Stars Stuff: Nathan Bastian, the dog days of summer, and programming notes
There's not much to talk about, but there's still plenty to write.
It makes sense. Hockey is such a frantic, chaotic sport. It’s only natural that the offseason would be such a polar opposite. Or perhaps it’s because hockey is closer to a drug than a sport.
Whatever the case, Jim Nill’s work is not, nor is it ever done. So he made a move this weekend to bring in another player. 6’4 right winger and former New Jersey Devil (and former Kraken forward; for 12 games), Nathan Bastian. It’s a one-year, one-way contract for $775,000, which means he’ll be paid the same whether he plays in the NHL or the AHL.
As for Bastian himself, he’s basically the winger version of Radek Faksa. Strong defensive impacts: zero impact on offense.
While the move itself is harmless as a 13th/14th forward, there’s clearly a theme here with the addition of Faksa: more beef in the bottom six.
The reptilian part of my brain is connecting dots between Jim Nill and the rest of hockey: all united in agreement over the idea that Florida…an average-sized team with tons of skill, and possession generation for days…won by being bigger and meaner than their opponents. If the NHL is a copycat league, then it stands to reason that the better the team they need to copycat, the more xeroxing that’s gonna get done.
Is that what this is? Nill and the Stars organization trying to be something they’re not? Well no. Bastian won’t be taking shifts opposite Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen. Just as in seasons past, Bastian will be on the periphery.
But it’s quite obvious — and not just because Nill said it in the press release — that there is a desire to develop “sandpaper.” Maybe not with Bastian, but culturally. Gulutzan himself has already talked what it wants from the team, and the importance of physicality in the postseason.
I’m always wary of this kind of talk. I realize a team can’t give up their trade secrets. Gulutzan, for example, won’t be talking about whether or not they’re switching the hybrid defensive zone coverage they used under Pete DeBoer this past season to a swarm coverage, or pure zone. But when you’re not just talking about this sort of stuff, but signing players who reflect this Sort of Stuff, then that skeptic switch comes on. I won’t get worked up about any of this because Bastian isn’t being brought in to win Dallas a Cup. But it does get me in an Asking Questions kind of mood.
Finding (good) Stars Stuff to talk about
They call it the dog days for a reason, I guess.
It’s easy to re-hash all of our favorite hits: the Edmonton series, the DeBoer drama, Jim Nill’s offseason moves, the roster, etc. These topics are easy to talk about because they all have close connections with hockey outcomes. DeBoer is an easy mark to discuss in connection with losing Game 5. Nill is an easy mark to discuss in connection with whether or not his moves were good enough or not. Dallas lost to Edmonton, so it’s easier to unpack then to look back at the Colorado and Winnipeg series — considered whether there were bad things happening in the previous series that organically came up versus the Oilers, or even conversely, that the good things that happened in the Edmonton series superficially failed (PDO).
I’m not here to unpack all that. At least not now. I bring all of this up because I want to give credit to the Stars fans of Discord (yes, anyone can join: just click here1). A couple of days ago I witnessed maybe the liveliest discussion I’ve seen all summer regarding Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen — the unique ways in which they’re mirror images of one another and not. Not to mention, what outcomes succeed or fail to tell us, and what processes (both unseen and subtle) succeed or fail to tell us.
Yes, this is a shameless plug for you to join the other 400+ Stars fans. But I also want to give credit where credit is due. It’s something I myself struggle with, and it’s something I intend to write about once the season gets started: can we better understand the impact of defense from forwards, and how that impact affects outcomes. Is Robertson really a great defensive forward? Is he a different kind of defensive forward? Does he simply achieve good defensive results via strong offense? Maybe his defense is bad, and the all those fancy stats can’t properly account for it? Whatever the case, it’s high time we figured who exactly Robertson is. Next season should offer us a few more clues.
An interview with Dallas Stars amateur scout, Dennis Holland Thursday, the road ahead, and some random self reflection you didn’t ask for
Speaking of the Discord, in trying to leverage it more, I’m using it to let fans know in advance who I’m interviewing and some of the stories I’m working on, allowing them to contribute to specific questions if they see fit. It’s something I did with Luke Chilcott, which is definitely worth your time (and money if you can afford it).
And it’s something I did with Stars Amateur scout, Dennis Holland, who was kind enough to take my call last week. Given all the draft coverage we do here, I figured it made sense to call in the actual experts. If you’re not familiar with Holland, you should. He was famously the scout linked to finding Jamie Benn. Without spoiling anything, we covered the gamut of all-things scouting, IMO. It’ll be behind a paywall, but I’ll make sure to leave the free preview up for those who haven’t yet claimed their one free post.
Outside of that, I’m still working on a proper calendar for the rest of the summer. There are a few projects I’m working on (interviews included). As some of you know, I’m previewing each team at my other place. There’s a lot going on, but trust me when I say that the ‘other place’ will never get in the way of any writing here. At last, however, August may be the one month where I’ll be posting two pieces a week. It’s not a lot so I hope you stick with me. I’m still a bit exhausted from the move, it’s made me neglect work on the novel, and more importantly, I don’t want to get caught up rehashing talking points we’ve gone over ad nauseum.
It’s one of the things that didn’t really hit me until recently. Too much happened all at once. Between the Robertson rumors, and the DeBoer saga, I got caught up in the game, writing about things that didn’t actually interest me. It’s not a big deal, but I kind of got Starsed out, for lack of a better phrase. Maybe some people feel that way too. As I’ve cut back my social media usage, maybe I’m also just becoming more sensitive to being around topics that are covered more for the oxygen others give it than for what actually enriches my appreciation of hockey. Am I babbling at this point? Probably.
Enjoy your summer, Stars fans. I know I will. It’ll be slower this month than usual, but not in September.
Just make sure to read the rules.
In Jim we trust….?
Have we gotten an explanation or any info on the Bastian pick up? This one I’m slightly confused about honestly, I don’t know what he brings to the table. Size? Defense?
Unless we’re going to line up faksa/bastian on same line to rough up (sand paper) some top lines, I don’t get it… that said, as much as I think we need to play bigger and let’s call it meaner, we need to do this up and down the line up, not just some 4th liners with 8 minutes per game.
This also means we don’t rely Benn to carry that load too.
After Faksa, this is another head scratching move. We lost offensive production with the departure of Granlund, Marchment and Dadonov and replaced it with these offensive blackholes?
I know we did not have the money, but what about signing a young player with offensive upside like Blumel? Or leave some room for other young players that shows some offensive output like Hryckowian, Lind or Hyry?
Between the two of them, Faksa and Bastian had 9 golas last year. I am pretty sure that any of the combos from the players highlighted would have done at least the same.
That's a high price to pay for physicality.