Defending Big D

[DallasSean]

Defending Big D
Free Gomez! No, Seriously, Somebody Take Him

The Team
#47, Yaroslav ALSHEVSKY
#3, Kevin BIEKSA
#24, Ryan CALLAHAN
#33, Luca CAPUTI
#72, Mathieu CARLE
#11, Scott GOMEZ
#35, Magnus HELLBERG
#16, Nathan HORTON
#41, Sergei KOROSTIN
#37, Leland IRVING
#26, Shaone MORRISONN
#18, James NEAL
#61, John NEGRIN
#5, Matt NISKANEN
#91, Magnus PAAJARVI-SVENSSON
#48, Alex PLANTE
#63, Mike RIBEIRO
#36, Mikael SALMIVIRTA
#10, Devin SETOGUCHI
#77, Henrik TALLINDER
#1, Marty TURCO
#20, Sebastien WANNSTROM
#27, Joel WARD


Article History
03/06: It Came From Across The Pond...
06/06: No Rest For The Wicked
09/06: Bidding War For The Other Big D?
11/06: Hit The Road Jack (And Alex And Steve And Jesse And...)
14/06: "You're Shit And Have Poor Personal Hygiene"
15/06: "Furthermore, Your Genetic Lineage Is Questionable At Best"
19/06: The Goalie Guild Reviews The Stars
21/06: And I Know, I Know, I Know, I Know I Want You
22/06: Inconsiderately-Timed Trade Renders Hypothetical Lineups Obsolete State-Wide
09/07: Check Out My Sample Size - Dallas vs. The World
20/07: Akers Buys Out Turco, Declares Stars "Done"

2012 EHEC Entry Draft
Prize For Ruined Season Expected To Make Immediate Impact, Become Franchise Forward, Stay Dreamy
Pick Precipitated By Humourous Mix-Up; Previous GM Caught In Attempted Sabotage
Brandon Dubinsky's Rights Traded To Long Island
Mix-Ups Continue With Premature Trade Reports, Invite Comparisons To League Of Bushes
Dallas Finish Up With Six Picks Total

DFD Goes To Court
1] "The EHEC Trade Committee need their collective head examined for letting these deals pass." P: S. Platt; D: R. Estenson
2] "Mikhail Grigorenko was the wrong pick to make." P: T. Arkham; D: B. Kehoe

[DallasSean]

It Came From Across The Pond...


Sean Akers, the new head honcho in the Dallas front office

With Joe Nieuwendyk generally seen as a dead man walking in the Dallas Stars' front office, his trip to the metaphorical electric chair was today bumped up a few notches with the official introduction of new General Manager Sean T. Akers to the local media. The 41-year-old Brit is already seen as a peculiar selection, with some choice pieces commenting that "with no high - or even medium-level - management experience, Akers is the perfect choice to lead Dallas to a string of first-overall picks that bust spectacularly" and "considering general managers are often seen as the faces of the franchise, Akers' ugliness fits the Stars to perfection - he looks like somebody made a human head out of wet clay, then punched it a dozen times before it set." Excluding the more pejorative comments, it is true that this job will be a significant chance for Akers - despite extensive time spent working in the Ontario Hockey League, that is the highest level he ever reached and yet is being handed the keys to the franchise nonetheless. Defending Big D's Tina Arkham was among members of the media at the Q&A session.



Akers meets the media at his first press conference

About Niewendyk's future with the organisation: "I want to keep Joe in the fold, no question. He's been doing this longer than I have, he knows the roster, he's got contacts - if he wants to leave I won't get in his way, but having him in my corner would be a massive boost. Particularly in the hearts and minds battle. I don't fancy being made into a scapegoat because I helped run a Dallas legend out of town."

On the team's salary cap situation: "When I'm done here, I'm going to find whoever was responsible for managing our cap and fire them. No, first I'll put everything in their desk in a cardboard box, then hand it to them, then fire them. Then set the box on fire. I do value Joe, but some of these contracts are absolutely bonkers. Naming no names, one or two of the guys currently on the roster shouldn't get too comfortable."

When asked whether previous comments indicate more players may be bought out: "It's possible. All things considered, I'd much prefer to trade the players in question but, if I can't find somebody willing to take them on, then waivers and buyouts may be on the cards."

On rumours the team's first-round pick is in play: "I'm loathe to call anybody or anything on the team untouchable, because everybody has their price. Obviously, I'm not planning on giving it away, but with enough incentive, anything's possible."

About draft strategy: "Well, suffice it to say everybody who gambled on this year's draft being stronger than last year's made a pretty shrewd guess - I'd say there's at least four players with a credible shot of going first overall and about fifteen, twenty who could land in the top ten. This is why I'm prepared to trade pick #4 - I think everybody knows there's a quarter of forwards who really look like they could be world-beaters and so they should also know I know that as well, meaning any offers are going to have to be serious. I'd like to trade down in the first, but who knows, somebody might offer me a [Sean] Couturier or a [Jonathan] Huberdeau"

On the impending free agents: "I think it's safe to say deciding how to play the [Brandon] Dubinsky situation is priority #1. I'm going to try my best to keep him in the fold, because with a little luck, I do believe he's at least a 30-goal guy and those aren't easy to get hold of. MPS is a different situation, we wrote a team and a player option into his last deal so, one way or another, he'll be a Star next year."

How his welcome to the league has been so far: "A couple of people have tried to sneak terrible trades through in the hope I won't realise, but I'm not thick just because I'm not from here - there's no such player as Sidney COSBY, Hugo [St. Jean, Los Angeles GM], is there?! I know some people have been very unkind, though, and I'm trying to let that slide. Forgive them, for they know not what they do, and so on."

About his vision for the team: "I'm not normally a guy who gets off on winning games 1-0 or 2-1 but, between Marty [Turco], Leland [Irving] and Hella [Magnus Hellberg], I think building from the net out is going to the order of the day. Hell, it's already started - I remember being surprised Hella went as early as he did last year, 'cause Dallas already had Irving and had...well, plenty of other holes to fix, but he's going to be the wave of the future. Trust me."

[Virtual Jarmo]

This is a really outstanding piece.

You're already a tremendous addition to the league and you haven't even made a personnel move.

Awesome. It always renews my passion for EHEC when we add a good GM.

[DallasSean]

No Rest For The Wicked


Welcome to the big leagues, Sean

"I know you're supposed to make hay while the sun shines, but doesn't anybody in this league sleep?" was Sean Akers' complaint when caught after practise this morning. "I don't think I've slept more than three hours a time since I became official, and I did not sign up for this! I need as much beauty sleep as I can get..." The new Dallas General Manager generously agreed to give Defending Big D's Brandon Kehoe a little of his time for an exclusive interview, mentioning that he wanted to foster a good relationship with the Stars' Internet presence "because you guys were a hell of a lot nicer to me than the papers have been, I'll put it like that."

---

BK: "To start with, thank you for giving me your time like this. It's a rare opportunity for us."

SA: "It's only going to be a short one, but you're welcome nonetheless. You can go back and break some news as well - we've started the buyout process for Adam Foote.

BK: "Why? Foote ate up a lot of minutes last year, he was defensively responsible and he's a highly-respected figure around the league, not just in Dallas."

SA: "Yeah, but...much as I hate to say it, he wasn't offering anything we couldn't get much cheaper elsewhere. Like it or not, four million dollars is a significant chunk of the cap to spend on somebody who, from a hockey perspective, is replaceable."

BK: "Strong words. A lot of fans would disagree with you on that."

SA: "What, that Foote is replaceable? Yes, I can understand that, but I saw how people reacted when his contract extension was announced. Twelve million dollars over three years for somebody who's a serious retirement risk, with the cap hit staying on the books if he does decide to hang 'em up before then? That's a bad, bad deal, I couldn't find many people willing to defend it and that really is the crux of the matter."

BK: "So it's not a hockey decision?"

SA: "It's less a hockey decision than it is a business decision, I'll put it like that."

BK: "What about the other impending free agents? Brandon Dubinsky and co?"

SA: (knocking on the table) "Not wanting to jinx things but, touch wood, Brandon and Alex Plante should have new deals by the end of the week. Things are going very smoothly between us and their respective agents. We've also started some very informal talks with Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson over extending him past next year, but don't hold your breath over that."

BK: "Has there been any decision made over Marty Turco yet?"

SA: "Ah, with Marty it's not on us yet. He's got an option in his contract for another year at his current salary, it's only if he declines that that we need to make a decision. I'm crossing that bridge when and if it emerges."

BK: "OK. So, how about the trade winds? It seems like people have kicking the tyres on a lot of Stars."

SA: "Yes, but I think some of that is because they're going 'there's a new boy in town, let's see if we can fleece him'. People do seem to be under the impression that I'm willing to give up Leland Irving for nothing just because Magnus Hellberg is on the roster."

BK: "Have there been any other serious inquiries?"

SA: "Oh, of course. David Booth is a big name that keeps coming up, Alex Tanguay, um...Eric Brewer, basically all the high-priced Stars are being put in play. But everybody seems to be after Nathan Horton and I'll tell you what I told them - Nate ain't going anywhere."

BK: "Anything you want to say about who might be coming back?"

SA: "Hahaha, no. That would be telling. Until the trade freeze is over and the deals are lodged with the league office, I'm not going to be tipping any hands. You'll have to wait and see like everyone else, I'm afraid."

BK: "Shame, shame. Thanks for your time anyway."

[DallasSean]

Bidding War For The Other Big D?


With his hefty contract and enviable two-way game, David Booth is being fought over

With just 35 points last year, some would expect David Booth's stock to be in something of a trough, and yet it seems just the opposite is occurring. With Dallas' Sean Akers setting out his stall early and saying his first goal was to sort out the mess that is the team's salary cap situation, many were expecting Booth's name to be on the list of players being shopped around, although expectations of the return he would garner have run the whole gamut from spectacularly pessimistic to blindly optimistic - mentioning no names, of course. Akers briefly alluded to teams coming in with serious offers for the 27-year-old Detroit native earlier in the week, but our understanding is that three serious suitors have emerged - two from the Eastern Conference, one from the West - with the added quirk that all three teams made the playoffs last year, implying any return will come in the form of prospects and picks rather than roster players.

So who do we think is involved? Here's our shortlist with suggested trade offers for each team.

ST. LOUIS BLUES
Although the Blues are in flux at the moment, with longtime general manager Mike Cleary stepping down recently, St. Louis absolutely have the talent to compete now...but one wonders how long they'll be in that state. Marian Gaborik is 30, last year's leading scorer Martin St. Louis is probably approaching the last years of his career, four of their seven-man defensive corps are over 30 and even with all that accounted for, St. Louis were one of only two teams to make the playoffs while conceding more goals than they scored. Booth would offer them an option on the wing with impressive two-way capabilities and, with the amount of players on expiring contracts, their cap hit should be able to withstand his addition.
Suggested Deal: Booth for one of Ryan Spooner/Jeff Skinner/David Rundblad + St. Louis' first-round pick in 2013

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
St. Louis were one of the teams to make the playoffs with a negative goal differential and Philadelphia were the other. Although not exactly as built to win now as St. Louis, that three of their top players are 37 or over and that, despite having an enviable defensive corps including Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester and former first-overall pick Adam Larsson, they still gave up 233 goals, Booth's strong defensive play and potential to chip in on a middling penalty killing unit would rightly make him a valued prize in the City of Brotherly Love. However, with a fair chunk of cash tied up in only five players - including Jeff Carter's infamous deal that still has ten full years remaining - the deal would hinge on the numbers and whether the Stars were capable of taking enough back.
Suggested Deal: Booth, Jesse Winchester and Dallas' third-round pick in 2012 for Claude Giroux, Steve Ott and Calgary's first-round pick in 2012

NEW YORK RANGERS
It is a testament to just how extraordinary a goaltender King Hank is that the Rangers, with their toothless offense actually made the big dance in the first place - despite scoring just 193 goals, the lowest of any playoff team, Henrik Lundqvist helped them to the third best defensive record in the entire league. Although New York were bounced by Boston 4-2 in the opening round, Lundqvist's casual disregard for the concept of aging has to make one wonder what the team could do with a fully-functional offense and adding a player like Booth, with easy 30-goal potential, could be the jump-start the Rangers need to develop beyond also-rans and compete with Pittsburgh for the division title.
Suggested Deal: Booth and Mathieu Carle for Sebastien Wannstrom, Ryan Callahan and Mikael Salmivirta

[SharksGM]

Remarkably frank reporting there, I'm impressed. I just suspect that if you actually make that offer to Ryan he'll politely decline in that uniquely restrained manner of his that only marginally seems to contain some repressed contempt at your pitiful demands. or at least that's what it seems like whenever I enquire about Pronger and/or Giroux.

[DallasSean]

Remarkably frank reporting there, I'm impressed. I just suspect that if you actually make that offer to Ryan he'll politely decline in that uniquely restrained manner of his that only marginally seems to contain some repressed contempt at your pitiful demands. or at least that's what it seems like whenever I enquire about Pronger and/or Giroux.

Although I've got no affiliation to them whatsoever, Defending Big D is a genuine Stars blog of some regard - most of the blogs part of SBNation are pretty reputable and the Maple Leafs one is always crazy busy - and I'm writing from the perspectives of a variety of bloggers...so if the offers seem a bit one-sided, that may be why. I will say that none of the three suggested trades bear any resemblance to deals I'm actually discussing, for posterity.

[SharksGM]

Ah fair enough... still, if you manage to wrangle a deal like that (especially out of Ryan) I'll buy you a drink.

[DallasSean]

Hit The Road Jack (And Alex And Steve And Jesse And...)


Alex Chiasson, second-round pick in 2009, is on his way to Boston

Although David Booth remains in Dallas, at least for now, the end of the trade freeze was marked by a total of eight deals coming in within minutes of the clock striking midnight and saw four Stars leaving the 214 for what they hope will be greener pastures. "The deal with the Flames was sorted about a week ago, I think," said Sean Akers at the presser to announce the details of the two moves, "but we only finished hashing out the fine print with Boston in the last few hours, if you can believe that." The GM did also warn everybody that neither deal had been made official yet - "We're still waiting for them to be rubber-stamped and passed by the Committee, but I've been on the phone with Burkie [Adam Burke, head of the EHEC Trade Committee and no relation to the Columbus general manager] and he more or less gave me the all-clear."

For those unaware, the sum total of the two trades works out as follows:

Additions: Shaone Morrisonn, Boston's first-round pick in 2012 (#25), Byron Bitz (from Boston); Luca Caputi, John Negrin (from Calgary)
Subtractions: Dallas' second-round pick in 2012 (#34), Steve Bernier, Alex Chiasson (to Boston); Alex Tanguay, Jesse Winchester (to Calgary)


John Negrin's incredible endurance earned him the nickname of "Cyborg"

Opinions on both trades have, so far, been generally positive.

Much of the negative reaction has revolved around Tanguay's departure, with people pointing out his short tenure as a Star - 68 games, since being traded from Pittsburgh in November - and the fact he led the team in points despite the questionable tactical decisions made by previous Dallas administrators; however, the addition of Caputi and Negrin, both 23-year-old heavy-hitting players, mitigated it to some extent. One continuing concern, however, is that the team's cap situation is no better - the three players leaving the EHEC roster made just a shade under six million dollars last year, while the three arriving made a little over six million dollars.

The Bernier deal means that the Stars now pick twice in the first thirty and although it only represents a jump of nine places in the draft order, the added first-round pick is the centrepiece of the returning package. The prevailing opinion seems to be that both picks are going to go on improving the forward corps - with eight defensemen currently on the EHEC roster, unless a Jamie Oleksiak situation occurs again and one of the top three or four blueliners slips to #25,. it seems unlikely the value will be there.

[DallasSean]

"You're Shit And Have Poor Personal Hygiene" - DFD Mocks The Draft


Brendan Gaunce's stock has been on the rise for some time

We've been doing mock drafts every year we've been around and, with about a week before proceedings get underway, let's get it going. The first ten picks are shaking out as follows...

#1 - MINNESOTA WILD
If Chris Breidenstein goes to the podium at the Consol Energy Centre and says any name other than Nail Yakupov, there's a chance he simply will not make it out of Pittsburgh alive. All year long, we've heard people talk about Yakupov in breathless admiration, referring to him being one of the best wingers to emerge since fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin, and with this pick there is an excellent chance the Wild would go into next year sporting a top line with an average age of under nineteen years old. A Yakupov - Nugent-Hopkins - Kabanov line might not get the Wild into the playoffs, but it's a damn fine start.

#2 - OTTAWA SENATORS
It's a bit of a kick in the balls that the Senators, after diligently pissing their season away, got Yakupov yanked out from under their nose, but Filip Forsberg is not a bad consolation prize for a team with Jason Spezza comfortably ensconced in their #1 centre role. Forsberg would allow the Sens to either play him with Spezza and Nazem Kadri to create a fierce offensive line, or use the Swede to add some explosiveness to their second line.

#3 - COLORADO AVALANCHE
With three of their top defensemen over 35 and Rob Blake positively archaeological by hockey standards, Ryan Murray is a pick tailor-made for the Avalanche to revamp their defensive unit on the fly. They'll think hard about the pick, because Mikhail Grigorenko is a difficult player to pass up, but Murray makes more sense and would gain a lot from playing with Drew Doughty - the two are projected as players with similar skillsets.

#4 - DALLAS STARS
The arguments over this pick have been going on for some time here and general consensus is that there are plenty of ways for the draft to shake out before it gets to this point. At #4, we're guaranteed one of the top four players unless Sean Akers falls in love with somebody off the board...but if there's a loving God in the sky, our prayers will stop him doing something crazy and taking a player other than Mikhail Grigorenko. It can easily be argued the Stars don't have a true #1 centre, although Mike Ribiero has doing a damn fine imitation in recent years, and having Grigorenko in the fold instantly makes the offense something to be scared of.

#5 - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
There's no two ways about it - a team playing Korbinian Holzer has defensive problems. That said, the Maple Leafs have enough defensemen in the pipeline that they can afford to pass up taking one here and go with the first arguable reach of the draft by taking Brendan Gaunce. Gaunce has been rising up the boards for most of the year, and him falling to the Leafs comes from a combination of a cool head and a love of throwing his weight around. 6'2 and 215, he plays every pound of it and, while very raw, he could end up as a wonderful linemate for Taylor Hall.

#6 - WASHINGTON CAPITALS (from Detroit Red Wings)
With Josh Godfrey and Colby Cohen both moving on, the Caps' blueline is looking a bit flimsier than we've come to expect from them and so they will take no small pleasure in noticing Morgan Rielly has fallen into their laps, ripe for the plucking. Although not as fine a prospect as Murray, as there are holes in Rielly's game, the man from the Moose Jaw Warriors is thought to cap out as a player very like Andrei Markov and, if given a solid defensive partner to cover up his errors, Rielly can do a lot of damage as a "fourth forward"-type player.

#7 - NEW YORK ISLANDERS
There's a growing movement on the Island that wants to see Alex Galchenyuk don the blue and orange, but with Jonathan Tavares not moving from the top line, the pick's better spent on upgrading the wings by taking Teuvo Teravainen instead. This is very much a need pick - Devin Setoguchi is good and I could score thirty playing with Tavares, but Tervainen is a phenomenal skater and a guy who almost challenges Nail Yakupov in the pure offense stakes. Some will be leery about taking a guy based off one good tournament, but unnecessarily so.

#8 - NEW JERSEY DEVILS
The Devils have a conundrum here. Although Galchenyuk is the best player available, it's quite difficult to justify that pick with Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos in position to be 1-2 for New Jersey for the considerable future, and so they go with a less conventional option. Radek Faksa, although not as offensively skilled as Galchenyuk, offers a better all-round game - the Devils do have heavy hitters, but Patrice Cormier and Nick Palmieri only have that to offer whereas Faksa is equally capable of playing in a scoring role if needed.

#9 - FLORIDA PANTHERS
Sigh no more - Alex Galchenyuk will finally go off the board in an ignominious slide for somebody once touted as a contender for first overall. He'll even have some common ground, as Mikael Granlund could easily have been a #1 pick himself before sliding to Florida at #6 in 2010, and the two project out as quite similar players. If I were in charge, I'd be building the Panthers around a future first line of Granlund - Galchenyuk - Michael Frolik, with Galchenyuk in the middle because he's a more natural playmaker than the Finn.

#10 - EDMONTON OILERS
There's one player who's something of a wildcard from about #5 downwards because he could conceivably be picked by anybody, and it's made picking these first picks a difficult task. Nonetheless, I'm calling it here: Andrei Vasilevski fits with the Oilers, giving them a more talented, more consistent starting goaltender than either Olivier Roy and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers could provide. He won't get them into the playoffs by himself, but he's more reliable than Jeff Double-D by a long shot.

[SharksGM]

Nice writeup, but who's going to pay for the pair of pants that Zaq just shat all over after reading that?

[DallasSean]

He shits himself, he's cleaning it up.

[GM Office Q]

Nice writeup, Sean! So, Grigorenko's your boy, eh?

[DallasSean]

Nice writeup, Sean! So, Grigorenko's your boy, eh?

Possibly. How much are you prepared to bet I'm not saying that to bluff you into Grigorenko and letting me take Murray?

[DallasSean]

"Furthermore, Your Genetic Lineage Is Questionable At Best" - DFD Mocks The Draft (2/3)


Fall no more, Mathew - Dumba slips out of the top ten but not the top twenty

Part two of three of our first-round mock draft has seen few surprises. The Elite Four are all off the board, as we expected; the first goaltender went to Edmonton at #10; two defensemen heard their names called and somebody reached for Brendan Gaunce. So far, the following players are off the board: Nail Yakupov, Filip Forsberg, Ryan Murray, Mikhail Grigorenko, Brendan Gaunce, Morgan Rielly, Teuvo Teravainen, Radek Faksa, Alex Galchenyuk, Andrei Vasilevski, and we start again with...

#11 - ANAHEIM DUCKS
The Ducks are a team who are better than their record this year indicated - with a very nice top six, a winger in Saku Koivu who seems to be enjoying an Indian summer and a tough, if a little old, defensive corps, they should make their way back to the playoffs next year. But their situation in goal is awful - the Goalie Guild rightly awarded them an F for their depth chart - and with Andrei Vasilevski gone, Oskar Dansk is the obvious pick. He's not quite as talented as other highly-ranked goalie Malcolm Subban, but compensates by being much more consistent and mentally quite tough.

#12 + 13 - NEW JERSEY DEVILS
With a pair of picks here and Radek Faksa in the fold with the pick at #8, the Devils can fill two more holes immediately. Cam Fowler being a Bolt means the blueline is lacking a true offensive stud and, while Derrick Pouliot isn't on Fowler's level, pairing him with Tyler Cuma will help mitigate the loss of offense Fowler's departure will leave. Up front, the same thing applies as at #8 - with Stamkos and Malkin around, they won't be picking a centre - and I see them taking a gamble on Thomas Wilson. Notorious for his sketchy work ethic with the Plymouth Whalers, having the chance to potentially ride shotgun with some combination of Stamkos, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Tedenby and/or Kovalev should motivate anybody.

#14 - BUFFALO SABRES
The draft so far hasn't done Buffalo many favours, really. Their top six is decent, but one injury and Nathan Gerbe is playing top six-minutes, not something anybody who can avoid it wants to see. The high-quality wingers have been snapped up leaving the Sabres taking Jacob Trouba, which is a case of good thing/bad thing - it's bad that the draft's wingers are gone, but it's good because it forces the Sabres to take a defenseman and improve a pretty unimpressive unit. Trouba won't wow anybody, but he's a solid player who's capable of stepping in almost immediately and won't ruin games with stupid penalties, unlike some existing Sabres.

#15 - PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Like we said when discussing potential destinations for David Booth, the Flyers's defensive record was surprisingly poor considering they made the playoffs - although getting swept by Pittsburgh was not a shock - and taking Martin Frk means they'll get a guy capable of taking a lot of minutes, being an offensive force and not embarrassing himself in his own end. He doesn't have the ceiling of previous choices, but Frk is not a bad consolation prize by any stretch of the imagination.

#16 - SAN JOSE SHARKS
If the draft does shake out like this, some people are going to - not unfairly - grumble that the rich are just getting richer from the process, as the newly-minted Stanley Cup champions get to pick in the second half of the round and yet still come away with a player arguably in the top three at his position. Mathew Dumba won't replace the retiring Nicklas Lidstrom - who could? - but brings his own set of skills, like a willingness to throw himself into the corners with reckless glee and a cannon of a shot that'll put him in competition with Derek Forbort for powerplay quarterback of the future.

#17 - NASHVILLE PREDATORS
There's a definite dearth of talent on the flanks in Nashville, that's for sure - Dmitri Kugryshev is not an embarrassment by any stretch, but when there's a credible argument that he's your best offensive winger, you have problems. Even if Zemgus Girgensons has been unfairly labelled with the "floaty, inconsistent Russian", doubly unfair because he's Latvian, the Vermont left winger adds an all-round offensive game that, coupled with his soft hands and natural flair, will him a real crowd-pleaser in the Music City.

#18 - CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
With Chris Drury potentially coming off the cap if the Blackhawks decide not to keep him, Chicago appear to be in very good shape going forward - with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, they're going to be in every game they play right to the death, and it's difficult to find a hole that really needs plugging. Best player available might be the best option for the Hawks, and that's Tomas Hertl, the Czech playmaker who's shown all the signs of becoming an impressive two-way forward. He won't crack the top line, but a long second/third-line career is still nothing to sneer at.

#19 - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Colton Sissons is a definite risk, but a different type of risk. The work ethic is there, he's fabulously consistent, but some people have not unfairly questioned whether he has the raw talent to make it at the highest level. If ever there were a team to find out, it'd be Pittsburgh - there's room for a right winger to develop below Jarome Iginla and, if he can kick his game up the notch it needs, the Penguins will end up with a quietly useful two-way guy out of it.

#20 - MINNESOTA WILD
In the same vein, Cody Ceci is very much not a sure thing either and some would argue that Minnesota need to be aiming for picks who are safer than Ceci, somebody they know will contribute further down the line. I disagree - they've got Yakupov in the bag, meaning the draft is already a success, and #20 is sufficiently low down the ranking that taking guys like Ceci becomes a decent strategy because the risk/reward balance is right. If successful, people are expecting Ceci to evolve into a player like Alexei Marchenko and somebody who could easily have become a forward.

[DallasSean]

DFD Goes To Court: Ovechkin, Krejci and Some Questionable Decisions


Welcome to the Western Conference, Alex. We do hope you hate your time here.

Every once in a while, something happens around the league that polarises the DFD community - a terrible contract, a poor free agent signing, a suspension that should have been longer and a suspension that shouldn't have been a suspension at all are all examples of topics we've kicked around previously - and when one of those turns up, DFD Goes To Court. One supporter and one dissenter are picked from the staff and prominent contributors, and are given the task of arguing for or against the topic in question, aiming to convince the Lord High Arbitrator (myself).

The latest edition of DFDGTC is a unique one because it's almost a four-fold topic of discussion. The end of the trade freeze brought with it it's usual slew of deals, with three Stars finding new homes, and included two that required extended deliberation from the Trade Committee - Detroit trading for Alex Ovechkin, and David Krejci becoming a Flame. Although both deals sparked a lot of discussion on the forums here and added fuel to the fire that Detroit GM James Fink has completely lost the plot, the point I chose to put in the dock is this:

The EHEC Trade Committee need their collective head examined for letting these deals pass.

Arguing for the prosecution, making a return to the blog after a few months of staying in the shadows, is DFD Founder Stephen Platt. Take it away, Steve...

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Your Honour. Ever since the infamous Mikko Koivu trade was passed through, it's been fairly clear that the Trade Committee has been guilty of some grievous errors in judgement. You can argue that it was the fault of the Minnesota GM for accepting such a shoddy deal in the first place, but the TC is there to prevent blatantly lopsided trades from being passed and they have failed in some big ways. Allowing Minnesota to give up Koivu and Brent Burns for ludicrous returns has probably set the Wild back five years and almost certainly doomed them to being bottom-feeders, but the TC continues on as normal. And why not? They're sanctioned by the league, after all, and if the league deems those trades worthy of being passed, they're not going to chastise their handpicked committee for passing it, are they?

It's a vicious circle and this latest trade illustrates it perfectly. I'm actually OK with the Boston/Calgary trade because, while I'm not looking forward to seeing David Krejci four times next year, it means I don't have to be reminded Brad Richards was great in a Stars jersey during his all-too-brief time in the great state of Texas. But the Detroit/Washington...man, that is nasty. For those of you who've missed the details, Detroit traded their pick this year (#6 overall, which we've now got Washington using to pick Morgan Rielly), Vladimir Tarasenko and Dougie Hamilton to the Caps to get back Alex Ovechkin and a thoroughly unremarkable defenseman.

Ovie's one of the greats, he's going to retire one of the league's best-ever scorers, but...the thing I can't get over is that Detroit is gutting their prospect pool. Boiling it down to picks, they've just given up two #6 overall picks and a #7 overall - Tarasenko has unbelievable potential, I think he's going to emerge as one of the league's best scorers within a couple of years; Hamilton probably tops out as a #3 guy but one who can chew up both PP and PK minutes without fuss and the pick could return another player of their calibre. Individually, they can't touch Ovie, but Fink is banking all his hopes on one line and that strategy DOES NOT WORK.

And that's my point. The Trade Committee has looked at a deal that sees a team nowhere near contending trade away two excellent prospects and a pick that will net them a third to get one player, knowing full well that team intends to ice one great line and three that are middling-at-best...and they've said "Yes, go ahead and piss away what rebuilding work you've done so far, we see nothing wrong with this." Forget having their heads examined, the Trade Committee needs dismantling on this showing, and they can take the Detroit front office with them when they go.

Speaking for the defense, and making it clear why this was not made into a discussion on Detroit, is DFD's silver surfer, the venerable Rick Estenson. Over to you, Rick...

So here's the thing. Sometimes, in the wild, packs of animals decide that one of their number is too weak or too badly hurt to continue, and they leave them to die. It's harsh, but it helps the pack as a whole survive.

I suggest it's about time to consider doing that with the Red Wings.

In the past three seasons, they've finished 24th, 29th and 24th again, indicating that this is a franchise in dire need of a rebuild. Last year, they lucked out and won the draft lottery...at which point they traded that pick and their third-round pick in the same year for Mike Richards who might be 27, but is still eight years older than Adam Larsson, who the Wings could have picked and thus had a #1 defenseman for the next decade. With finishes that poor, you'd expect this to be a team poised to roar back in the next couple of years, their rebuilding efforts offering fruit at least...instead, the Wings will go into 2012/2013 with an excellent first line and enough talent to ensure another top ten pick next season. The problem seems to be that they don't have any focus or direction, almost as if the left hand and right hand aren't communicating at all, and this is why we can't blame the Trade Committee.

Yes - I understand that their purview is to ensure some form of fairness with the trades that take place, but they have to walk quite a thin line when doing that. Where does one draw the line with a trade like the Ovechkin deal? It's undoubtedly within their power to declare Fink incompetent and bar him from making any trades, but a move like that is only a few steps shy of having the league take the Red Wings over themselves - they have to be allowed to sink or swim by themselves and if this means questionable deals go through, then that's the price we pay now for future education. Most importantly, though...bear in mind that the three members are themselves only human.

They are fallible and it's to their credit that they've publicly acknowledged that the Koivu and the Burns deals shouldn't have been passed - they came when the TC was in it's early days and still going through a teething period, but recently they have been fairer and more sensible with the rejections. Take the abominable deal between Vancouver and St. Louis that would have involved Roberto Luongo, Marian Gaborik and the Sedin twins on top of others - the TC were happy to slap that down. Take Tampa Bay's attempted deal for Zack Kassian - the TC stopped that in it's tracks because the Lightning were fleecing Buffalo. Hell, take Detroit's attempt to trade the #6 pick for Erik Johnson - that was shut down because giving up a lottery pick and a capable young defenseman for anybody is a questionable move. The Krejci deal...I'd have rejected it, but I can understand why it was allowed to pass.

And you know what? Given this latest installment of their history, I think there's a non-zero chance James Fink has been given knowledge of a future where the Wings win eight straight Cups and this is part of the chain of trades that make it happen. If I were on the Committee, I'd have given up trying to understand months ago. I rest my case.

And so to the decision...

I've made it clear I'm no fan of the Red Wings. Their fans are obnoxious, the team is going nowhere and I've called Washington GM Tim Gaw a genius for defrauding Detroit out of Pavel Datsyuk and nearly scoring Henrik Zetterberg as well. But, even though I know I'm risking him coming back to claim what's rightfully his, I'm ruling against Stephen and in favour of Rick because Stephen only tangentially addressed the point. If the question revolved around the Red Wings, then he'd have taken it, but this was about the Trade Committee as a whole, judging their full body of work, not one appalling trade. As Rick pointed out, the TC members are human and willing to admit mistakes - I'd add that 90% of the time they go unnoticed because the deal passes and even when they do reject something, it's always done with good reason. They're unfairly judged on a tiny minority of their work...much like goaltenders, really. In other words:

In the case of DFD vs. the EHEC Trade Committee, the Arbitrator rules for the DEFENSE

[SharksGM]

I think you should consider reopening this case as you left out some key evidence. One, depth isn't everything. Tampa won the first EHEC Cup playing basically two lines. Of course Lecavalier's career-ending injury squashed the chances of that happening again anytime soon but it's certainly not the case that you need 4 or even 3 solid lines to be competitive, barring injuries.

On the other hand, every team to win the Cup so far has had a top goaltender and a solid top 4 defense, things that Detroit doesn't have now and certainly won't after that deal. And if you're evaluating deals from the same team together, it's bizarre to see a team like Detroit break the bank for OV but pin their hopes for the season on... Cory Schneider? Seriously? He might be the worst starting goalie to be traded this offseason in what's clearly a buyer's market.

Still, if you evaluate trades in a vacuum then giving up 3 great assets for one of the 5 best forwards in the league can make some sense, just like Larsson for Richards has its logic - an 80+/80+/80+ forward is worth a similar defenseman, no? I just don't see where the logic is for a Krejci deal. Unless Calgary flames out next year (ha ha get it) it is going to amount to a slightly better but ridiculously overpaid version of Alex Tanguay and a late 1st for a 95 OFF forward... well, the Northwest had better hope Krejci's 50 point season wasn't an anomaly.

I'm also not surprised to see a certain Tampa Bay deal mentioned. Not because it was particularly imbalanced, but because you can apparently sign a 21-year old phenom who lead you to a Cup to a lifetime, NTC-protected deal, tell him he's the hottest shit on the planet for a year, then suddenly change your mind and chase the bastard right out of town a year later. I can't wait to see John Tavares chased off the Island for Adam Larsson.

[Virtual Jarmo]

COMMISSIONER TO RESPONDS TO DALLAS STARS BLOGGER
By: Tito Crawford

In a rather shocking turn of events, the blogosphere got some attention from one of the highest-ranking officials in sport. EHEC Commissioner Adam Burke, motivated enough by remarks made by "Defending Big D" blogger and founder, Stephen Platt, lashed out during an interview with ABO's Brian Gumball on the ABO show "Hey, It's Really a Sport with Brian Gumball".

Gumball opened the interview by asking the Commissioner about the league's impending draft and collective bargaining agreement talks prior to asking if Burke reads anything written about himself. "Usually not, unless somebody in my circle tells me I should really take a look at something," Burke replied, casually sitting in a laid-back position. When asked about the Defending Big D piece, Burke began to laugh and slouched a little more in his chair on set.

"I only concern myself with things that real journalists or columnists write. Not some guy sitting in his mom's basement with three days worth of stink on him from playing Xbox 360 with eighth graders on summer break."

When asked about the nature of what Platt said, Burke had this to say. "Look, Brian, the only way you understand what it's like to be responsible for 29 other people and have to make decisions that can possibly affect a majority of them is to actually be in that position. He's entitled to his opinion, but if he wants to criticize, he'd have to break Mom's heart and leave the nest so that he can walk in my shoes for a few days. I work harder than anyone in this league. A lot of times, I get respect for what I do. Sometimes I don't. If it's constructive, fair, and from somebody speaking from a level of experience somewhat on par with mine, I can take it. Not from a clown like this guy."

Platt was critical of the Commissioner for approving two questionable trades, one that included Alexander Ovechkin going to Detroit and another that included David Krejci going to Calgary. Both trades took more deliberation time than usual and Burke admitted to the members of the league that he really didn't feel strongly about passing the trade. The Krejci deal drew a lot of ire because of Krejci's offensive skills being some of the best in the league. Platt was especially direct, saying that the league's trade committee "needed its heads examined" and suggested "dismantling" the governing body based on their decisions.

"We do our best to respect every general manager and what his vision is for his team, even if we don't fully understand what that vision is," Burke stated, rubbing his beard with his right hand. "It's difficult at times, because we wind up with teams that get abandoned and have very little talent to work with. But, that's the spot we're in periodically and we do our best to rectify those situations as well."

When asked about Rick Estenson, another blogger for the Defending Big D website, Burke was a little bit more diplomatic, but still poignant. "Again, he's a guy whose opinion I give little credence to. I appreciate that he kind of supported our decisions, but, think about it. He's in a market where the team has been an embarrassment. The previous general manager left a path of despair and both Pratt, or whatever his name, and Stevenson are just upset that they're left to pledge their allegiance to an American Hockey League franchise. That's not on our heads at the league offices. It's a mismanagement of resources and a team in need of a warm body giving it some direction. We're entirely too busy with other things to put the Dallas Stars in a crib to take a nap. They'll just have to sit there on the floor and cry with a soiled diaper until somebody steps in and fixes things."

"What about the fact that somebody over at DFD ultimately ended that column by defending you?" Gumball asked. "They ought to make him the head writer over there," Burke answered smugly, "Seems like he's the sensible one."

Gumball then asked about the future of the trade committee and if any improvements could be made. "Outside of an entirely impartial body, what more can be done? We certainly can't let the inmates run the asylum and run the risk of, for lack of a better term, insider trading. We do what we think is right. Sometimes, it winds up being wrong. But, everybody's a critic with 20/20 hindsight. That's just our society. EHEC is no different."

Gumball concluded the interview by asking if Burke had anything to say directly to Platt and Estenson for their comments and criticisms. "All joking aside, Brian, it's good that they care enough to say something. Our league is based on the care and concern of our fans, our 30 GMs, and the people who help out with various other tasks in the league. We're only as strong as that group allows us to be. As long as they're loyal and support us through some of the ups and downs, the things they agree with and the things they don't, we'll continue to flourish. And that's all we want. To thrive in this niche that we've carved out for ourselves."

[Calgary.Flames]

This is my favorite thread ever.
Maybe.

[DallasSean]

Special Guest Post: The Goalie Guild Reviews The Stars


The once and future king? Hellberg will challenge for the starter's job in 2012/13

When the Dallas Stars made Magnus Hellberg their first selection of the 2011 draft and #17 overall, a lot of people scoffed at the decision and I admit that I was one of them - not because Hellberg was a poor prospect but because, with players like J.T. Miller or Joel Armia still on the board and Leland Irving looking like the Stars' man of the future, it seemed like a missed opportunity to plug a hole. With the Stars holding just five picks and their first-round pick being the only one in the top hundred, they seemed to have bunted when they needed to swing for the fences.

The Uppsala native's first year of American hockey did nothing to quiet down the masses who thought his selection was an error. His AHL boxcar stats were pretty poor - his record a disappointing 24-37-4, with a GAA significantly over the 3.00 mark and an .870 save percentage that ranked among the league's worst - but they can be explained away by the Stars being one of the minor league's worst teams, finishing tied for 29th in points and with the poorest defense in the entire league. In other words, to suggest Hellberg was thrown in at the deep end would only be accurate if you also acknowledge he was trying to swim with half a ton of ballast in his pockets and an anchor tied to his waist.

Yet, despite the torrid start to his professional career, the year spent in hell with the Texas Stars could have been the best thing for Hellberg - playing 65 games meant it was by far the longest season of his hockey career in terms of minutes alone and it gave him the first opportunity he'd ever had to take the reins of a team and lock down his spot as a starter. The results weren't pretty, but being given that chance appears to have done the Swede a lot of good. He'll face a very tough challenge from Leland Irving come training camp this year for the #1 jersey, but it's obviously a battle he's willing to take on, and if it leaves Dallas with the problem of having to choose between two credible starters...well, suffice it to say that's a problem some teams would love to have.

The Depth Chart
DALLAS STARS: B+

^ Leland IRVING (36, 10-21-5, 3.25 GAA, .873 SV%)
^ Magnus HELLBERG (AHL: 65, 24-37-4, 3.33 GAA, .870 SV%)
v Marty TURCO (47, 14-28-4, 3.36 GAA, .871 SV%)
- Jordan PARISE (AHL: 17, 6-10-1, 3.10 GAA, .885 SV%)
^ Tyler BESKOROWANY (GBR: 79, 34-38-7, 2.04 GAA, .923 SV%)
v Marek BENDA (AHL: Did Not Play)

[DallasSean]

And I Know, I Know, I Know, I Know I Want You
The Big Fat DFD 2012 Draft Preview


Wouldn't this look great in the green and gold?

Neglect.

That was the leitmotif for Dallas' 2011/2012 season - neglect. With an absentee general manager, there was no discernible power structure in the Stars organisation any more: Glen Gulutzan was constantly butting heads with Joe Niewendyk over the best way to coach the squad and the players, caught in the crossfire of this burgeoning civil war, suffered for it. I don't think there's anybody who wants to relive some of the decisions we saw over this past year - Adam Foote, at best the team's fifth defenseman, signed to a three-year, nine million dollar contract that would have stayed on the books had he retired before completing it; Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, possibly the worst-suited player to the role, being played alongside James Neal and Brandon Dubinsky and instructed to throw his negligible weight around; the James van Riemsdyk trade that would have had the now ex-GM lynched if he hadn't disappeared...

All in all, it's not exactly been a banner year for the Dallas Stars, but hope is at hand. Losing game after game after game after game...after game does wear on fans and players, but this weekend is where it all becomes worth it - although the team was never quite bad enough to drop to the heady lows that Minnesota and Ottawa plumbed, picking fourth overall practically guarantees a player who'll develop into a franchise cornerstone. Further, following the Steve Bernier trade, Sean Akers will get to go back for a second crack at the first round, using the Boston Bruins' first-round pick to pick at #25 - this is, of course, assuming that the pick stays with the Stars and isn't part one of the league's beloved draft-day deals.

Besides those two, the Stars will theoretically be going to the podium to pick at #64, #94, #124, #154 and #184. But the question remains, what does the team actually need from the draft? To do this, we need to identify where the holes in the roster are and for this, we turn to...


DFD's Hypothetical Lineup

There's never going to be a consensus on what the best lineup is for the Stars but, with some new players arriving in the Lone Star State, we put our heads together and had a crack at it. Although we didn't start with the expressed intention of having four lines with clearly defined roles, it did happen to shake out like that. Here's what we came up with.

LINE ONE: Magnus PAAJARVI-SVENSSON -- Mike RIBEIRO -- David BOOTH -- Eric BREWER -- Matt NISKANEN
LINE TWO: Luca CAPUTI -- James NEAL -- Nathan HORTON -- Kevin BIEKSA -- John NEGRIN
LINE THREE: Michael NEAL -- Scott GOMEZ -- Brandon DUBINSKY -- Mathieu CARLE -- Alex PLANTE
LINE FOUR: Joel WARD -- Johan SUNDSTROM -- Sergei KOROSTIN/Yaroslav ALSHEVSKY

Our theory is that the first line is our offense line, the guys we throw out when we're down a goal with a minute on the clock and need to make something happen - we had an argument over whether Booth or Dubinsky was the better fit on the right and the eventual conclusion was that Booth's superior consistency and better physical play meant he could help prevent opponents from taking liberties with his frailer linemates. Dubinsky's third line, with Gomez and Michael Neal, is the sheltered scoring line, guys who won't have to face the top competition and have the offensive talent needed to feast on opposition lower down the lineup.

The second line, as you can already guess, are our grinders - Neal is a great defensive talent, Horton could easily replace Booth on that top line with arguably more success and Caputi is a real nasty bastard of a forward, a pugilist and a pest in equal measure - and together, I think they're capable of frustrating any single line in the league into ineffectiveness. Hell, put Booth in Caputi's place and they'd become an offensive danger as well, but that runs the risk of putting too many eggs in the one basket. The fourth line...well, they're the energy guys. Jesse Winchester's trade means Sundstrom has to be called up, but he's a plug and can be replaced almost at will.

So the question is, where are the holes?

Centre is one of them. We're missing a fourth-line centre but, rather than go for a fourth-line centre, the right way to do it is to attain a #1 centre and let his presence shift everybody else down - Ribeiro goes to the third line, where he would offer a significant upgrade over Gomez, who shifts down to the fourth and lets Sundstrom go back to the AHL. I'd argue we need another top-six winger as well, because Michael Neal has a great shot and good hockey IQ but hands carved from the finest Italian marble and that precludes him from being much more than a plug. Defensively, a cooler head would help and if he came with some playmaking acumen, I don't think anybody would argue - it would mean a serious glut on the blueline, but that's a problem to be addressed when it arises.

#4 will address one of them. No matter how the first three picks fall, Akers will have the opportunity to address one of these points: Mikhail Grigorenko, Alex Galchenyuk and Filip Forsberg would all be able to slot into that centre role for opening night, Ryan Murray and Morgan Rielly could skate alongside Niskanen to create a defensive offensive force and, if the unthinkable happened and Nail Yakupov dropped to #4, there is not a Stars fan in the world who wouldn't be happy with him in a couple of years time.

The decision on what to do with #25 would naturally depend on the draft to that point. If Murray or Rielly were the pick at #4 and none of the other highly-rated defensemen have fallen way past their stock, then it's almost a lock #25 will be a forward, but if #4 was a forward, then we'd have to examine the draft board. Stuff like that is impossible to tell ahead of time because there are far too many variables going on, not to mention that old chestnut of "human nature" that can screw up any beautifully-executed plan.

With all that said, it's worth remembering that a huge part of the reason why the team is in this position is down to mismanagement or no management - it's hard to argue that a roster with the range of talent the Stars can ice is completely incapable of competing for the playoffs on any given year - so try not to get to used to being in this lofty position. It's a nice place to visit once in a blue moon, picking up a ten-year-player who'll instantly sell a ton of jerseys, but let's try to remember that there's an ultimate prize and it's one we should be gunning for.

[DallasSean]

Inconsiderately-Timed Trade Renders Hypothetical Lineups Obsolete State-Wide


New York will be hoping Eric Brewer can help them unseat Pittsburgh from the top of the Atlantic

Figures. Not 24 hours after we finalised our lovingly-crafted hypothetical lineup for Dallas in 2013, Sean Akers finally pulls the trigger on a deal that some were starting to doubt ever existed in the first place, sending David Booth and Eric Brewer to the New York Rangers. It brings the speculation about Booth's future in the Lone Star State to a close but, at the same time, opens up a new avenue of speculation around tomorrow's #4 pick as the Stars are now arguably missing a winger capable of logging first-line minutes. It's equally possible, however, that one of the players coming back could fill that gap, as the Rangers paid to the tune of Mikael Salmivirta, Ryan Callahan and Sebastien Wannstrom.

Of the three, Callahan appears to be a salary cap-related throw-in, and won't have much of an impact on the roster, but Wannstrom has been favourably compared to players like St. Louis' Lars Eller, who is just coming off a seventy-point season, while in the run-up to the 2010 draft Salmivirta was coincidentally said to have a ceiling "about equal to David Booth, but with better offensive abilities". It goes without saying that, at 21 years old, both players have room to develop and aren't anywhere close to their primes, but at first glance the pair look like very promising prospects - maybe not surefire first-liners, but at the very least dependable top-six players. It's also worth noting the cap savings: with Callahan on a shade over $1.5m and the other two together making $1.05m, all three players together are worth only 60% of Booth's contract, with the total saving clocking in at just under $5.7 million, almost 10% of the new salary cap.

So the question is what effect this is going to have on the team going forward and, for that, we go back to our hypothetical lineup, which now reads...

LINE ONE: Magnus PAAJARVI-SVENSSON -- Mike RIBEIRO -- Brandon DUBINSKY -- Mathieu CARLE -- Matt NISKANEN
LINE TWO: Luca CAPUTI -- James NEAL -- Nathan HORTON -- Kevin BIEKSA -- John NEGRIN
LINE THREE: Mikael SALMIVIRTA -- Scott GOMEZ -- Sebastien WANNSTROM -- Shaone MORRISONN -- Alex PLANTE
LINE FOUR: Joel WARD -- Johan SUNDSTROM -- Ryan CALLAHAN

If this deal was in the works for as long as Akers claims, it adds a new perspective to his decision to pick up Morrisonn from Boston after getting Negrin from Calgary - Morrisonn is a definite step down from Brewer, but he's paid less for longer, doesn't represent that much of a downgrade, isn't being asked to take the tough minutes Brewer would have been, and keeps Henrik Tallinder on the bench. Mathieu Carle is much better than people would have you believe his league-worst plus/minus makes him so, with luck, the defensive drop-off won't be a serious one.

Offensively, it's my opinion that the the team is already significantly more dangerous because we're now rolling two respectable offensive lines to go with the grinders. Wannstrom's appearance on the right flank frees up Brandon Dubinsky to play with MPS - we're all hoping Akers and Marc Crawford resist the temptation to repeat last year's mistakes and just let them play the way we know they can - and Salmivirta provides a two-way game opponents might not expect from a third-liner. And that all ignores the possibility of the team landing a top-flight centre, which could see the two new arrivals playing with Mike Ribeiro rather than Scott Gomez.

These are exciting times to be a Dallas fan, that's for damn sure. We're trying to get some comments from Akers on this deal and some other matters, so do watch this space.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

Inconsiderately-Timed Trade Renders Hypothetical Lineups Obsolete State-Wide

Awesome. Glad to help.

[DallasSean]

2012 EHEC Entry Draft: Dallas Stars Select Mikhail Grigorenko At #4
Prize For Ruined Season Expected To Make Immediate Impact, Become Franchise Forward, Stay Dreamy


Mickey Blue Eyes! Fears that the Russian would see his draft stock slid prove unfounded

Before the draft, we all heard the vicious rumours about how Mikhail Grigorenko's sketchy history was a smokescreen to cover up the fact he was born in 1992 rather than 1994, making him 20 years old, and there was a lot of hubbub made about how this was scaring teams off the pick and would prompt them into making draft choices who were less talented but safer. We'll never know whether that had any base in reality unless one of the teams picking in the top three comes out and admits they were turned off Grigorenko over those fears, but the result...well, I defy you to find a Stars fan who's genuinely disappointed in this pick and seriously believes it should not have been made.

With Nail Yakupov and Filip Forsberg off the board, going to Minnesota and Colorado respectively, most experts agree that Grigorenko was the most talented forward available and even people advocating the selection of a defenseman can't be too unhappy. For those of you who haven't been following the prospect reports too closely - of note, Hockey's Future awarded him a rank of 8.5B, effectively saying that there's a 90-95% chance he hits his full potential and if he does, he's going to be somebody constantly in All-Star contention - here's the skinny on him.

Although not quite the premier offensive player this draft class has to offer, there's a very strong argument to be made that Grigorenko is the best all-round forward - he's not going to be spectacular defensively, but he's already a competent checker and has shown a willingness to throw his weight around in a way guys like Forsberg and Alex Galchenyuk either won't or can't. A part of that is naturally because he is the biggest of the "Elite Four", standing 6'3 and somewhere in the region of two hundred pounds, but it shows up in his attitude: one scout described him as "somebody who's got some swagger to him, some arrogance. Not in a bad way, just in the sense that there is shit and he will not take it".

At the same time, he's almost certainly going to develop into an excellent playmaker and the sort of pivot every team wants to have anchoring their top line. Comparisons to Tyler Seguin and Evgeni Malkin are probably unfair ones to label anybody with, but it's not much of a stretch to suggest that Grigorenko is easily capable of turning into a Joe Thornton and still having room to spare. With unexpected strength for his young age and excellent hands, he's also somebody who can add his efforts to killing dead the myth of Russian forwards as flaky, weak types with fantastic scoring abilities but who couldn't defend the puck and wouldn't dream of going into the corners, doing the dirty work.

In summary? Get your Grigorenko jersey now. He's going straight in the lineup and, if all goes well, won't be leaving for the next decade. He's the sort of forward capable of making all of his teammates look better just for riding shotgun, and the chances of the Stars rebounding and getting back into the playoffs have never looked brighter.

[DallasSean]

2012 EHEC Entry Draft: Dallas Stars Select Samuel Kurker At #25
Pick Precipitated By Humourous Mix-Up; Previous GM Caught In Attempted Sabotage


He is somewhere in that scrum, we're told.

It is fair to say that Samuel Kurker's selection here is a bit of a surprise. Although he finished 36th in the CSB's North American skater rankings, the facts that implied he wouldn't hear his name called until at least the middle of the second round and that the CSB was the kindest of all the scouting services to him means the immediate cries of "Reach! REACH!" from Stars fanatics aren't completely inaccurate.

But let's not start tying nooses for one another just yet.

Standing 6'2 and a smidge under two hundred pounds, Kurker has the frame of a power forward and despite being a very young draft entrant - born April 8th, 1994 - has been described as somebody who has the strength to fight through checks, crash the net with the puck and open up space for his smaller teammates, with a recurring phrase being "north-south player". The guy himself was not shy about his potential to contribute to the Stars in the interviews, commenting: "I don't think I'm going to make the team straight away but I'll be disappointed if I'm not on the roster this time in 2014. I've committed to Boston [University] and I'm excited about playing in the NCAA, but I've always set myself high standards and I know I've got the skill to be a star for the Stars."

Make no mistake - he's a very raw player and, between that and his NCAA commitments, it is probably going to be three years before we see Kurker in a Stars uniform. But the EHEC draft is a different animal to the NBA or NFL drafts, where teams don't have the development options an EHEC franchise does, and since we've already got Mikhail Grigorenko in the fold, I don't think we're losing anything by giving Kurker the opportunity to take the slow path. The league is littered with examples of how bad an idea rushing a player can be but Kurker, by all accounts, is likely to be worth the patience and there's nobody on the board who I think is an upgrade on him at forward. Defense, well...

We could have had Mathew Dumba and we nearly did. My understanding of what happened goes like this - apparently, Sean Akers had taken a bathroom break and the league was given a note stating that the Stars would be picking Dumba at #25 who, one imagines, was very pleased to have finally heard his name called. Moments later, however, as the delegation from Philadelphia approached the podium, Akers rushed ahead of them and had a quick, agitated discussion with Adam Burke, here in his capacity as a league official, before quickly making a revised pick. Apparently, former Dallas general manager Joe Filmore had been seen lurking around the Stars' table for some time and as none of the Dallas draft team reported submitting the note, Akers believed Filmore was to blame, accusing him of being in the pay of one Pacific Division team or another.

Chaos aside, what we're getting with Kurker is a player who, with some patience, a little nurturing and a few reminders that the team can afford for him to contribute to BU, has a ceiling about on par with somebody like Dustin Brown - for #25, that's not a bad thing to have.

[DallasSean]

2012 EHEC Entry Draft: Brandon Dubinsky's Rights Traded To Long Island
Money...Get Back...I'm Alright Jack, Keep Your Hands Offa My Stack


Unfortunate choices in facial hair aside, it's a shame to see Brandon leave.

Facts first, opinion second. Although it doesn't involve any draft picks and probably won't have any serious effect on the team's drafting strategy, it occurred during the draft so it's going in here - Brandon Dubinsky's contract situation has been resolved as the heavily-built winger's rights have been traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for Devin Setoguchi. Dubinsky became a Star at the trade deadline in 2010, with Brian Sutherby and a pair of third-round picks going the other way - one of which, coincidentally, was used to select new Star Sebastien Wannstrom - and his offensive totals promptly spiked. He tallied 22 points in the 25 games remaining of that year, then added 84 points over the entire regular season and fourteen playoff games, helping Dallas upset San Jose and take Columbus to seven games; even taking into account his lacklustre 2011/2012 record, the Anchorage native will leave Dallas with 133 points over 170 games.

Despite Sean Akers saying that he was striving very hard to get Dubinsky signed to an extension, we've been hearing rumblings that a deal was in the works because the two camps were simply too far apart in their demands. While it is true that the team is not in a fantastic cap situation right now - particularly with Mikhail Grigorenko's entry-level contract stipulating a salary of $2.5 million - if the cap has any bearing on Dubinsky not being kept around then Akers has just burned a lot of the credibility he's earned so far for helping to remodel the team.

Setoguchi is not chopped liver, true, but this trade means Dallas becomes his fourth team in three seasons and, even if he has the potential to outproduce Dubinsky and even if you just look at raw stats, Brandon's resume - 73 goals and 133 points in 170 games, which pro-rates to a 35-goal, 64-point season - trumps Setoguchi's - 83 goals and 177 points in 248 games, pro-rated to 27 goals and 59 points. When you add in a) the chemistry between Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and Dubinsky, which was magic in 2010/2011 and at points last year, b) Setoguchi's reported lack of enthusiasm in training, although that may have been motivated by playing on the Island and c) the lamented mismanagement of the team last season, it becomes harder and harder to work out why Akers thought that, of all people, Brandon Dubinsky was worth dumping for cap relief rather than, say, Marty Turco.

People will disagree with this opinion - that's what the comments are there for - but for my money, this is a deal that is going to bite us in the ass and it's the first one that Akers has gotten truly wrong.

[DallasSean]

2012 EHEC Entry Draft: Dallas Stars Trade For #62, Take Quentin Shore
Mix-Ups Continue With Premature Trade Reports, Invite Comparisons To League Of Bushes


Quentin (second left) gets bragging rights, drafted three full rounds ahead of brother Nick (left)

For the second time in a row, the Dallas Stars have made a pick that's been erroneously reported, although at least this time it wasn't the league failing to do due diligence on the selection. The news was broken early yesterday evening that the Stars had finalised a trade with division rivals and Stanley Cup winners San Jose, which would have involved five picks changing hands and left Dallas on the clock with pick #58 and prepared to select Jarrod Maidens from the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL. With hockey media all across the continent scrutinising the draft as always, the rumour spread like wildfire and even persisted for a time after San Jose general manager Dan Tanaru went ahead and picked Maidens.

When the deal fell through, most expected the Stars to stand pat at #64 and assess the board when the pick came up, but Sean Akers clearly believed Quentin Shore was not going to last until then, flipping that pick and Dallas' fifth-round pick this year - #124 - to the New York Rangers to move up two spots and selecting Shore from the United States National Team Development Program, later saying "I won't lie, I wanted Maidens, but that's the nature of the draft and begrudging the Sharks for taking the guy is pointless. Quentin is more of a rough diamond, but he's committed to Denver [University] next year and we're happy to let him take a slower path because with enough time, he's capable of turning into one of the best two-way players to come out of this draft class."

Like Samuel Kurker, Shore is a fairly raw prospect for whom the added years of development time that being in college offers will be good, but it's always a good thing when a prospect is touted as having good hockey IQ or a reputation for doing all the little things already because those are qualities that can take years to learn. 6'2 and 190 lbs isn't the biggest frame but it's not small enough for it to be a real detriment and, even if it were, you get the feeling watching Shore play that he wouldn't care anyway. With Mikhail Grigorenko in the fold and James Neal not going anywhere for a few years, Shore's top ceiling with the franchise appears to be as a third-line centre, also the role he played with the USNTDP, but the Denver native has an ace up his sleeve: he's logged a lot of minutes on the PK unit and plays the kind of game that makes him a natural born killer, with impressive endurance for a youngster and the general recklessness required to block shots for a living.

In other words: getting a defensively-responsible, hard-working forward who stands an excellent chance of hitting a ceiling of second-line centre at #62 looks like a bargain, smells like a bargain and based on what we've seen from him with the USNTDP, skates like a bargain.

[DallasSean]

Check Out My Sample Size - Dallas vs. The World


Suck it, Atlantic Division - Dallas went 5-3 against you last year

As little as any of us want to revisit the year we've just had, we do do this every year and there was no reason not to. Tally ho! Into the breakdown of how we managed against the rest of the league!

Against the Pacific
Anaheim: 3-2-1, 15-16
Los Angeles: 3-2-1, 18-23
Phoenix: 0-5-1, 7-26
San Jose: 0-6-0, 11-24
Total: 6-15-3, 51-89

Rule #1 of being successful - get your own house in order. Of the sixteen teams that made the playoffs this year, just one had a record below .500 against their divisional opponents - probably not-coincidentally, the Philadelphia Flyers were one of only two teams swept in the opening round, as they went 10-13-1 against the rest of the Atlantic Division and, including both regular and postseason games, were a combined 1-9-0 against Pittsburgh. Being demolished by San Jose is not really a surprise nor something to be ashamed of, what with the Sharks lifting the franchise's inaugural Stanley Cup, but our winning record against Los Angeles is definitely a nice takeaway. We hope a lot of these poor results are the product of the roster mismanagement we suffered through and will improve next year - although maybe not quite to the point where we have a winning record overall, as this is arguably the league's toughest division.

Against the West
Chicago: 1-3-0, 10-16
Columbus: 2-2-0, 11-14
Detroit: 2-0-2, 15-14
Nashville: 1-2-1, 10-13
St. Louis: 1-3-0, 13-16

Calgary: 2-2-0, 10-11
Colorado: 0-3-1, 11-17
Edmonton: 3-0-1, 14-8
Minnesota: 0-3-1, 6-14
Vancouver: 0-3-1, 9-15

It is very worrying that the best we managed over four games against one of the league's worst teams and the Western Conference's bottom-feeder du jour is score six goals and get just one point. Please let that be a mismanagement problem as well. The Northwest was pretty brutal as a whole, the good works against Edmonton and Calgary undone by the way Colorado, Vancouver and the Wild beat up on us - it could possibly be a plus point that we actually did better on the road (3-4-3) than playing at home (2-7-1). Similarly, the surprise of going 2-2 against conference finalists Columbus and outright beating the league's perennial whipping boys Detroit is slightly short-circuited when you realise we collected a total of seven points in twelve games against the remainder of the division.

Against the East
Boston: 0-0-1, 4-5
Buffalo: 0-1-0, 3-7
Carolina: 1-0-0, 5-4
Florida: 1-0-0, 9-4
Long Island: 2-0-0, 8-5
Montreal: 0-1-0, 3-5
New Jersey: 1-1-0, 6-5
New York: 0-1-0, 2-7
Ottawa: 1-0-0, 2-1
Philadelphia: 1-0-0, 4-1
Pittsburgh: 1-1-0, 6-4
Tampa Bay: 0-1-0, 0-4
Toronto: 0-1-0, 2-4
Washington: 0-1-0, 2-3
Winnipeg: 0-1-0, 1-3
Total: 8-9-1, 57-62

It's impossible to tell much from this, because of the small sample size - we played just three Eastern teams more than once - but if I'd said that we'd finish 27th and yet finish within a whisker of .500 against the Eastern Conference, the general consensus would be mockery. What this is is a testament to the notion that no matter how disparate the talent levels, on the ice anybody really can beat anybody. Against the East's eight playoff teams, we were 3-5-1 and had Leland Irving throw up his only shutout of the season...blanking Prince of Wales winners and conference finalists Pittsburgh in a 4-0 win.

I've already said that divisional play is the most important bit of the year, which is down to simple numbers - we play more games against our division rivals than anybody else, there are more points on offer and ergo going .600 against your division and .400 against any other individual division is a better result than .400 against the Pacific and .600 against another division. Unfortunately, with the talent already in the Pacific and the fact the top teams might just get better - San Jose added Niklas Backstrom to improve their situation in net, Los Angeles trumped that by acquiring Steve Mason, Stephen Johns and Andrew Ladd and Anaheim will have Teuvo Teravainen to add to their stable of youngsters next year - relying on that seems unlikely.

What I'm trying to say is...well, brace yourselves, guys, and damp down your expectations because it doesn't look like we're going to be jumping back to the playoffs just yet. The team has been improved and some lateral moves have been made to avoid being crushed against the cap, but to expect an immediate rebound is head-in-the-clouds thinking; topping LA was a nice surprise, but I doubt it's one we'll be able to replicate next year.

[DallasSean]

2012 EHEC Entry Draft Concludes, Dallas Make Six Picks Total


A seventh-round pick, the Stars are hoping Adam Pelech can punch above his lowly draft slot

With a paltry number compared to the seventeen-man haul the New York Rangers pulled in, we can at least promise you this review will be shorter than some. We've already discussed some of the draft's talking points, and now to sum up. In order...

Round 1, Pick 4: C Mikhail GRIGORENKO
Drafted Out Of: Quebec Remparts, QMJHL
Ceiling: Franchise player, #1 centre for the next decade
Likelihood: Damn near a lock. He's frighteningly talented for an 18-year-old and if he stays on the straight and narrow he's going to dominate.
Comparable to: Joe Thornton
What They Said: "With a big frame for a young kid and the skill to already be over .500 in the dot - in 59 games last year, he won a ridiculous 72.8% of all faceoffs taken - given time and enough practise opposing centres are going to dread facing off with Grigorenko. Some people say he's still adjusting to the North American game, but he seemed pretty comfortable with it last year and if his skating continues to improve on the trajectory expected of him, he should be absolutely fine with the EHEC. Although described by most as a playmaker, his passing is the area of his offensive skillset that needs work - it's technically fine, but he needs to improve his vision and cut out the mental lapses that drove Remparts fans to distraction at times last year." - Ian Eakin, Hockey's Future
What We Said: "With unexpected strength for his young age and excellent hands, he's also somebody who can add his efforts to killing dead the myth of Russian forwards as flaky, weak types with fantastic scoring abilities but who couldn't defend the puck and wouldn't dream of going into the corners, doing the dirty work."
2012/2013 Prognosis: Bar something unthinkable, Mikhail will be in the lineup against the Coyotes and depending on how training camp goes for him and Mike Ribeiro, could easily find himself starting. It's not exaggeration to say he's got a higher ceiling than nearly anybody in the Stars organisation - not to mention, Magnus Hellberg affects the game in an entirely different way - and him being in the fold is something we can all really be excited about.

Round 1, Pick 25: RW Samuel KURKER
Drafted Out Of: St. John's Prep, Massachusetts Division 1
Ceiling: Hard-hitting top-six winger with penalty kill duties.
Likelihood: Pretty safe, so long as college life doesn't kill his focus
Comparable to: Max Pacioretty
What They Said: "When the dust has settled, I wouldn't be surprised if Kurker heard his name called before pick #40. He's a project and teams will have to be willing to give him time to grow, but he's committed to Boston University and there aren't a lot of players who duck out on their commitments unless they're guaranteed to step into the EHEC. He's not the most natural offensive player but he's already shown he has the right attitude and mindset to turn into a net-crashing bruiser." - Trevor Leary, The Scouting Report
What We Said: "Standing 6'2 and a smidge under two hundred pounds, Kurker has the frame of a power forward and despite being a very young draft entrant - born April 8th, 1994 - has been described as somebody who has the strength to fight through checks, crash the net with the puck and open up space for his smaller teammates, with a recurring phrase being 'north-south player'."
2012/2013 Prognosis: He's committed to Boston University and, although he's indicated that he would consider signing and going straight to the AHL, I'd let him spend a couple of years the Terriers. With Sam, we know he's going to take some polishing, nobody is expecting him to jump into the lineup, and I think we're strong enough on the wing that we can afford to let him take the slow path.

Round 3, Pick 62: C Quentin SHORE
Drafted Out Of: United States National Team Development Program
Ceiling: Strong defensive centre, the sort of guy teams lean on for crucial faceoffs
Likelihood: Uncertain. He could turn into a great bottom-six player or he could end up as a scrub buried in the AHL.
Comparable to: A less-polished Ryan Kesler
What They Said: "It's difficult to judge how high Shore could go. The talent is there - of that there's no doubt - but he is a long-term prospect and unlike a lot of long-term prospects, he often looks like he's not interested in working on his weaker areas. If teams believe he's not a gamer, Shore's stock is going to plummet. If somebody thinks they can change him and they're right, on the other hand, they'll get a guy who's got the defensive acumen to carve himself a comfortable little niche as an elite penalty killer." - Herman Bloch, Red Line Report
What We Said: "Like Samuel Kurker, Shore is a fairly raw prospect for whom the added years of development time that being in college offers will be good, but it's always a good thing when a prospect is touted as having good hockey IQ or a reputation for doing all the little things already because those are qualities that can take years to learn. 6'2 and 190 lbs isn't the biggest frame but it's not small enough for it to be a real detriment and, even if it were, you get the feeling watching Shore play that he wouldn't care anyway."
2012/2013 Prognosis: Like Kurker, Quentin's committed to the NCAA - Denver University, in his case - and again, it seems like the smartest place for him. Centre is slightly more of a position of need than wing, but Quentin is not going to solve that problem by himself for at least another two years, if not longer.

Round 4, Pick 94: RW Paul DE JERSEY
Drafted Out Of: Prince George Cougars, BCHL
Ceiling: Decent all-round winger, solid bottom-six player
Likelihood: Not good. He's a year older than most, hasn't played against great competition and still only managed to be a fourth round pick.
Comparable to: David Elsner
What They Said: "De Jersey seems like he's going to be a late bloomer on offense, because he's already looking like he wouldn't do badly in the AHL as early as this year. If he can learn to use his size a little more effectively and keep his head in the game, some team might get lucky and nab a diamond in the lower rounds." - Alex Lombard, Hockey's Future
2012/2013 Prognosis: The third straight player who's scheduled to go to the NCAA, Paul is actually somebody I think would be suited well to jumping straight into the AHL. He's an overager, a 1992 kid rather than a '93 or '94, and watching him in the BCHL he looks like he wouldn't get a whole lot out of college hockey. If he signs and can't hack it in the AHL, then he's always got the option of going back to Prince George for another year.

Round 6, Pick 154: D Jake DOTCHIN
Drafted Out Of: Owen Sound Attack, OHL
Ceiling: Bottom-pairing defenseman and pugilist
Likelihood: Surprisingly high. He's big and strong and, while he won't ever be a defenseman of repute, could have a job as long as enforcers are needed.
Comparable to: Pick a goon, any goon.
What They Said: "Dotchin's reputation is naturally going to be coloured by his fighting. He's not a scorer and won't win any races on the ice, but he's one of the strongest kids in the O and a guy people were genuinely afraid of because he hits hard, has a dirty streak and is quite happy to hold his own. He's got a left uppercut that's a killer." - Stuart Chase, HockeyFights.com
2012/2013 Prognosis: Back to the juniors. Jake will probably go back with a mandate to hit the weight room early and often, and I think he probably knows his best shot of hitting the big leagues is as an enforcer. Whether he'll get there is another story entirely - for my money, he's probably going to be an AHL star but no higher.

Round 7, Pick 184: D Adam PELECH
Drafted Out Of: Erie Otters, OHL
Ceiling: Bottom-pairing blueliner, could be a locker-room leader.
Likelihood: Not bad. Considering he is another "hit first don't bother with the questions" player, it's a surprise that he's allegedly a pretty good captain for the Otters
Comparable to: Riley Cote, if he were a forward
2012/2013 Prognosis: Back to the juniors. Adam was the only thing keeping the Otters afloat at all at times last year and, with the depth chart at defense a tough mountain to climb, there's no need at all to deprive a team of their captain just yet.

[DallasSean]

Akers Buys Out Turco, Declares Stars "Done"


A faithful servant for many years, Turco's time is up

Mere days after picking up his option to extend his contract into the 2012/2013 season, Marty Turco has been bought out of his remaining year, bringing to an end his eleven-year tenure with the Dallas Stars. It was a move many were expecting to happen - Stars general manager Sean Akers has been quite clear that he considers Magnus Hellberg and Leland Irving to be the team's future and present in goal - and, while undoubtedly a sensible move from a pure business perspective, the criticism of Akers has already begun for the brutal way Turco's career here was ended. The last two months have shown the man to be unafraid of speaking plainly, however, and the Turco situation was one of a number of subjects he discussed in his latest press junket.

On the buyout: "I won't mince words - Marty's contract was an anchor for us. Even taking into account his decision to retire at the end of next year, his was four million dollars on the cap that, barring injuries to both Leland and Magnus, would be adding nothing to the team. By buying him out, we gain a little over three million dollars in cap room and don't really lose anything - we just pay him all his money immediately."

On his lack of diplomacy: "One thing people seem to forget is that a hockey team is not a democracy. It's more like a feudal system than anything else - I operate under orders from the owners while I rule over everybody else in the organisation. And my orders are to make this team a Cup contender, not to play nice. I made it very clear to Marty that I and the entire fanbase truly appreciated everything he'd done for the team in the past, but that keeping him on was a poor decision from a business and a hockey standpoint. I'd like to think he doesn't hate me for that, especially because he just got more than four million dollars to soothe himself with, but I will live with it if he does."

On goaltending pressure: "You bet this puts pressure on Leland and Magnus, I'm so sure in their ability to succeed that I just cut a Stars legend. But I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think either of them could handle that."

On Dallas' lack of free agency moves: "Get used to it. I look at this group of free agents and I see one guy I want on this team - and he's already been signed. There's no rock-solid #1 defenseman, I'm hoping to solve my concern about centre depth with one guy I am discussing terms with and...I don't know, where else are our holes? What would you have me do?"

On the Hemsky signing: "I wanted Ales, I'll freely admit that, but looking at the deal he signed I'm damn glad we pulled out of the running early on. Get this: with that contract, he's now the fifth highest paid player in the entire league. He's a very good player, but he's making more money than Rick Nash, than Ilya Kovalchuk, than Shea Weber and he's only $250k under Eric Staal. That deal has put him in a tier with people I don't think he can hope to match up against."

On the Ducks as division rivals: "It does make them a stronger team and, if he's capable of reaching the point-per-game plateau, riding shotgun with Henrik Zetterberg will do his chances a world of good. But are the Ducks a team to fear? Not really. Nearly a third of their cap is tied up in three players now and they still haven't addressed their goaltending. I'll be worrying about facing the reigning champions before I am about the team that finished eight points out of the postseason."