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Dallas Stars Daily Links: What Will the Stars’ Lineup Look Like Next Season?

Posted on by Shawn Ladd

With the Alexander Radulov signing this week and other players added by Stars GM Jim Nill, has fans speculating what the forward lines will look like. Coach Ken Hitchcock is excited at all the players he has at his disposal but is waiting for training camp to make his final decisions.

“I definitely think you have to get into camp and preseason to see things on the ice before you can really make any decisions,” Hitchcock said. “Even then, things change during the season. I think there is a lot of talent, and a lot of ‘compete’ in this group. I think the focus should be on just how hard these players want to battle and compete.”

Hitch believes that Radulov’s intensity and ability to win puck battles makes him an ideal candidate to play on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.

“I’ve coached against Radulov both in the NHL and internationally, and he brings an intensity to the game,” Hitchcock said. “You notice him and you have to account for him. Now, put Jamie Benn on the other wing, and you have the same thing. You know he’s there, and you know you have to account for him. Same with Seguin. I just think they will all feed off of each other if that’s the line we come up with.”

The 2nd line will be a little more interesting with the possibility of playing 2 centers Martin Hanzal and Jason Spezza on the same line.

Hitchcock said coaches use two centers all of the time, and said he did that in St. Louis, with an offensive-minded player using center ice more in the offensive zone and a defensive-minded player taking the center assignment in the defensive zone. It’s a tricky way of playing, but Hitchcock said there are several ways to work with two centers.

How excited Coach Hitchcock is about the depth players Dallas has and what he plans on doing with the logjam on defense can be found here. (SportsDay DFW)

Should still have time today to pose some questions to Sean Shapiro for his weekly mailbag.

With the 4th of July holiday missed the Mike Heika Weekly Q&A session. Topics include what is the ceiling for #3 draft pick Miro Heiskanen and how do the new players fit into Hitch’s system. (SportsDay DFW)

What does Dallas do with their 9 skaters on the blue line? Seems most pundits have Marc Methot reprising his top D role with John Klingberg. Veteran Dan Hamhuis with Julius Honka on the 2nd pairing. Leaving Esa Lindell and Stephen Johns playing as the 3rd set. Then what does Nill do with the 3 extra players, Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth and Greg Pateryn? (NBC Sports)

Jim Nill has checked off a lot of boxes on his offseason checklist. Is he done for now or are there more moves to be made? (Blackout Dallas)

The newest Stars player celebrated his birthday yesterday.

Was Radulov being greedy when he chose to sign with the Stars? According to Ken Campbell the answer is yes but he earned that right with his play on the ice. (The Hockey News)

Texas Stars:

A familiar face is returning to Cedar Park. Greg Rallo is back for his 3rd stint with the Texas Stars, last season he was playing in Germany.

With the Rallo signing there was some concern that this would put them over the AHL 6 veteran limit but Ludwig Bystrom is not a veteran player.

The Kunlun Red Star is the only KHL team based in China. They could be called the Chinese version of the Texas Stars as they have 4 former Stars players there this season. Cory Kane, Brandon DeFazio, Jesse Blacker and Ethan Werek will be playing for the Red Star this season.

The big news yesterday was the 8 year $100 million contract extension signed by Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. The new contract will have a cap hit of $12.5 million which was $750 thousand lower than was reported earlier this week to help the team sign players in the future. (SB Nation)

With McDavid’s new deal comes high expectations to bring home a championship. (Sportsnet)

What are some crazy things could McDavid buy with his new wealth? (Oilers Nation)

The Canadiens have re-signed Alex Galchenyuk to a 3 year deal.

Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Hellebuyck and Nino Niederreiter are just a few of the players to file for salary arbitration prior to the deadline yesterday.

Veterans Andrei Markov, Jaromir Jagr and Thomas Vanek are just a few names of players still available in FA (Sportsnet)

Where could Jagr continue his already long career?

A lot of the free agent signings, this weekend, had players going back to teams they had played for before. Down Goes Brown takes a look at 5 HOFers who returned to their old teams as FAs. (THN)

Is Patrick Marleau worth the contract and gamble by the Maple Leafs? (The Hockey Writers)

Although his moves haven’t been as flashy as Jim Nill’s, Hurricanes GM Ron Francis has made some shrewd moves this offseason to help his team for the upcoming season. (THN)

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne discusses what it is like to play in Nashville and losing in the finals.

With the departures of Chris Thorburn, Mark Stuart and goalie Ondrej Pavelec from the Jets, leaves just 4 players who were with the team when they moved from Atlanta to Winnipeg. (Arctic Ice Hockey)

In 1997 there were 4 goalies in the NHL under 6’ tall, 20 years later there aren’t any as GMs bought into the taller goalie movement. The ability to track the puck should be more important in young goalies that height. (USA Hockey Magazine)

The Panthers curious moves in the offseason has fans wondering what is going on with the South Florida team. (FanRag Sports)

I guess Cody Eakin isn’t considered an elite center.

Here is something you don’t see everyday a fight in a team’s development camp.

Finally a historical look at the original league expansion from 6 to 12 teams.

Talking Points