Finally got my wish . Been beating the drum about removing Miro from the 1st PP . Unfortunately it took a serious injury to Miro .hopefully he recovers and receives good news from that specialist he is seeing in New YORK today . PP has been better with Harley no doubt.. Finally Duchy gets to play as well . Sure took the coaching staff long enough with that failed PP experiment
While you are talking trades let’s talk about the worst trades the Stars have ever made. My number 1 bad trade was Nieuwendyk for Iginla. Sure the Stars won 1 cup with that trade but if they kept Iginla they may have very well won 2, 3 or even more. In my opinion Iginla was that kind of player.
Jerome was the better player but it is about timing. Without Joe does the team land Hull? Those back to back SCF probably don’t happen. Question is if the team is on the upswing do the Hicks dry years happen (likely so). If they don’t then yes you could have Turco actually fighting for something and a team to build from, but I still think Hicks would have pulled the team under and it would have been a different version of pesky stars. Bird in the hand beats a million that remain in the bush.
I still don't like the trade. Not because it doesn't improve the team, because it does, but because Nill just spent a first and $8m of space to not move the needle very much. It doesn't hurt the team's chances, exactly, but it doesn't improve them much either, and it uses up the best avenue to improve the team. We'll have to wait to see who else gets moved this deadline to judge how much of a missed opportunity this turns out to be.
On the bright side, Nill's stubbornness about only trading for expiring UFAs means the impact is muted. There won't be any cap crunch over the summer fitting Johnston and Benn's extensions around Miller or Jones' contracts, for example. I think I'd rather have had that problem though.
My biggest issue is the first round pick. Keeping these assets has been Nill's secret sauce in creating a contender without rebuilding. By trading them for marginal improvements, he's splitting the difference and taking away the process that got him here in the first place. (No disrespect to anyone, but if you tell me about a "bad draft" we're going to the octagon. This is easily the worst, and most irrelevant justification for trading a first round pick.)
Also, I would have prefer we take a flyer on either Klingberg (1,7M$) and DeAngelo (775K$) and see how this would work out BEFORE using our 1st round pick to improve an already position of strenght on the team.
These two players costed zero in assets besides their salaries. And both are UFA at the end of the season.
Besides trading for Tyler "Bad Boy" Seguin back in the days, Nill never does that type of bold moves.
Hard pass on DeAngelo. I would have loved them to give Klingberg a try, but you have to wonder if both John and Nill figured it would be too weird/awkward/disruptive.
Although JT Miller went back to NYR, so I guess you never know.
Not meant as a punt, but DeAngelo is loking pretty good compared to most of our bottom D. If he is "clean" enough for Lamoriello, he must be clean enough for the Stars.
Also, I think about that interview Matt Duchene gave after the Avs series last year, where he said they were looking at ice time for MacKinnon and Rantanen and going, "those guys have to be tired, our depth is wearing them down" and I can't help thinking that's exactly what's going to happen with the defense this year.
Harley's puck hunting play that set up Stankoven's goal was epic. Seems like every contest, Harley demonstrates some new facet to his game. What a great addition he's turning out to be.
I’ve said it before but Harley is the bigger threat to win the Norris than Miro. Yes that highlights the flaws of the award (also that neither will win unless there are cup(s) on their resume.
I really like your argument here, Sean. Sometimes it seems like us fans talk about trade acquisitions like silver bullets or wishes from fairy godmothers that will surely solve all that ails the team. But we had a wish granted last season in Tanev and as good as he was, the Stars still didn’t get to the SCF.
One of your best yet. Could not agree more in every point but the trade
You have to look at league and see who else had value to trade for draft picks only!! Nil did a great job to fill two voids that are vacated by injury.
Marchments return proved how we have the talent in house. We just need to keep them on the ice.
On a side note. I hope all of the stars teams lose in the 4 nations early.
This way they keep the odds low for injury. But of course this is ridiculous since we have reps on every team!!
Same question I asked Gavin: do the additions make Dallas a better team, or a better contender? If it's not the latter, then no. Making a move is the not the same as making the right move.
Agree! Stars had 2 new players on the team but the player that really shone was the one they already had: Marchment. Sometimes the best deadline acquisitions are already in your program.
Ok I’ll be that guy, this trade was decent. Take the 1st rounder out of it and plug in hemming, does that change anything? If anything I’m glad to see Nill and Gags are at the point of being willing to leverage it.
Granlund is good and will make the team better. He’s a guy who looks to shoot to score, how often have we bemoaned this team for either passing up on shots or just taking the shot that’s given. Marchment is showing this year he’s got that same drive, but the others score because that’s part of playing good hockey. Those two FF to the good part. Oh and if he can pick up those glue minutes for Johnston so he is locked in on the top line all the better. He’s the Stankoven we wanted this year.
Ceci, he’s a bastardized version of the same story. Best case he keeps the team from skating a Esa and Hak line like they did last year. He iant going to be Klinger of 6 years ago, but is he the palatable hybrid of Dumba and Lundkvist that will see playoff ice time? Sure the team could get a better RHD, but he’s more like the free gift w purchase than an active part of the first rounder that went the other way (god I feel horrible saying things like this about people)
Question is, does Nill make another piece with the leftover cap. What does his shopping list have left on it?
"My initial reaction hasn’t changed, despite both players looking good in their lone appearance. "
I really don't understand what you saw in that game that tells you that Ceci looked good. Granlund yes, but Ceci? And I have read and heard (Spits & Suds) the same comments by many.
The eye test told me that Ceci was well below average, and the numbers said the same.
I've been referencing them as a "package deal" and in that respect, they are inoffensive where one guy adds, one guy subtracts, but nothing is lost per se in the grand scheme of things. But I agree. Ceci didn't look good, and it's very clear that expectation bias is factoring into people's perception.
I don’t like the deal, not a fan of Granlund and really don’t like Ceci (his “pass” at the blueline to Esa yesterday that took us out of the zone was atrocious) at all but I get why Nill did it.
For more reading fun, check out the Stars 2025 draft picks. Near as I can tell, due to the Granlund/Ceci/Domi/Lundqvist wheeling & dealing the Stars might have a third round pick and some 5th and later tound picks? Hard to say on the 4th round as it appears the Stars traded it multiple times as parts of conditional deals.
Finally got my wish . Been beating the drum about removing Miro from the 1st PP . Unfortunately it took a serious injury to Miro .hopefully he recovers and receives good news from that specialist he is seeing in New YORK today . PP has been better with Harley no doubt.. Finally Duchy gets to play as well . Sure took the coaching staff long enough with that failed PP experiment
While you are talking trades let’s talk about the worst trades the Stars have ever made. My number 1 bad trade was Nieuwendyk for Iginla. Sure the Stars won 1 cup with that trade but if they kept Iginla they may have very well won 2, 3 or even more. In my opinion Iginla was that kind of player.
Jerome was the better player but it is about timing. Without Joe does the team land Hull? Those back to back SCF probably don’t happen. Question is if the team is on the upswing do the Hicks dry years happen (likely so). If they don’t then yes you could have Turco actually fighting for something and a team to build from, but I still think Hicks would have pulled the team under and it would have been a different version of pesky stars. Bird in the hand beats a million that remain in the bush.
I still don't like the trade. Not because it doesn't improve the team, because it does, but because Nill just spent a first and $8m of space to not move the needle very much. It doesn't hurt the team's chances, exactly, but it doesn't improve them much either, and it uses up the best avenue to improve the team. We'll have to wait to see who else gets moved this deadline to judge how much of a missed opportunity this turns out to be.
On the bright side, Nill's stubbornness about only trading for expiring UFAs means the impact is muted. There won't be any cap crunch over the summer fitting Johnston and Benn's extensions around Miller or Jones' contracts, for example. I think I'd rather have had that problem though.
My biggest issue is the first round pick. Keeping these assets has been Nill's secret sauce in creating a contender without rebuilding. By trading them for marginal improvements, he's splitting the difference and taking away the process that got him here in the first place. (No disrespect to anyone, but if you tell me about a "bad draft" we're going to the octagon. This is easily the worst, and most irrelevant justification for trading a first round pick.)
What is incredible is that we got Tanev for a B prospect + 2nd + Conditionnal 3rd that we never had to give. And a lot lot lot of teams were on Tanev.
Why give better assets for a player (Granlund) that does not even contribute in helping to fix the most important weakeness of the team, the D Corps.
Also, I would have prefer we take a flyer on either Klingberg (1,7M$) and DeAngelo (775K$) and see how this would work out BEFORE using our 1st round pick to improve an already position of strenght on the team.
These two players costed zero in assets besides their salaries. And both are UFA at the end of the season.
Besides trading for Tyler "Bad Boy" Seguin back in the days, Nill never does that type of bold moves.
Hard pass on DeAngelo. I would have loved them to give Klingberg a try, but you have to wonder if both John and Nill figured it would be too weird/awkward/disruptive.
Although JT Miller went back to NYR, so I guess you never know.
Not meant as a punt, but DeAngelo is loking pretty good compared to most of our bottom D. If he is "clean" enough for Lamoriello, he must be clean enough for the Stars.
https://www.hockeystatcards.com/skater?id=8477950
https://www.hockeystatcards.com/skater?id=8476879
https://www.hockeystatcards.com/skater?id=8476856
https://www.hockeystatcards.com/skater?id=8474090
https://www.hockeystatcards.com/skater?id=8480878
Also, I think about that interview Matt Duchene gave after the Avs series last year, where he said they were looking at ice time for MacKinnon and Rantanen and going, "those guys have to be tired, our depth is wearing them down" and I can't help thinking that's exactly what's going to happen with the defense this year.
Harley's puck hunting play that set up Stankoven's goal was epic. Seems like every contest, Harley demonstrates some new facet to his game. What a great addition he's turning out to be.
I’ve said it before but Harley is the bigger threat to win the Norris than Miro. Yes that highlights the flaws of the award (also that neither will win unless there are cup(s) on their resume.
I really like your argument here, Sean. Sometimes it seems like us fans talk about trade acquisitions like silver bullets or wishes from fairy godmothers that will surely solve all that ails the team. But we had a wish granted last season in Tanev and as good as he was, the Stars still didn’t get to the SCF.
Who is Sean? I know his Chicano half-brother, but I don't know Sean himself. ;)
OMG! Mea culpa, David. Now excuse me while I mainline some coffee in desperation.
EDIT to remove my overcorrection, Sean caught a stray he didn’t deserve. A second Monday mea culpa.
One of your best yet. Could not agree more in every point but the trade
You have to look at league and see who else had value to trade for draft picks only!! Nil did a great job to fill two voids that are vacated by injury.
Marchments return proved how we have the talent in house. We just need to keep them on the ice.
On a side note. I hope all of the stars teams lose in the 4 nations early.
This way they keep the odds low for injury. But of course this is ridiculous since we have reps on every team!!
But that is my biggest concern for this event.
Same question I asked Gavin: do the additions make Dallas a better team, or a better contender? If it's not the latter, then no. Making a move is the not the same as making the right move.
Agree! Stars had 2 new players on the team but the player that really shone was the one they already had: Marchment. Sometimes the best deadline acquisitions are already in your program.
Ok I’ll be that guy, this trade was decent. Take the 1st rounder out of it and plug in hemming, does that change anything? If anything I’m glad to see Nill and Gags are at the point of being willing to leverage it.
Granlund is good and will make the team better. He’s a guy who looks to shoot to score, how often have we bemoaned this team for either passing up on shots or just taking the shot that’s given. Marchment is showing this year he’s got that same drive, but the others score because that’s part of playing good hockey. Those two FF to the good part. Oh and if he can pick up those glue minutes for Johnston so he is locked in on the top line all the better. He’s the Stankoven we wanted this year.
Ceci, he’s a bastardized version of the same story. Best case he keeps the team from skating a Esa and Hak line like they did last year. He iant going to be Klinger of 6 years ago, but is he the palatable hybrid of Dumba and Lundkvist that will see playoff ice time? Sure the team could get a better RHD, but he’s more like the free gift w purchase than an active part of the first rounder that went the other way (god I feel horrible saying things like this about people)
Question is, does Nill make another piece with the leftover cap. What does his shopping list have left on it?
Great write up Mr. Sturm. But less hockey and more football please. :)
"My initial reaction hasn’t changed, despite both players looking good in their lone appearance. "
I really don't understand what you saw in that game that tells you that Ceci looked good. Granlund yes, but Ceci? And I have read and heard (Spits & Suds) the same comments by many.
The eye test told me that Ceci was well below average, and the numbers said the same.
https://x.com/hockeystatcards/status/1886231516885193085
Am I missing something here?
You're correct.
I've been referencing them as a "package deal" and in that respect, they are inoffensive where one guy adds, one guy subtracts, but nothing is lost per se in the grand scheme of things. But I agree. Ceci didn't look good, and it's very clear that expectation bias is factoring into people's perception.
Jim Nill is a very good GM, but the right side part of our D Corps sure looks like his Achilles’ heel.
I don’t like the deal, not a fan of Granlund and really don’t like Ceci (his “pass” at the blueline to Esa yesterday that took us out of the zone was atrocious) at all but I get why Nill did it.
For more reading fun, check out the Stars 2025 draft picks. Near as I can tell, due to the Granlund/Ceci/Domi/Lundqvist wheeling & dealing the Stars might have a third round pick and some 5th and later tound picks? Hard to say on the 4th round as it appears the Stars traded it multiple times as parts of conditional deals.