Green Machine Musings- GM Jim's Other Additions



Ales Hemsky skating for the Edmonton Oilers



              In Part I of this recap of the Stars' amazing week, I said that perhaps the best thing about the team's acquisition of Jason Spezza on July 1st is the fact that it wasn't even close to being the only substantial move involving Dallas this offseason.  No, Jim Nill was just getting started when he pulled the trigger on the deal that sent Alex Chiasson to Canada's capital in exchange for the superstar center.  About two hours or so after the news broke that Spezza was coming to Big D, GM Jim made another headline-grabbing move that would effectively complete the quest to build an NHL-caliber second line.

 

              30-year old Ales Hemsky (pronounced AL-esh HEM-skee), a lightning-fast right wing with a knack for crashing the net to slot the puck home from close range, was the first major free agent acquisition for the Stars this offseason.  A long-time member of the Edmonton Oilers, Hemsky was traded to the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline last season where he was put on a line centered by, lo and behold, Jason Spezza.  The two developed quite a chemistry in the 20 games they played together, as Hemsky put up 17 points (4 goals and 13 assists) during his time in Ottawa.  In fact, Spezza said in an interview shortly after the move was made official that he and Hemsky had been in communication throughout the offseason, anticipating where they might go and wondering if they somehow might take their chemistry to another city.  While their desire to play together elsewhere might not have been precisely what landed both of them in Dallas, there is no doubt that Jim Nill took their time together in Ottawa into consideration when deciding to acquire them.

 

               The Hemsky signing has been applauded by many in the NHL community as the Stars landed him at a very good term and price: 3 years/$12 Million.  This means that Dallas is not committing to a contract that could run beyond Hemsky's prime years nor one that pins the team against the salary cap of $69 Million.  The question now is: how much value can the Stars reasonably expect to get out of that investment?  To find Hemsky's best seasons points-wise, one has to go back a ways.  He put up 77 points during the 2005-2006 season with the Oilers, a campaign which saw Edmonton come within a game of winning the Stanley Cup.  More recently, though, his numbers have slipped.  Over the last five seasons, Hemsky hasn't reached the 50-point plateau and has not scored more than 14 goals in a single season.  However, one must take his scoreboard struggles with several grains of salt.  First of all, he was playing on one of the worst teams in hockey in Edmonton and was skating alongside line-mates that were either checking line role-players or young scorers who weren't always interested in setting up Hemsky for quality scoring chances.  Second, his health hasn't been the most cooperative recently.  In three of those five seasons, Hemsky failed to skate in at least 50 games, the worst of which saw him participate in just 22 contests in 2009-2010.  These two factors led many NHL experts to list Hemsky as a low-risk (money-wise), high-reward player that GMs would be wise to target.

 

                Right now, the consensus opinion among the Stars' community is that Ales Hemsky will skate alongside Jason Spezza on a scoring line that is more a "1B" line (behind the 1A of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Valeri Nichushkin) than a true "#2" line.  Hemsky would undoubtedly be relied upon to complement Spezza's stellar patience and decision-making abilities with some raw speed and goal-scoring prowess.  If Nill's instinct in signing Hemsky turns out to be right; look out, for the Dallas Stars will have one of the most feared scoring attacks in the Western Conference.  It'll be all about speed this fall in Big D, and in this league, speed kills.

 

 

Anders Lindback makes a save for the Tampa Bay Lightning

              I will admit that I initially missed another major signing for the Stars, as it was a move that quickly got lost in the Twitterverse of July 1st.  As I basked in the glory of the Spezza trade and Hemsky signing, I was alerted to the fact that the Stars had also addressed their need for a backup goaltender.  With prospect Jack Campbell about a year away from being NHL-ready, Dallas was looking for a solid backup that they could sign to a one-year deal.  This time, however, it appeared that someone younger than Dan Ellis and Tim Thomas was in order.  The end result: a one-year/$925,000 contract for 26-year old Anders Lindback, a 6'6 behemoth between the pipes who had fallen out of favor with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 

             Lindback had long been among the favorites for the Stars' backup job.  A native of Sweden, Lindback came up through the Nashville system before spending the last two seasons with Tampa Bay.  In the lockout-shortened 2013 season, Lindback started 21 of Tampa Bay's 48 games and posted a 10-10-1 record and a 2.90 GAA.  Last year, while backing up starter Ben Bishop, Lindback made just 18 starts, posting a record of 8-12-2 with a GAA of 2.90 and a save percentage of .891.  However, he was thrust squarely into the spotlight come playoff time as Bishop was injured just prior to the end of the regular season.  Lindback started every game of the Bolts' first round series against the Montreal Canadiens, but he was, in the minds of many, the weakest link for Tampa Bay.  He collected all four losses in the series as his team was swept by the Habs in four games.  In two of those contests, Lindback was pulled in favor of Kristers Gudlevskis.  Thus, this guy is looking for a fresh start in a new city, and it appears that he is a good fit for Dallas while the Stars are a good fit for him.

 

There's only one thing keeping me from handing him the Stars' backup job...

 

Just when it looked like the Stars were set between the pipes...



                The equation appeared to be simple.  The Stars would have Kari Lehtonen be the starting goalie and Anders Lindback would back him up.  Jack Campbell would be the starter at the AHL level to get some more seasoning and Dallas would either find him a backup on the open market or promote a minor prospect from Idaho of the ECHL.  Well, on July 7th, that equation became a jumbled mess in a big hurry.

 

               Just six days after signing Lindback, the Stars signed Jussi Rynnas, a 27-year old Finnish netminder whose first stint in North America hadn't gone so well.  The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, so we all assumed that it would be a two-way deal that would make Rynnas the AHL backup for Jack Campbell.  Thus, we were in for a surprise when it was announced that Jim Nill had inked him to a two-year, one-way contract worth $1.125 Million.  This means that it was never Nill's intention to just hand the backup job to Lindback.  Instead, he wants his goaltenders to have an open competition to see who wants it more.  If you think about it, the pros of such a philosophy far outweigh the cons.  He who wins this backup job will undoubtedly be looking ahead to his starts with anticipation rather than fear, a trait linked to several of Dallas' last few backups.  In turn, we the fans will know that the Stars' front office will have done their due diligence in determining who is best suited for the job, and we probably won't be so swift to cringe whenever Lehtonen gets a night off.  The only downside to a one-way deal for Rynnas is the fact that, should he come up short in his bid to win an NHL job, he will have to clear waivers to be sent down to the Texas Stars.  I think that this is a risk that Nill is willing to take because few teams will be in the market for a backup goaltender after training camp, and thus, will not have incentive to claim Rynnas off the waiver wire.  The same policy applies to Lindback should he lose the competition.

 

                Rynnas entered the Toronto Maple Leafs system in 2010 after going undrafted and was released after the 2013 season.  He appeared in three NHL games over that span, which saw him spend most of his time with the AHL's Toronto Marlies.  He posted a career AHL record of 31-33-5 in 73 regular season appearances.  This past year he returned to his native country and Karpat of the SM-Liiga (Finnish Elite League), where he destroyed the competition, going 28-5-7 with a GAA of 1.51 and a stellar save percentage of .939.  His GAA and save % both were tops in the SM-Liiga.  His club won the league championship in 2014.

 

-All statistics courtesy of the Dallas Stars Hockey Club press release on July 7, 2014.

 

 

Patrick Eaves, son of University of Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves

 

                Now let's go back to July 1st.  Jim Nill rounded out day one of the free agent signing period with a most unimpressive acquisition.  The latest signee was Patrick Eaves, a depth player at right wing who spent last season playing for the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators.  This appears to be little more than the acquisition of a 13th forward, someone who will spend a fair number of games sitting up in the press box, as the Stars already have considerable depth at the position.  Valeri Nichushkin, Ales Hemsky, Ryan Garbutt, and Colton Sceviour appear as though they will have dibs on the right side, so Eaves doesn't really have a place in the lineup.  Thus, he will get his playing time mostly in the event of injury or a slump by one of the aforementioned players.  Why Nill decided to go with Eaves probably has something to do with Eaves' performance in Detroit, where Nill was the head of scouting for two decades.  Also, GM Jim probably did not want one of his prospects, notably Brett Ritchie and Scott Glennie being forced into a bench-warming role at the NHL level when their best interests lie in playing consistently with the Texas Stars.  He has made it clear that his prospects are going to have to force their way onto the NHL roster and that no one will be given special treatment in any phase of his development.

 

               The former first round pick (29th overall) of the Ottawa Senators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Eaves has had a pretty lackluster career thus far.  His best seasons came early in his career.  In his rookie season, 2005-2006, he scored 20 goals in 58 games with Ottawa.  The following year, he potted 14 goals and put up a career-high 32 points in 73 games for the Senators.  After that, his numbers dropped off in a big hurry, as did the number of games he appeared in.  He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2007-2008 season and then on to the Red Wings in 2009.  Over the course of his time with those two organizations, his maximum regular season output was 22 points with Detroit in 2009-2010.  He put up 12 goals that year and 13 goals the next, but his low assist numbers have not warranted a lot of ice time.  He has also had injury problems that limited his playing time to just 10 games in 2011-2012 and just 30 games in 2013-2014.

 



For some reason, Vancouver coach Alain Vigineault couldn't

stop laughing when he saw Fidds do this.



               Vernon Fiddler.  Who woulda thunk we'd see this guy around Big D for another two years?!  It seemed almost certain that the wily veteran would be taking his talents elsewhere this offseason, but lo and behold, he's back!  His presence on the fourth line and on the first penalty-killing unit will be immense, and his attitude and outlook on the game will be extremely beneficial for a locker room that is quickly getting younger.  Plus, his antics both on and off the ice will continue to be most welcome to us the fans (note the "Angry Kevin Bieksa" charade depicted above).

 

               The Stars were initially reluctant to commit to the multi-year deal (three or so years) that Fiddler was seeking, as a one-year deal would have been better suited for advancing the center prospects into the NHL ranks.  Thus, Fiddler and his agent decided to test the waters of free agency and see what another club would be willing to give him.  Money was never the issue, so Jim Nill and his crew must have made it clear to him that he would be welcome back on the Stars if the price was wrong elsewhere.  Regardless, we all thought he had surely played his last game in a Dallas jersey.  Then on July 2nd, it was announced that Fidds had been inked to a two-year contract worth $2.5 Million.  Here was a completely unexpected deal that actually involved Fiddler taking a pay cut from his previous deal.  He made $1.8 Million per season on his three-year deal that had just expired while, on this deal, he will make $1.0 Million in 2014-15 and $1.5 Million in 2015-16 (cap hit calculates out to $1.25 Million/year).  His reasoning for accepting such a deal: "Honestly, I had better offers.  But I wanted to stay with this team and finish the job.  There is a real attraction to playing here and playing to win, and seeing this through.  I think this is going to be a really good team, and I want to be a part of that."

 

                That kind of attitude is a clear indicator that this franchise is headed in the right direction.  Returning players taking less money to stay with a club rather than taking a better offer elsewhere is something that you don't see in every NHL city.  Vern, like many others, sees something in this club.  Something that we should be VERY excited about as the new season approaches.  Two things are for certain in the wake of this amazing week of offseason NHL action: Jim Nill has done it again, and the Dallas Stars are in very good shape for both next year and beyond.

 

-Quotes courtesy of Mike Heika's blog on SportsDay DFW

 

 

I'll leave you with two great Fiddler moments from this past season:

 

Sheathing the Weapon

 

 

The "Oh (expletive)" Move

 

 

Christian Bussler

@c_buss15

Green Machine Musings- GM Jim Builds a Contender!

Fear. His. Mustache.

It’s official!  The Dallas Stars have a second scoring line!

 

But before I tell you about it, watch this classic video game commercial featuring the most prominent new member of the Green Machine (as well as another old friend of the Stars).

 

 

            Somehow, someway, General Manager Jim Nill has done it again!  For the second summer in a row, the GM of the Stars has punched the accelerator on the rebuild in Big D.  The result: in just two off-seasons, the former Detroit Red Wings head of scouting has completely rebuilt the Top Six for the Stars.  Last year it involved a seemingly troubled young center in Boston and an eighteen-year old phenom from the south of Russia.  This time around, the men coming to don the victory green are, shall we say, a bit more experienced.

 

            On Tuesday morning, I received a very excited text from my Stars-loving friend, Tanner.  It was only one word: “YESSSSSS!” but I knew exactly where he was coming from.  In yeoman’s terms, July 1st marked the start of the NHL’s version of open season.  It was, once more, the start of free agent signings across the league, but with an added twist this year.  July 1st was going to be crazier than ever because of a rule change that allowed teams to meet with pending unrestricted free agents before the signing period began.  Thus, when the clock struck 11:00 am CDT on Tuesday, all hell broke loose, with signings going down simultaneously from coast to coast.  So upon seeing that text, I had only to ask myself: who had the Stars acquired?

 

             The answer had come from a multitude of sources an hour or so earlier, so I'll throw the credit to Stars beat writer Mike Heika.

             Jason Spezza (pronounced SPEHT-zuh). Take a minute to let that name sink in.  Here's a brief list of some of the things he's bringing to Big D:

 

           -Second overall draft pick in 2001 Entry Draft

           -687 points (251 goals + 436 assists) in 686 career NHL games

           -4 seasons of 30+ goals

           -4 seasons of 50+ assists

           -2 appearances in NHL All-Star Game

           -52 points in 56 career NHL playoff games

 

            In 2013-14: 23 goals + 43 assists (both stats would have easily placed third on the Stars behind Benn and Seguin)

 

 

            And now he's ours.  And the best part, he doesn't need to be a superstar to have success on this team.  No, he is here to complement our already lethal top line and make them even deadlier.  They will do this by forcing the opposition to pick their poison, that is, the opponent's top pairing will be unable to defend back-to-back assaults from two top-tier scoring lines.  That's the value of a second-line center that can create a true scoring line.  Last year, the Stars did not have one.  Next year, they will have a top line center on their second line.  How Jim Nill pulled this off I will never know.

 

            And the best part of the deal, the Stars got him for an extremely good price.  Now, I have to say, my heart sank a bit when I saw that Alex Chiasson had been included in the package being sent to Ottawa, because the player known as "Toaster" had been a fan favorite ever since he made his debut.  However, upon further analysis, I saw just how good a deal that Nill got for us.

 

 

To Dallas:          C Jason Spezza

                       LW Ludwig Karlsson

 

To Ottawa:     RW Alex Chiasson

                       2nd Round pick in the 2015 draft

                       LW Alex Guptill

                       LW Nick Paul

 

              In acquiring Spezza (and the wrong Karlsson as far as Ottawa is concerned), the Stars parted with an NHL player, a draft pick, and two prospects.  At first, that sounds like a high cost, but it actually is a mega-bargain.  Chiasson has potential to be a top-six NHLer, but it simply isn't guaranteed.  The 2nd-round pick is quite significant, as the 2015 draft is expected to be extremely deep and talented, but it isn't a first-rounder.  As for the prospects, Guptill, a University of Michigan product, was rated as about 9th to 11th overall in the Stars prospect pool by Derek Neumeier and Huw Wales of DefendingBigD.com.  Nick Paul, a player for the OHL's North Bay Battalion, did not make the most recent Top-25 list that those two put together.  Thus, the consensus is that Ottawa, in only getting this much value for their captain and second-biggest superstar, got somewhat hosed by this deal.

 

Here's a link to Neumeier and Wales' prospect rankings on DBD.com.

 

              The main downside for this deal for Dallas is the fact that Spezza's contract will expire after the 2014-15 season.  If he leaves Dallas after this season, then the Stars will have essentially parted with this package for a one-year rental.  Regardless, Jim Nill did not part with any of Dallas' top prospects to acquire a second-line center with top line capability.  Jack Campbell, Brett Ritchie, Jamie Oleksiak, Devin Shore, Jason Dickinson, and John Klingberg all remain in the system.  That makes this a truly special deal that doesn't come around every day.  On another note, I honestly think that Nill and Company could re-sign Spezza to a multi-year deal here in North Texas.  His current contract, which took him into his prime, pays him $7 million/year.  A new deal would probably require him taking a pay cut to about $6.4-6.5 million over 4-5 years.  The Stars will have plenty of salary cap space open after the upcoming season as the albatross (lousy) contracts of Erik Cole, Sergei Gonchar, and Shawn Horcoff will come off the books, freeing up $15 million to spend elsewhere.  Acquiring Spezza AND signing him to play in Dallas long-term?  This is a Stars fan's dream taking shape right before our eyes.  Enjoy the show fans!

 

             Maybe there was an even better part of this deal... the fact that it wasn't the only great deal that the Stars made.  Stay tuned for another post devoted to the acquisitions the Stars made throughout the rest of the week!

 

Christian Bussler

@c_buss15

Green Machine Musings- It's Draft Day!

               It's a big day in the world of the coolest game.  Tonight, the 2014 NHL Draft gets underway in Philadelphia with coverage of the first round starting at 6:00 CT on NBC Sports Network.  Currently, the draft order is as follows:

 

1. Florida                           11. Nashville                            21. St. Louis

2. Buffalo                           12. Arizona                              22. Pittsburgh

3. Edmonton                      13. Washington                       23. Colorado 

4. Calgary                          14. Dallas                                24. Vancouver

5. NY Islanders                  15. Detroit                               25. Boston

6. Vancouver                     16. Columbus                          26. Montreal

7. Carolina                         17. Philadelphia                      27. Chicago

8. Toronto                          18. Minnesota                         28. Tampa Bay

9. Winnipeg                       19. Tampa Bay                        29. Los Angeles

10. Anaheim                      20. San Jose                           30. New Jersey

                  

NOTE: The #24 Pick was traded by Anaheim to Vancouver earlier today as part of a package for center Ryan Kesler. Do not be surprised if quite a few more trades go down later today.

                                                     

            Now, most of you are probably not all that familiar with the prospects who are draft eligible. That's alright, as this draft system is much more complex than football or basketball. The majority of those drafted tonight will be playing junior hockey in Canada or in a USA Hockey development program.  They are nearly all between the ages of 16 and 18, meaning that most of them will not be ready for the NHL next season (Remember, Valeri Nichushkin was one of the exceptions to the rule last year).  In this post, I'm going to give you the inside scoop on some of the players expected to be drafted high as well as a few that the Dallas Stars might be interested in.

 

             Naturally, I'm not going to give you a profile of each possible draftee, as you probably don't want to read a book chapter on this first round.  For more information on the following and all draft-eligible prospects, visit http://www.mynhldraft.com/NHL-Mock-Draft/.  All stats courtesy of this site.

  

The Fantastic Four

Aaron Ekblad- Defenseman; 6'3, 216 lbs.; Barrie Colts (Ontario Hockey League)

                        

            Ekblad is far and away the best defenseman in this draft and is the favorite to go first overall if Florida decides not to trade the top pick.  He put up 53 points in 58 games with Barrie this past season, yet he has the build and skill set of a shutdown defenseman.  He is the ideal two-way blue liner and whoever gets him will be very happy.
 

Sam Reinhart- Center; 6'1, 178 lbs.; Koontenay Ice (Western Hockey League)

             The youngest of the Reinhart brothers is reputed as being the best of the bunch.  A top line center in the making, he is known for his exceptional hockey IQ and decision-making on the ice.  He could possibly challenge for an NHL spot next season, so he will be a coveted man come 6:00.

 

Sam Bennett- Center/Left Wing; 6'0, 178 lbs.; Kingston Frontenacs (Ontario Hockey League)

             Bennett was long considered the most likely to challenge Ekblad as the most coveted player in this year's draft.  He remains a very strong candidate to do so as his versatility and work ethic have been on display for a long time.  While he put up 91 points this past season, he also added 118 penalty minutes, meaning that any team looking to score more by establishing a physical presence would be smart to select him.

 

Leon Draisatl- Center; 6'1, 208 lbs.; Prince Albert Raiders (Western Hockey League)

              Known as "The Deutschland Dangler," Draisatl stands to be the highest-drafted German player in NHL history.  A prototypical power forward, he is a playmaking center with the skills make any pair of line-mates better.  He is also not far away from the NHL, so any of the teams picking in the top four of this draft would be wise to take him. 

 

The following players are likely to go in the 5-10 range:

Nick Ritchie- The Stars already have his brother, Brett, and would love to get him too.

Michael Dal Colle- Center/Left Wing; 6'2, 179 lbs.; Oshawa Generals (Ontario Hockey League)

 

Jake Virtanen- Right Wing; Center/Left Wing; 6'1, 190 lbs.; Calgary Hitmen (Western Hockey League)

 

Nick Ritchie- Left Wing; 6'2, 230 lbs.; Peterborough Petes (Ontario Hockey League)

 

            Ritchie is the one player out of this group that I'd love to see fall to the Stars.  Trouble is, he is almost a perfect fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who select 8th overall.  He has huge size and the skills to go along with it in every facet of the game.

 

William Nylander- Right Wing; 5'11; 175 lbs.; Sodertalje (Sweden)

 

The following players could fall to the Stars' position at 14, so keep an eye out for one of them. Trust me, I'm sure Jim Nill would love to get his hands on one of these guys!

 

Nikolaj Ehlers- Left Wing; 5'11, 165 lbs.; Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

 

               Ehlers might just have the best hands in this draft class, and several mock drafts have him going as high as fourth overall.  Most have him landing about 10th-12th.  Besides Ritchie, Ehlers is the player that I would most love see falling to los Stars at pick #14.

 

 

Brenden Perlini- Center; 6'3, 205 lbs.; Niagara IceDogs (Ontario Hockey League)

 

 

Kasperi Kapanen- Right Wing; 6'0, 180 lbs.; KalPa (Finland)

 

              The son of former NHLer, Sami Kapanen, this fast Finn is a bit on the small side, but he makes up for it with his skill set. I figure that he is, of this group of four, the most likely prospect to fall to pick #14.

 

Haydn Fleury- Defenseman; 6'2, 204 lbs.; Red Deer Rebels (Western Hockey League)

  

              In a draft dominated by forwards, Fleury is the second-best blueliner in the class after Aaron Ekblad.  In most mock drafts, he goes at #13, just ahead of the Stars.  Now, if he falls to #14, it will be an interesting choice for GM Jim Nill and Co.  Dallas already has several big, left-handed defensemen in the system, so this pick might or might not be a smart one.  Right-handed and offensive blueliners are in order in Big D.

 

 

Lastly, here are the players that the Stars appear most likely to select:

The man in blue is Mike Heika's pick at #14.

 

 

Robbi Fabbri- Center; 5'10, 166 lbs.; Guelph Storm (Ontario Hockey League)

 

          While playing alongside Stars' prospect Jason Dickinson, Fabbri put up huge numbers (87 points in 58 games) as the Storm won the OHL title and reached the Memorial Cup Final.  While he is a tad small, Fabbri has a very high ceiling for whomever decides to select him.  I believe him to be the Stars' most likely pick in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft.

 

 

Kevin Fiala- Right Wing/Center; 5'10, 194 lbs.; HV71 J20 (Sweden)

 

My friends over at Defending Big D regard Fiala as the safer option at the center position, meaning that he has a higher floor that Fabbri.  That said, Fiala put up good numbers playing against men in the Swedish Hockey League during his limited action in that circuit.  Any teen who can skate with the big boys of Sweden is worth looking at, so I would not be surprised to hear the name of this kid from Switzerland come pick #14.

 

 

Julius Honka- Defenseman; 5'10, 178 lbs.; Swift Current Broncos (Western Hockey League)

 

Stars beat writer Mike Heika of Sports Day DFW picked Honka as the Stars' selection in his mock draft.  Their are two reasons for his decision.  One, Honka is the best offensive defenseman in the draft, a position that the Stars' prospect pool is lacking in beyond John Klingberg, who might be called up next year.  Picking Honka at #14 could be a bit of a reach though, so I would expect Jim Nill and his staff to trade down in the order if this is the man they want.

 

 

Okay folks, that's all for now.  I'll have a recap of all the Stars' draft picks up sometime early next week. Enjoy the draft and Go Stars!

Green Machine Musings- One Last Look Back (Part II)

 

 

                 Once again fans, in this edition of GMM, we're taking a look at the story of the Dallas Stars away from the ice in 2013-14.  We discussed owner Tom Gaglardi and team president Jim Lites in our last post, so now we'll critique the men that Gaglardi hired to lead the charge toward becoming a contender on the ice.  To do that, we'll have to start at the end of the lockout-shortened 2013 season, when the rebuild, which had been in the works for years, really began.  It was then that owner Tom Gaglardi made a move that changed the perception of this organization throughout the hockey world. 

 

General Manager Jim Nill          A+       The new era of Dallas Stars hockey was ushered in full-time on April 25, 2013.  That day, Tom Gaglardi fired general manager Joe Nieuwendyk to make way for Jim Nill, the former assistant GM and head of scouting for the Detroit Red Wings.  Nill, a master scout, had been instrumental in drafting and developing players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and building a perennial power in the Red Wings.  I was actually at a game between the Stars and the Blue Jackets when I received word that Nieuwendyk had been fired.  I recall thinking to myself that this new guy must be pretty good because, all things considered, I was fairly satisfied with GM Joe's performance that year.  Now, the change at the top was not the result of any ineptitude on the part of Nieuwendyk (the Neal trade notwithstanding), but rather Gaglardi seizing the opportunity to land one of hockey's most coveted figures in upper management.  Regardless, the owner could not have made a better choice.

 

               Nill made a number of headline grabbing moves in his first few months on the job, with his first being the hiring of new head coach Lindy Ruff.  The Stars had both a number of veteran coaches and a number of up-and-coming bench bosses to choose from.  Alain Vigineault, John Tortorella, and Ruff headlined the veterans; while Toronto's Dallas Eakins and the Texas Stars' Willie Desjardins were prime amongst the AHL coaches looking to move up.  Initially, the decision to go with Ruff drew some criticism, but this season proved that Nill made the absolute right choice (more on Ruff later).  With the new bench boss in place, Nill and Company headed to New Jersey, where they did a masterful job in one of the deepest NHL drafts in years.  Simply put, if you would have told me that we would land Valeri Nichushkin with the tenth overall pick, I would have called you out of your mind.  And not only did they land the big Russian; they snapped up two players who look like absolute studs in Jason Dickinson and Philippe Desrosiers, as well as a handful of dark horses in Remi Elie, Niklas Hansson, and Cole Ully.  I never would have thought that we could improve our prospect pool so much with just one draft.  And the best part: Jim Nill was just getting started.

 

Never in a million years did I think we'd get our hands on this guy.

 

               When people discuss the 2013 offseason for the Dallas Stars, they will surely spend the most time talking about the blockbuster trade with the Boston Bruins that brought Tyler Seguin to Big D.  Somehow, Jim Nill was able to land the budding superstar Seguin as well as veteran Rich Peverley without gutting the Stars' farm system. True, Loui Eriksson is a bonafide top-six player and Reilly Smith has turned out to be a very good NHL player, but to get something, you have to give up something.  And despite getting someone to build a top line around, the Stars did not give up that much.  It truly is remarkable, for the Stars went from a team not having anything resembling a top line to having one of the top lines in the sport.  GM Jim deserves all the credit for it.  The only real dud of a move that Nill made was the signing of Sergei Gonchar to two years of an albatross contract ($5 million/year).  A poor decision, yes, but one that Dallas fans can stomach reasonably well, for we can afford him even if we don't want him.  Besides, with all the home runs Nill hit last offseason, I think we can tolerate him grounding out every once in a while.

 

                 Over the past few years, Jim Nill had his choice of several clubs that wanted to hire him as their GM, most notable being the Montreal Canadiens.  Thus, him coming on board here in Dallas tells us that he sees something special in this club.  There is immense potential to create a perennial winner, and there is no one better prepared to tap that potential than Jim Nill.

 

 

 

Head Coach Lindy Ruff           A        Jim Nill had his choice of several coaches to hire in Big D last summer and, based on the choice he made, we can safely guess the criteria on which he made his decision.  First off, we were looking for a coach who had experience at the NHL level and was known for his ability to develop prospects into NHLers.  Second, he needed to have shown adaptability in his previous position, that is, he proved that he could have success no matter the type of players he was given.  Lastly, he needed to want to come to a team like Dallas, which would require both patience and an eagerness to build a winner from the ground up.  These are the things that Nill found in Lindy Ruff, the longtime bench boss of the Buffalo Sabres and the 12th-winningest head coach in NHL history.  The question was, while Ruff had found success with various groups of players in Buffalo, would he be able to install a system that properly utilized the Stars' abundance of speed while also protecting the puck to limit chances against.  Some also questioned his noted strategy of rolling four lines consistently at even strength.  This means that, at times, he allows all the lines to play their shifts instead of focusing on the matchups that the opposition is putting out and sending in the lines he views as appropriate.  While this strategy keeps players more rested later in games, it can also lead to missed opportunities and mismatches in favor of the opposition.  Regardless, Stars fans knew that Ruff had to be an upgrade over Glen Gulutzan, who was simply in over his head during his two seasons at the helm in Dallas. 

 

             We would eventually find out that "upgrade" was a massive understatement in terms of describing what Lindy Ruff meant to this team in 2013-2014, but it didn't exactly start off that way.  Ruff's insistence on placing Alex Goligoski and Sergei Gonchar together on a defensive pairing was a colossal failure.  Fortunately, the experienced Ruff admitted this and juggled the pairings consistently until he found the right fit.  Overall, despite having a defense that had not been significantly upgraded since 2013, the Stars were not a liability in their own zone.  They got consistently better as the season went along, giving up fewer shots on a consistent basis and ensuring that the team had a chance to win each game.  This tells me that Ruff and his defense-oriented assistant coach, James Patrick, had a system in place that was designed to both find a winning combination and help the blue liners grow both as individuals and as a unit.  That said, while Ruff was flexible with his lines and pairings, he was not one to jump ship on a certain unit after a bad game.  His system fostered a sense of accountability around the Stars, that is, everyone had a role to play and no one could carry this team alone.  The slogan was "Everybody Ropes, Everybody Rides" and it could not have been more true.

 

             In all, I think that nothing stands out about Coach Ruff's performance more so than the development of key individuals on the back end.  I mentioned in a recent post that I was extremely pleased with the pairing of Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley, which this team leaned on extensively down the stretch.  Both played some of the best hockey we've ever seen them play and I think that we should be very excited to see what this coaching staff can do with some of the prospects that are poised to come up.  If Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, and John Klingberg end up developing as quickly and as completely as Jordie Benn did this past year, look out.  The Stars blue line could become a top tier unit in a very short span of time (more on this in an upcoming post).

 

A FEW NOTES:

 

-The Stars released their full 2014-2015 schedule on Sunday afternoon.  Let me know in the comments section which games you are looking forward to the most.

 

-The 2014 NHL Draft will commence on Friday night in Philadelphia, with the first round broadcast on NBC Sports Network.  In the days leading up to it, I will do my best to get you a draft preview as well as a rundown of the Stars' most pressing needs on the ice for the upcoming season.

 

Christian Bussler

@c_buss15

Green Machine Musings- One Last Look Back (Part I)

 

                 Hey Stars fans!  In this edition of Green Machine Musings, we will take a look at the story of the Dallas Stars away from the ice in 2013-14.  I promise, after this post there will be little looking back and a ton of looking forward in my column.  Alas, we should do justice to the men who built this team and examine how well they did their jobs this season.

 

Owner Tom Gaglardi, President Jim Lites and Company       A-        Simply put, from 2008 to 2011, the Dallas Stars were one of the most poorly run organizations in hockey.  Now, they are a top class organization with the resources and personnel required to compete for the Stanley Cup.  The turnaround began at the top and started working its way down in November of 2011, when Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi bought the team.  A man with deep roots in hockey and a personal connection to North Texas, this man was precisely what the organization needed after floundering through three years of bankruptcy after the bottom dropped out of the economy (and owner Tom Hicks' wallet) in 2008.  2013-14 was essentially Gaglardi's first full year as owner of the club because he purchased the Stars midseason in 2011-12 and 2012-13 was a season cut in half by hockey's third lockout in two decades.  With a full season to work with, he set out to leave his mark on the organization this year.  He overwhelmingly succeeded in doing so, and we could not be happier with the results.

              What I think makes Gaglardi the ideal owner is his willingness to allocate authority to individuals that he sees as fit (go ahead and be envious, Cowboys fans).  When Gaglardi took over the team back in 2011, one of his first moves was to re-hire Jim Lites as Team President.  Lites, who had held the position previously on two separate occasions (1993-2002 and 2003-2007), is a master of promoting the team and maintaining positive relationships with the fan base and the DFW community.  Together, these two individuals and their front office staff have rebuilt the image of the Dallas Stars, both figuratively and literally.  In regards to the latter, this team went from having some of the most drab uniforms in the NHL to being instant eye candy for all who watched them, as the club's new "victory green" uniforms were unveiled on June 4th.  According to everyone involved, the process of creating the new uniform was neither quick nor easy, but it appears that Tom Gaglardi was spot on when he said, just prior to the release, that he thought that the new jerseys and logo created "a look to stand the test of time."  I could not agree more, as the shade of green was adopted by the DFW community at a breakneck pace. A Dallas Stars jersey is once again something to be shown off by all who don it.

 

 

               At the same time, Tom Gaglardi and his crew have been working very hard to make going to Stars games a prominent part of the Dallas entertainment scene once again.  Unfortunately, attendance fell off so rapidly after 2008 that it both has been and remains a long road back at the turnstiles for this team.  Charts like this won't go away overnight:

 

 RK        TEAM              TOTAL            AVG            PCT

  1          Chicago            927,545           22,623          117.6

  2          Detroit              908,131           22,149          110.4

  3          Los Angeles     779,734           19,017          107.6

  4          Vancouver       810,594           19,770           107.2

  5          Toronto            797,310           19,446           103.3

  6          Minnesota        758,729           18,505           103.1

 ....

 25         New Jersey       625,570          15,257            88.7

 26         Florida              581,286          14,177            83.2

 27         Carolina            634,832          15,483            82.9

 28         Columbus         602,619          14,698            81.0

 29         Phoenix            564,798          13,775            80.4

 30         Dallas               601,008          14,658            79.1

This chart was published by ESPN.  For numbers 6-24, visit espn.com/NHL.

 

              Yep, that chart shows the Dallas Stars as being dead last in the NHL in terms of the percentage of seats in the arena sold for each regular season home game (although I tend to believe that Florida and Phoenix fudged the numbers a bit).  However, such an unsightly ranking is not indicative of the efforts of the Stars' marketing board and ticketing staff.  In addition, the new owner has both allocated funds to advertise the team in all forms of media and remains committed to keeping tickets affordable for the average fan.  Stars tickets remain the cheapest in hockey and there is no indication that a price hike is imminent despite the team's appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  And to top it all off, this team works very hard to establish and maintain good relationships with customers like myself.  My ticketing representative, Travis Gafford, made the process of getting my partial season tickets extremely easy and I highly recommend him to anyone interested in getting a package deal of any sort.  In short, filling the AAC on a consistent basis is a lengthy process, but we're getting there.  Pretty soon, crowds like those we saw on Modano night and during the series against Anaheim will be making our barn loud and proud more often than not.

 

              Now, I can talk about upper management, new uniforms and ticket sales all I want, but none of these things contributed to the immediate success of the team on the ice this season.  Not to worry, Tom Gaglardi didn't neglect to leave his mark on the on-ice product as well.  In buying this team two years earlier, he was taking over a rebuild that was years in the making, but had yet to really get underway.  The owner accelerated it in a big way at the end of the lockout-shortened 2013 season.  See Part II of this post for the rest of the ongoing saga behind the scenes for the Dallas Stars.

 

Christian Bussler

@c_buss15

Green Machine Musings- Grading the Goalies

              Howdy Stars fans!  The Buss is finally back in motion after my Maymester course made me put the blog on the back burner.  In this post, we will wrap up the process of looking back on what was the 2013-2014 season for the Dallas Stars.  From here on, we will be focused on analyzing the club's current needs and trying to predict the moves that the upper management will make to help the Green Machine take the next step toward becoming a bona fide contender in the NHL's Western Conference.  But for now, the task at hand: it's time to finish grading the roster.  On to the men in the crease!

#32 Kari Lehtonen     B+     Dallas came into this season knowing that the Big Finn would really have to take his game to the next level if this club was to see significant improvement.  That thought was spot on; for as Kari went, so went the Dallas Stars.  Lehtonen made 64 regular season starts, a mark that left him tied with Marc-Andre Fleury and Antti Niemi for most in the NHL.  This is a double-edged sword, as it means that A) he was both durable and dependable all year long, and B) he received little help from his various backups.  His GAA of 2.41 was good for 13th in the league amongst goaltenders with at least 49 starts, and his save percentage was a respectable .919.  As you can see in my chart below, I rank Lehtonen just outside the top ten of NHL goaltenders.  This clearly does not make him elite, but it does represent a significant surge in his play as of late and places him in good company.  I could have placed him at #9, but playoff experience and long-term level of play forced me to place Niemi and Miller just above him.  I think that with a better defense in place in front of him, Lehtonen could easily pass these two.  Whether he can move higher up the rankings to become a truly elite goaltender is a question that only he will be able to answer.  A lengthy playoff run is the one credential that he does not have.  Can the Big Finn stand on his head and backstop the Stars to a string of series victories sometime in the years to come?  Only time will tell.
 

Sorry folks, there can be only one King.

             Here's my list of the top netminders in the NHL.  I threw out nearly all goalies who are used in tandem on a specific team because, in order for a goalie to be considered elite, they must be the starter that their organization turns to at a moment's notice.

 

 Additional factors considered included:

  -recent success (past 2-3 years, a.k.a. what have you done for me lately?)

  -postseason success overall

  -quality of team in front of him

  

                                       THE TOP ELEVEN

                                    1.) Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)

                                    2.) Tuukka Rask (BOS)

                                    3.) Carey Price (MTL)

                                    4.) Jonathan Quick (LA)

                                    5.) Corey Crawford (CHI)

                                    6.) Semyon Varlamov (COL)

                                    7.) Mike Smith (PHX)

                                    8.) Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ)

                                    9.) Antti Niemi (SJ)

                                  10.) Ryan Miller (BUF-STL)

                                  11.) Kari Lehtonen (DAL)

  

             Honorable Mention: Ben Bishop (TB), Jimmy Howard (DET)

 

Had to omit due to tandem: Cory Schneider/Martin Brodeur (NJ), Roberto Luongo (VAN-FLA), Jaroslav Halak (STL-WSH), the Minnesota quartet.

  

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST! I want to know precisely what you think of this list.  Do you think I've got it right or do you think I'm upside down?  Tell me your top ten, I honestly think that you'll find ranking numbers 6-11 rather difficult.  If you think that I'm absolutely out of my mind, remember that this is tough stuff, even for the experts (one of which I, admittedly, am not as of yet). *sigh*
 

 

 

#30 Tim Thomas     C+    The Stars' biggest in-season acquisition was a real headline-grabber as Thomas, the veteran netminder turned temporary political pundit, made his way to Big D.  He was acquired from the Florida Panthers on March 5th for Dan Ellis in a simple two-player deal.  Almost immediately, Stars fans thought that the trade might be a stroke of genius by Stars GM Jim Nill; because shortly thereafter on March 8th, Kari Lehtonen was concussed in a collision with Minnesota's Erik Haula, an injury that would keep him out of the lineup for ten days.  Thomas would make the next three starts for Dallas, and the results were mixed (a fantastic win over St. Louis and bad losses to Calgary and Winnipeg).  Once Lehtonen returned, Timmy rarely saw the ice on a consistent basis.  Overall, Thomas made 8 appearances (6 starts) and went 2-4-1 with a GAA of 2.97 and a save percentage of .902.  Those numbers aren't too bad, but they are nowhere near what the coaches and fans wanted out of the Stars' new backup. My reasoning for Thomas' subpar showing is the fact that his style clashed with the inability of the Stars' defensemen to clear the crease effectively.  Tim Thomas is an aggressive goalie who challenges shooters and, in the process, gives up some juicy rebounds.  On a team like the Boston Bruins, which collapses toward its own net very effectively, this wouldn't be a problem.  But on a team like the Stars, which lacked both size and grit on the blue line this season, a goaltender like this was bound to be a liability.  I'm not saying that Jim Nill made a big mistake in acquiring Thomas, but he will have to be more selective as he searches for a new backup goalie this offseason.

 

 

#30 Dan Ellis     C-     We cannot effectively analyze what was the Stars' goaltending situation in 2013-14 without acknowledging the aforementioned Ellis, who was, somewhat unfairly, vilified for some of the struggles of Kari Lehtonen due to his own issues in the crease.  When Lehtonen went down with a groin injury very early in the season, the team turned to Ellis to carry the load until further notice.  The veteran backup made 4 starts over that stretch, going 1-3-0.  These struggles led to the coaching staff leaving him on the bench for long stretches at a time.  For example, after those four early-season starts, he did not play for over a month.  Don't get me wrong, he did some good things this year, too.  He was extremely effective against, of all teams, the Anaheim Ducks.  On November 26th, Lindy Ruff sent out Ellis to face the Ducks on national television, a move that surprised everyone. All Ellis did was keep his team in the game until they exploded for five third period goals to win the game 6-3.  On February 1st, he did something even more impressive to the Ducks on their home ice, shutting them out in a 2-0 Stars' victory.  In all, Dan Ellis played in 14 games for the Stars before being traded to Florida, making 11 starts.  His record of 5-6-0, GAA of 3.04, and save percentage of .900 certainly should have been better, but I'm wondering how much of the blame for Ellis' struggles can be placed on Ruff and Company.  It had to be difficult for Dan to get into a rhythm when he was only playing once or twice a month.  I tend to think that the goaltending situation could have been improved, as a whole, with more balanced play by both the #1 and #2 guys in net.  It will be interesting to see heavily Ruff and his crew lean on Kari Lehtonen next season.  With a new backup in Big D, I tend to think that their strategy will change.

 

NOTE: The following two players are graded primarily for their performance with the Texas Stars.

 

 

#1 Jack Campbell      B      The Stars' top prospect according to the player development experts over at DefendingBigD.com, Campbell was expected to get his first taste of being a full-time starter at the professional level this season with the Texas Stars.  Unfortunately, he did not get the chance to prove himself in this role.  When he was on the ice, he was flat out dominant, stone-walling opposing offenses left and right.  However, he spent much of the regular season recovering from a pair of lower-body injuries.  In all, Campbell finished the regular season having made 16 appearances and posted a stellar record of 12-2 (plus two shootout losses) with a GAA of just 1.49 and a terrific save percentage of .942.  In the Calder Cup playoffs, he alternated the starting job with Cristopher Nilstorp and went 2-1 in four appearances with a GAA of 2.54 before being injured in Game 5 of the Western Conference Division Finals against Grand Rapids.  Also, Campbell made his NHL debut this year prior to his first stint on the injured reserve list.  He got a start on the road in Anaheim on October 20th during the stretch in which Ellis was filling in for the injured Lehtonen.  The good: Jack made a whopping 41 saves.  The bad: the Stars allowed 47 shots in the game.  Obviously, the situation he was put in was completely unfair, as he was thrust into the lineup against one of hockey's best teams before the Stars' defense situation had been properly sorted out (this game was the nail in the coffin for the pairing of Sergei Gonchar and Alex Goligoski).  Campbell will most likely remain with the Texas Stars next season so that he can gain the experience of being a full-time starter before he moves up to the NHL level as the Dallas Stars' full-time backup.  While 2013-14 was not kind to Jack's development, make no mistake, this kid is the real deal.  If he continues to develop at his current pace, look out.  We could have something huge in Big D by the time 2015-16 rolls around.

 

 

#41 Cristopher Nilstorp     B+     Nilstorp only made one appearance in a Dallas uniform this season, a significant step back from 2013, when he began the year as the backup with the Dallas Stars.  That said, the 30 year-old Swede played a crucial role for this organization as he backstopped the Texas Stars to the AHL's highest point total in the regular season and then through the playoffs to the Calder Cup Finals.  During the regular season, Nilstorp appeared in 45 games, finishing with a 27-12 record(plus 4 shootout losses), a 2.45 GAA, and a save percentage of .918.  He also had three shutouts on the year.  During the Calder Cup Playoffs, he alternated starts with Jack Campbell through the Stars' first eight games before Campbell was injured in Game 5 of the Divisional Finals. Nilstorp came in and won that game before finishing off Grand Rapids in Game 6.  Then, facing one of the league's best clubs, the Toronto Marlies, in the conference finals, Nilstorp stood tall time and again, giving his team the boost it needed to break through an incredibly stout defense time and again.  It took seven games, but the men from Cedar Park came through and are now on their way to the Calder Cup Finals for the second time in their five-year history.  They will start the series against the St. John's IceCaps (Top affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets) on Sunday at the Cedar Park Center.  After this season Nilstorp will be an Unrestricted Free Agent, leaving Jim Nill with a major decision to make.  Does he re-sign Nilstorp to shore up his organization's goaltending depth, or does he let him seek greener pastures in order to give someone else a shot?  This will be an interesting story to watch unfold, especially if the T-Stars hoist the Calder Cup in the coming weeks.

 

 

Bring it home, boys!

Please Note: My next post will be a real mixed bag.  First off, I will analyze the performances of those who oversaw the day-to-day operations of this team in 2013-14.  Then, I will offer a brief comment on the team's (relative) attendance woes before giving you a run down of all the things that I plan to talk about in the coming weeks. Come on you Stars!

 

Christian Bussler

@c_buss15