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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Fiddler Rides Off Into the Sunset

Posted on by Tyler Mair

Ask Stars fans who their favorite players have been from the past several seasons and you’re likely to get some common answers: Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are popular picks, as well as John Klingberg and Antoine Roussel.  But one name that might pop up more often than you would expect is Vernon Fiddler, who announced his retirement yesterday.

Fiddler only played 5 of his 14 NHL seasons with Dallas, but he formed a special bond with the team and its fans over that time. He was always a reliable player on the ice and shone just as bright off it. In 2015, he and his wife started up Fidd’s Kids, a foundation set up to help kids battling cancer and get them tickets to see Stars hockey games. It was a sad day when he left to sign with the New Jersey Devils, but now it looks like Vern is back to stay:

The Stars organization is truly world class. I will always be thankful to everyone I met there.

…

The relationship I have with the team and city is why Dallas will continue to be our home. I’m excited to get to know the area even more.

Does this mean that Fiddler might end up with an official role in the Dallas Stars organization? Only time will tell, but all the signs seem to be pointing towards it.

You can read about Fiddler’s journey to and through the NHL from the man himself here: [The Players’ Tribune]

Mike Heika gives his two cents on Vern’s retirement, stating that he was able to find the balance between the ‘serious’ and ‘fun’ sides of the game. [SportsDay DFW]

The Stars announced the roster for their 2017-18 training camp, which starts tomorrow. There are 62 players in total, including 2017 draft picks Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, and Brett Davis. [NHL]

If you’re worried about Stars’ prospects such as Riley Tufte and Jake Oettinger not being on the roster, don’t be:

Mike Murphy gives his case as why we should expect bounce back seasons for both the Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning. [FanRag Sports]

Alexander Radulov is getting a head start on mentoring Stars’ prospect and fellow Russian Denis Gurianov:

Around the League

With all due respect to Vernon Fiddler, the biggest news of the day in the NHL was Calgary Flames’ team president Ken King announcing that the team would cease negotiations with the city about a new arena. [Sportsnet]

Not everyone is on the Flames’ side, however; Ryan Kennedy argues that if the Flames really wanted what was best for the citizens of Calgary, they’d finance the arena themselves. [The Hockey News]

Here’s your “feel good” story of the day: a New Jersey Devils fan asked the team if he could score some free season tickets if he got enough retweets. The Devils responded, and the rest is history. [NHL]

Milan Hejduk joins Jere Lehtinen and Eric Lindros as a player getting his jersey retired this upcoming season:

TSN reveals its definitely-not-way-too-early prospect rankings for the 2018 NHL Draft. Here’s hoping we don’t have a chance at landing any of these guys. [TSN]

With the Sedin twins potentially looking to finish their careers in Vancouver instead of chasing a Cup elsewhere, DownGoesBrown looks at 5 other players who spent their entire careers with one team and had a disappointing end. [The Hockey News]

Believe it or not, the Stars aren’t the only team starting training camp this weekend. Here are some storylines to keep an eye out for, including former Dallas Star Alex Chiasson going to camp in Washington on a PTO. [Sportsnet]

Finally, NHL 18 hits the stores tomorrow for those of you who did not preorder it. In case you still don’t think Connor McDavid deserves to be on the cover, here are some “fans” of his that might be able to convince you otherwise.

Talking Points