staal is getting an extension from the Rangers. Something like 6 years/$34 million. As usual, good luck conceptualizing that amount of money. [NY Post]
War-on-Ice is trying to start its own version of CapGeek, which would be awesome because War on Ice is awesome. [War on Ice]
Sean Mcindoe’s typically worthwhile Friday Grab Bag features Wayne Gretzky receiving a scrapbook from Gary Bettman during a hockey game. [Grantland]
Icethetics does not love the new All-Star Game Elite Green Jersey Sweater Things. [Icethetics]
Finally, check out this moving video of an awesome thing the Blackhawks did for Christina, who is blind. Yeah, I know. Have a tissue: