Wow there playing stellar hockey, especially when they were below .500 before the season.
This just makes them the team to beat.
Wiretap: Stars acquire Richards from Tampa Bay
Moderator: Texas Chuck
Wiretap: Stars acquire Richards from Tampa Bay
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Wiretap: Stars acquire Richards from Tampa Bay
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catalyst
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Dallas Stars' move shows team's desire to win now
Never mind the long term, this move's all about '08 playoff run
02:53 AM CST on Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Brett Hull did what he set out to do when he landed the job of co-GM, finding a scorer to play with Mike Modano.
It came at a high price.
On the bright side, the Stars get Brad Richards, who is 27 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for Tampa Bay three years ago.
On the down side, they lost maybe the league's best backup goaltender in Mike Smith and one of the keys to their No. 1 penalty-killing ranking, checking center Jeff Halpern.
The Stars also lost Jussi Jokinen, who is mostly useful in shootouts and little else, and they got back Tampa Bay goaltender Johan Holmqvist, whose numbers aren't bad, but he isn't as good as Smith.
There are many ways to look at deadline deals in the NHL. This trade probably has more cons than pros, and yet it's something the Stars almost certainly needed to do in their desperation to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dallas has lost four straight series and cannot afford to alienate its skeptical fans with a fifth. From a 2008 playoff standpoint, this is a very, very good trade for Dallas. Here's why.
Smith is Marty Turco's backup. He has no real playoff value.
Jokinen, as stated, is a shootout specialist whose all-around game is not good. There are no shootouts in the postseason.
So from that standpoint, the Stars traded Halpern for Richards straight up. For one playoff run, you make that deal in a second.
But then there is next year and the next year and the next. Richards' contract averages $7.8 million. Nothing about his game suggests he is a $7.8 million player or anything close to it.
A year ago, Richards tied for 40th in NHL scoring. His minus-19 was second-worst on the Lightning.
This season, Richards' 51 points in 62 games have him tied for 49th in scoring. His minus-25 is the worst in the league.
Does that sound like an elite player?
Perhaps the change of scenery will restore his game. If it doesn't, the Stars have just taken a major salary hit in a league that does not allow teams to circumvent the cap as they do in others.
Hull said that going to owner Tom Hicks' office to discuss the financial commitment the trade would demand was a scary moment. "But when we laid it out for him what [Richards] can do for our team, Tom did what he always does. He said, 'Get it done,' " Hull said.
The potential of having a line of Richards, Modano and Jere Lehtinen to go with the team's top scoring line of Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow and Loui Eriksson is reason enough for Stars' fans to get excited about this postseason.
The Stars already were a good scoring team before this trade. Now they are better.
It might be the move that energizes Modano, who has been stuck in a checking role most of the season, yet still is third on the team in scoring.
"Maybe he plays left wing on Modano's line, or maybe Modano plays wing on his line," Hull said. "Mike can keep playing as long as he wants, and when he's done, then we have Ribeiro and Richards as our 1-2 centers.
"For now, we have three quality centermen."
Although I think the Jason Kidd deal is a much easier trade for Mavericks fans to embrace than this deal is for Stars fans, there are similarities. I think both trades should make the teams more of a factor in very hotly contested Western Conference playoffs.
And, like the Mavs, I think the Stars instantly become a better offensive team and a weaker defensive one.
You have to give Hull and co-general manager Les Jackson a higher grade at the deadline than Doug Armstrong got for trading two No. 1 picks to get Ladislav Nagy and Mattias Norstrom.
But it's a move that has to pay off in April and May to not only deliver a message to the fans but convey a sense of accomplishment in the locker room that the Stars are once again a real factor in the West.
LINK
Never mind the long term, this move's all about '08 playoff run
02:53 AM CST on Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Brett Hull did what he set out to do when he landed the job of co-GM, finding a scorer to play with Mike Modano.
It came at a high price.
On the bright side, the Stars get Brad Richards, who is 27 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for Tampa Bay three years ago.
On the down side, they lost maybe the league's best backup goaltender in Mike Smith and one of the keys to their No. 1 penalty-killing ranking, checking center Jeff Halpern.
The Stars also lost Jussi Jokinen, who is mostly useful in shootouts and little else, and they got back Tampa Bay goaltender Johan Holmqvist, whose numbers aren't bad, but he isn't as good as Smith.
There are many ways to look at deadline deals in the NHL. This trade probably has more cons than pros, and yet it's something the Stars almost certainly needed to do in their desperation to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dallas has lost four straight series and cannot afford to alienate its skeptical fans with a fifth. From a 2008 playoff standpoint, this is a very, very good trade for Dallas. Here's why.
Smith is Marty Turco's backup. He has no real playoff value.
Jokinen, as stated, is a shootout specialist whose all-around game is not good. There are no shootouts in the postseason.
So from that standpoint, the Stars traded Halpern for Richards straight up. For one playoff run, you make that deal in a second.
But then there is next year and the next year and the next. Richards' contract averages $7.8 million. Nothing about his game suggests he is a $7.8 million player or anything close to it.
A year ago, Richards tied for 40th in NHL scoring. His minus-19 was second-worst on the Lightning.
This season, Richards' 51 points in 62 games have him tied for 49th in scoring. His minus-25 is the worst in the league.
Does that sound like an elite player?
Perhaps the change of scenery will restore his game. If it doesn't, the Stars have just taken a major salary hit in a league that does not allow teams to circumvent the cap as they do in others.
Hull said that going to owner Tom Hicks' office to discuss the financial commitment the trade would demand was a scary moment. "But when we laid it out for him what [Richards] can do for our team, Tom did what he always does. He said, 'Get it done,' " Hull said.
The potential of having a line of Richards, Modano and Jere Lehtinen to go with the team's top scoring line of Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow and Loui Eriksson is reason enough for Stars' fans to get excited about this postseason.
The Stars already were a good scoring team before this trade. Now they are better.
It might be the move that energizes Modano, who has been stuck in a checking role most of the season, yet still is third on the team in scoring.
"Maybe he plays left wing on Modano's line, or maybe Modano plays wing on his line," Hull said. "Mike can keep playing as long as he wants, and when he's done, then we have Ribeiro and Richards as our 1-2 centers.
"For now, we have three quality centermen."
Although I think the Jason Kidd deal is a much easier trade for Mavericks fans to embrace than this deal is for Stars fans, there are similarities. I think both trades should make the teams more of a factor in very hotly contested Western Conference playoffs.
And, like the Mavs, I think the Stars instantly become a better offensive team and a weaker defensive one.
You have to give Hull and co-general manager Les Jackson a higher grade at the deadline than Doug Armstrong got for trading two No. 1 picks to get Ladislav Nagy and Mattias Norstrom.
But it's a move that has to pay off in April and May to not only deliver a message to the fans but convey a sense of accomplishment in the locker room that the Stars are once again a real factor in the West.
LINK
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catalyst
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Dallas Stars' co-GMs reach common goal together
Hull, Jackson agreed Stars needed to hang on to young prospects
02:05 AM CST on Wednesday, February 27, 2008
By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News
ccarlton@dallasnews.com
FRISCO
Hull, Jackson agreed Stars needed to hang on to young prospects
02:05 AM CST on Wednesday, February 27, 2008
By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News
ccarlton@dallasnews.com
FRISCO