Change Is In The Stars

Posted by admin on 26th, 2009

No, there wont be any dancing involved and barring some strange twilight zone scenario you probably wont see any telescopes either. There will be Stars though.

For hardcore Dallas Stars fans this year has been pretty hard to watch, in fact possibly one of the hardest in recent years. From the get-go this has been a year when the Stars simply were not meant to go super-nova. It all started right back at the start of the season when Brett Hull announced with a big smile on his face that the team signed Sean Avery to a contract worth twice his value for years double what you’d think right through and continued til recently when Brad Richards broke his wrist, only to break the OTHER one on his first game back! Losing Captain Brendan Morrow sure didn’t help with the teams grand plans either, nor did Zubov being out for all but 10 games and a multitude of other injuries to players like Lehtinen, Parrish & Brunnstrom. In fact at recent count over 300 man hours of games have been lost to injuries this season.

This season’s Dallas Stars remind me of the old nursery rhyme… “Twinkle Twinkle little star, how i wonder what you are”.

Who are you? Or, to be more accurate, what are you expected to be?

Brad Richards injury had the team turning to Mike Modano to fill his role. All of a sudden the 38 year old who has spent much of the past 2 seasons on the 3rd line as a checking center was expected to play 22+ minutes on the 2nd line and do so like he was in his prime. Forgive me, but while Mike is a legend and still one of the best in the game, he’s not the guy he was when the Stars won the cup in ‘99.

The blue line suffered all year long with rookie mistakes, lackluster performances and a vast constellation of turnovers, pun intended. It’s no wonder either considering you have Stephane Robidas and Nicklas Grossman expected to play #1 Defenseman minutes with the same skill, tenacity and patience that Zubov delivered.

All that aside, mediocre defensive performances and less “punchy” top lines can still win games. Afterall, the last line of defense is none other than “the wall”, Marty Turco. Surely after his standout performances in last years playoffs he could help carry this depleted & fatigued to a playoff spot. Right? Normally, yes but it would appear at some time between game 1 and game 71 of this season Marty Turco forgot how to stop pucks on a consistent basis. With no quality back-up goalie to challenge Marty for the net, it appears even Marty forgot who he is.

What a year! Many Stars fans will be happier when this season ends than they were when Sean Avery got the boot out of big D.

What now? Clearly this team needs a change. The Two-Headed Snake of Brett Hull and Les Jackson did not impress fans when they failed to deliver a #1 defenseman at the trade deadline, instead opting to get Brenden Morrison to replace Brad Richards. An ok move, but not one that really helped this struggling team.

The off season is now the focus for many Stars fans. What will this team get? What do they need? Who will stay or go? Here are some interesting points to ponder…

Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen’s contracts are both up this year. Both are top players if they’re not injured. Is the risk too much to re-sign them? I believe both are worth keeping hold of if the price is right. Neither of these guys are able to ask for big contracts due to their ongoing injuries, but the cost of not re-signing them could be too high.

Mike Modano has another year on his contract but many fans believe he’s done and should retire. I disagree. Age slows him down, but doesn’t deaden his passion. The team should not rely on Mike to be the player he was 10 years ago.

Even if Zubov returns, he’s no longer able to be relied on as the #1 defenseman. Should the Stars make a post season trade to get a Bouwmeester, Kaberle or Redden?
With Brian Sutherby getting a contract extension, does that mean Joel Lundqvist is one the way out? Maybe we could send him to the Rangers in a deal to bring Redden here. Brothers unite!

Marty Turco no longer has a NTC i believe after his dismall play this year, so could the team look to ship him out?

If i were to make just one change to the current Dallas Stars system, it would be this. I would remove Brett Hull from the GM position and put him somewhere else. While the co-GM situation was great for a while, the Sean Avery incident proved that Brett Hull is not, and possibly never will be a good General Manager of an NHL team.

I leave you with this thought. If the Dallas Stars had never signed Sean Avery, how do you believe the team would look right now?

The NHL Minute – 23 March 09

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Posted by admin on 24th, 2009

News:

The Montreal Canadiens could be for sale as part of a plan by owner George Gillett to sort out his varied holdings.

“The Gillett family has retained the services of financial advisers to assess various strategic alternatives to optimize the value of its corporate assets,” team president Pierre Boivin said in a statement on Monday. “In Canada, the family has retained the services of BMO Capital Markets and the process is under way.”

Montreal La Presse reported that BMO will study all financial avenues, including selling the club, financial restructuring or bringing in new investors.

Gillett owns 80.1 percent of the team and the Bell Centre.

He also owns 50 percent of English soccer giant Liverpool, and owns the Gillett Evernham NASCAR team, event promoter Gillett Entertainment Group, ski resorts, car dealerships and agricultural companies.

Boivin told the newspaper that the recession spurred Gillett to hire financial companies in Canada, the United States and Europe to review his holdings.

Last November, BlackBerry maker Jim Balsillie said the Canadiens were for sale, a report vehemently denied by Gillett at the time.

In December, Sports Business Journal reported that Gillett was looking to refinance a $75 million loan he took out to guarantee his involvement in the purchase of Liverpool FC, which he co-owns with Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks.

Gillett bought the Canadiens and their arena, then called the Molson Centre, in 2001, for $275 million with the help of $140 million in loans from two banks and the Quebec pension fund.

Boivin said the league’s oldest franchise is no danger of going out of business.

Transactions:

Calgary Flames – David Van der Gulik (LW) – Called up from minors (from Quad City-AHL)
Edmonton Oilers – Jordan Eberle (RW) – Signed (Three-year contract)
Los Angeles Kings – Kevin Westgarth (RW) – Sent to minors (Manchester-AHL)
Montreal Canadiens – Max Pacioretty (LW) – Sent to minors (Hamilton-AHL)
New York Rangers – Mike Sauer (D) – Called up from minors (from Hartford-AHL)
Phoenix Coyotes – Al Montoya (G) – Called up from minors (from San Antonio-AHL)

Injury Updates:

Patrick Elias (LW – Devils) Sits out against Flyers.
Michal Rozsival (D – NY Rangers) Out 7-10 days with lower body injury.
Mikko Koivu (C – Wild) Could miss the rest of the season with knee injury.
Rob Blake (D – Sharks) Out with lower body injury.
Brad Richards (C – Stars) To miss 4 – 6 weeks after hand injury.

Scores:

New Jersey 2 – 4 Philadelphia
Carolina 3 – 2 Florida (OT)
Detroit 3 – 5 Calgary

The NHL Minute – 17 Feb

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Posted by admin on 18th, 2009

News:

Montreal Canadiens told Star Winger Alexei Kovalev to “stay home” on the upcoming road trip. This has fueled rumours of possible trades.
Boston Bruins’ Michael Ryder will probably have to wear face protection for the remainder of his career.
Mike Green of the Washington Capitals says no to the NHL Hall of Fame, who asked for his record setting stick. Green scored goals in 8 consecutive games, an NHL record.
Tampa Bay rookie Steven Stamkos scored his first NHL career hat trick today, but it wasn’t enough as the Lightning went down to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Dallas Stars’ Brad Richards is likely to miss 6 – 8 weeks after breaking his wrist in yesterdays game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Carolina Hurricanes honored Glen Wesley’s #2 today with a jersey retirement.
Joe Sakic: Still hope to return this season.

Video of the day:

Steven Stamkos scored his first NHL hat trick.

Photo of the day:

Full Story →

Contenders Not Pretenders

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Posted by admin on 14th, 2008

After 3 disappointing first round playoff exits, the Stars have finally found their game.

For the first time in two years, the Dallas Stars won a game in which Marty Turco did not shut out the opposition. In doing so they served notice to the league that they are indisputable contenders, not pretenders.
- Bleacher Report

Contenders, not pretenders. That’s exactly the message the Dallas Stars are sending to the rest of the league right now.

The Stars are leading the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 in their first round series. 2 straight wins against the Ducks is impressive, no doubt. What makes this extra special is the Stars did it on the road, without their top playmaking defenseman Sergei Zubov, who is out due to Hernia surgery.

The key to Dallas success so far has been team-play. The entire team has played well, and the chemistry issues that plagued the team going down the last stretch toward the playoffs appears to be a thing of the past. Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow are dominating plays. Mike Modano is showing he still has what it takes to be a top player in this league and newcomer Brad Richards is shining whenever his skates touch. Richards appears to have gelled with young winger Loui Eriksson, who has a goal in each of the 2 games played in this series. Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott have also played a role in the scoring.

The Ducks travel to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX this Tuesday for game 3.

Image source: Yahoo Images