Posted by admin on 14th, 2008
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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
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Posted by admin on 26th, 2008
According to an NHL Executive, a multi-player trade has been made between Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars.
The trade is rumoured to have Center Brad Richards move to Dallas in exchange for Center Jeff Halpern, Goalie Mike Smith and rookie Defenseman Mark Fistric.
“The Stars have looked to make a splash since Les Jackson and Brett Hull took over in the co-general manager role for the fired Doug Armstrong earlier this season. The source said Dallas is expected to package veteran checking center Jeff Halpern, backup goalie Mike Smith and young defenseman Mark Fistric to the Lightning, who needed to move Richards after signing defenseman Dan Boyle to a six-year, $40 million contract extension late Monday.”
…
By landing the 6-foot, 198-pound Richards, the Stars are set to receive a player who can handle loads of ice time, has a Stanley Cup on his resumé and is a centerpiece to build around as Mike Modano and Zubov look to pass the torch.
Richards has 18 goals and 51 points in 62 games, 228 shots and has averaged 24:17 of ice time. He’s durable as well. Richards has appeared in 552 of a possible 554 games since breaking into the league in 2000-01. The pivot is signed for $7.8 million each of the next three seasons.
- NHL @ Yahoo
It was also announced that the Atlanta Thrashers would ship Marian Hossa to the Montreal Canadiens. Details of the trade have not been released at this time.
Expect the Canadiens to send at least a forward (Michael Ryder?) to Atlanta, which insisted it would only trade the 29-year-old Hossa if it could get a current NHL player in return. Hossa is the Thrashers’ second-leading scorer with 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists and a team-high 229 shots). Hossa is a minus-14 averaging 21:55 of ice time in 60 games.
- NHL @ Yahoo
Details of these trades are yet to be confirmed by their respective teams.
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