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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Will Adam Cracknell Have a Bigger Role Next Season?

Posted on by Shawn Ladd

Dallas Stars forward Adam Cracknell was expected to play in Cedar Park last season and be one of the 1st players called up. Injuries to the forward corps for the Stars changed that plan and he skated in 69 games.

Cracknell potted 10 goals including a hat trick in March and 16 points overall. He does have some time under new coach Ken Hitchcock in the Blues system. Could his role be expanded this season? (SportsDay DFW)

Who can forget this day in Dallas history.

If the Stars can continue to have some luck Swiss center Nico Hischier could fall to the 3rd spot in the NHL Draft. A profile of the forward. (Stars Inside Edge)

The consensus #1 pick in the draft is center Nolan Patrick but his uncle and former Stars assistant coach James Patrick was hired by the WHL Kootenay Ice. Patrick was dismissed by the Stars following this season. (Winnipeg Sun)

Mike Heika had his weekly Q&A session. One question was whether Coyotes Dman  Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be in Victory Green next season. (SportsDay DFW)

One potential move by GM Jim Nill is whether to protect forward Val Nichushkin or not. Nichushkin opted to play in the KHL last season and with the league’s dicey financial status and Hitch as the new coach it has been rumored he might return to Dallas.

They need to know his plans by June 18 to make an informed decision on who to protect. Otherwise, they’d potentially be cornered into protecting him to retain his rights even if he’s in no-man’s land. It would be an acceptable outcome to lose a player like Cody Eakin or Antoine Roussel if the Stars get Nichushkin as the replacement. But to protect Nichushkin and lose one of those players, only to discover weeks later that the former is staying in the KHL, would be a blow to a team that’s trying to win now while Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are elite players. –Satchel Price,

More here (SinBin Vegas)

The Hockey Writers held a mock Expansion Draft with each team’s writers acting as the GMs for their respected teams. Goalie Antti Niemi would be the Golden Knights pick and to accomplish this they had to trade their #29th pick in this years draft and a 4th rounder next season. (The Hockey Writers)

Do you want to draft your own expansion team and have a chance to win some prizes.

Texas Stars:

Not sure what this announcement could be from the Texas Stars.

The loss of Defazio and Matej Stransky will be a major blow to the team.

Game 5 is Thursday in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Predators will look to bottle up enthusiasm and the Penguins scorers. (Yahoo Sports)

Preds forward Frederick Gaudreau is just the 2nd player in NHL history to score his 1st 3 goals in the SCF. He also has 2 game winning goals in the series. More on him here. (The Tennessean)

Only 2 other teams had a D corps that scored over 10 points in the playoffs. Preds dmen: Mattias Ekholm, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi have joined the ‘84 Oilers and ‘94 Kings in accomplishing this feat. (Bar Down)

Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have failed to make an impact in the series and might their legacies be on the line. (ESPN)

Five key questions for the Pens heading into game 5. (NHL)

If Corey Hirsch had his way the town of Nashville would win the Conn Smythe Trophy. (The Score)

Down Goes Brown gives out his own version of Playoff trophies. (Sportsnet)

One Preds fan was diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months to live, so she moved to Nashville and became a season ticket holder. Three years later she is enjoying the team’s current playoff run. (Yahoo Sports)

Strange how things work out.

Who are some of the top UFAs that will be available after July 1st? (TSN)

Some rumors on Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin and the Devils draft plans are just some of the topics discussed in Dan Rosen’s mailbag. (NHL)

While it is known that Nill is open to trading the #3 pick on this year’s draft which teams will likely try and move up? Dallas could be a player in this scenario. (Bleacher Report)

The latest NHL rumors. (Spector’s Hockey)

Vegas is the newest team in the NHL and their expansion draft will be on June 18th. Who are the Top 10 expansion picks from other teams. (THW)

The history of the term “Hat Trick” seems it originated in cricket over a little over 150 years ago. (The Guardian)

The ‘85 Oilers were selected by fans as the greatest team of all time. I think the ‘99 Stars got shafted in the vote.

Shout out to a fellow MS sufferer Bryan Bickell.

Finally the Hanson Brothers get the Lego treatment.

Talking Points