NHL Trade Deadline: Which Dallas Stars Roster Need Do You Address, If Any?

With the trade deadline less than two weeks away, and the rumor mill gets moving the closer we get to the trade deadline, it is time to take stock of what the Dallas Stars need in order to win (at least one) rounds in the playoffs this year.

Before we dive too far into the silly season that is the trade deadline, we will remind you of two things we have seen with general manager Jim Nill at the helm of the Stars ship: 1) there are almost never whispers of the Stars connected to a player until the deal is basically done; and 2) when you’re looking left, Jim Nill is looking three floors down and to the right. That is to say, it’s really hard to guess which way he will go at the trade deadline. Since he’s been in Dallas, his major moves have been done in the offseason, just prior to free agency opening.

With those caveats out of the way, there are a few areas the Dallas Stars could look to improve at the trade deadline. Really the question becomes what is available on the market, but we’re here to examine the needs.

• Bottom six two-way forward. Now, the Stars could potentially fill this need internally by keeping someone up in Dallas that is somewhat unknown, such as a Radek Faksa or Jason Dickinson, when the rosters expand a few spots post-trade deadline. That’s a lot of trust in the current roster configurations (Vernon Fiddler or Cody Eakin) or a rookie. Or they could try to obtain this skill set in a playoff veteran forward on an expiring contract.
• Penalty kill specialist. The penalty kill for the Dallas Stars has been an adventure for some time for the Stars. Ideally, they’d obtain a penalty killing defenseman, but penalty kill help could also be found at the forward position. Really, we’re not picky…just making it a little less exciting being a man down is the goal here.
• Defensive defenseman, preferably who plays a lot of big minutes. The unicorn on the shopping list, Nill is more likely to make the move for this player in the offseason, as that has been his modus operandi since he arrived in Dallas, like with Tyler Seguin (1C) and Jason Spezza (2C).

There are other moves that could shore up the system as a whole, such as NHL-caliber goaltending prospect depth. There’s that whole “carrying 8 D” thing to resolve as well. So we ask you what you would do at this trade deadline — do you address one of these three NHL roster needs? Make a move for your system? Or do you ride out the season and evaluate after the playoffs are over?

Which need do you address this trade deadline if you are Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill?