Dallas Stars: Trade Deadline Options

Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill is all about making moves, but the trade deadline probably won’t feature very many interesting pieces this season.

The Dallas Stars are currently enjoying one their best seasons in franchise history. As they continue to battle the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Western Conference, the trade deadline is rapidly approaching.

We know Jim Nill’s history with the Stars. He’s traded for Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp in consecutive seasons while helping the franchise crawl out of the hole they were in just a few years back.

However, this season, the Stars’ position is going to be a little different. They’ve finally had the breakout season that they have been waiting for and even though it can look sloppy on some nights, the team has very few holes on their roster.

Forward depth is certainly the last of the Stars’ worries as they have plenty of young guys on the Texas Stars that can fill in any time there is an injury on the team. The goalie situation has it’s moments, but overall, there’s no way the Stars would think about getting rid of either netminder.

The one position that will be of interest at the trade deadline is defenseman. You may think about John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers and Johnny Oduya and wonder why the Stars would need extra help, but the fact of the matter is that the defense has looked soft at times during the season, and it is the one position with an interchangeable part that the Stars could be looking to upgrade.

More from Sports Dallas Fort-Worth

Besides the four players mentioned above, Jordie Benn has been another consistent part of the defense, however, his partner has not been. For most of the season, it’s been Jyrki Jokipakka, but Patrik Nemeth and Jamie Oleksiak have received short stints with the team. That third pairing could be an interesting target of interest come Feb. 29.

With that in mind, the question the turns to who the Stars could look to trade for.

In early February, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested that Dan Hamhuis of the Vancouver Canuck’s could be a possible trade target.

"“Another defender we’re going to start hearing more of is Vancouver’s Dan Hamhuis. Dallas makes a lot of sense.”"

It certainly seems as if Hamhuis will be a hot name at the trade deadline and he could very well be traded. The 33-year-old defenseman could be a perfect fit for the Stars’ blue line.

Another possible addition could be Alexei Emelin of the Montreal Canadiens. The Stars were rumored to be interested in him during the summer. Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News recently suggested that Emelin would be a realistic trade option should the Stars choose to make a deal.

As I mentioned above, Jim Nill is always looking at what kind of splash he can make and there will definitely be a couple of opportunities for that to happen before the deadline comes and goes.

Mike Heika has mentioned Brent Burns multiple times before, during his Stars’ chats. Another player who could possibly be on the block is the Habs superstar defenseman P.K. Subban, one player who has attracted rumors over the past couple of weeks.

Both of those options are HIGHLY unlikely, as the asking price would be way too risky for a Stars team looking to stay in contention and not thin out the depth that their franchise is currently enjoying. Plus, the money issues another superstar would bring is not worth losing Jamie Benn or Tyler Seguin, two players who will both have contracts expiring within the next three seasons.

Next: Stars' February Resurgence Hits Major Bump

To sum things up, the Stars will probably be fine simply standing pat at the trade deadline, as their young talent is something exciting about the future. If they do decide to venture out during the trade deadline, I expect them to look at nothing more than a veteran defenseman in order to create a more well-rounded defensive portion of their team. Don’t expect any big moves at the deadline this year.

Home/Dallas Stars