Stars lose Tavares sweepstakes, re-sign Nuchushkin to two-year deal

The Dallas Stars came up short in their bid to sign unrestricted free agent John Tavares. Despite that, the time to win is still now.

For the Dallas Stars, NHL free agency was barely hours old when the news came down. Marquis center John Tavares fulfilled his childhood dream by signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the days leading up to his decision, the Stars had been in the running along with four other teams to acquire the prized free agent.

I wasn’t surprised when word got out. In fact, it would’ve been a major coup to land Tavares. I felt all along he would stay in the Eastern Conference, so my hunch was correct. Not that that was any great feat, mind you. The only other Western conference team on Tavares’s short list was the San Jose Sharks. Just as well, better to not have to deal with him terrorizing the Stars any more than necessary.

Furthermore, as has been long rumored, right winger Valeri Nichushkin returned to the Stars after inking a two-year deal that will average $2.95 million per season. The former 10th overall pick had spent the last two seasons playing for CSKA Moscow in the KHL. Since his departure, Dallas has changed head coaches twice, so it will be interesting to see how new head coach Jim Montgomery utilizes his skill set.

Additionally, I’d be remiss if I neglected to mention the departure of a fan favorite. Left winger Antoine Roussel signed with the Vancouver Canucks to the tune of $12 million over four years. Roussel is one of “those” players. You hate him until he’s on your team. But I’m also conflicted. As last year wore on, I couldn’t help but think he had declined. His point total fell off pretty dramatically, so it’s probably wise to let another team overpay for his services at this point.

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Thus far, NHL free agency has been pretty low key in Dallas. Granted, it would’ve been a blockbuster to get Tavares. A move like that would’ve thrust the Stars into the forefront of Western Conference contenders, at least on paper. But that’s where we find ourselves with this team currently. On paper, they look like a formidable bunch, with or without Tavares. A team with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Ben Bishop shouldn’t be on the outside looking in. But that’s where the organization finds itself. It’s great that the Stars hired a new coach and all, but it’s got to work this coming season. I don’t think it’s “Finals or bust”, but a berth in the tournament is a bare minimum requirement.

The bottom line is that this franchise has been horrid more often than not in the past nine years. It’s easy to overlook now, but there was a time when the Stars were seen as a crown jewel of the NHL’s Sun Belt experiment. To wit, they made the playoffs in twelve of their first fourteen seasons in town. Moreover, they seriously contended for the Stanley Cup in four of those forays. Since that improbable Western Conference Finals run in 2007-08, however, they’ve only made the playoffs twice. Realistically speaking, this isn’t anywhere near an acceptable level of success.

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Don’t look now, but hockey games that count are a mere three months away. I reckon the picture will come into focus pretty quickly once the season starts, too. It’s unfortunate for Jim Montgomery, but any latitude for a slow start probably doesn’t exist. The 2018-19 iteration of Dallas Stars’ hockey must start off strongly and carry through the entire season. Too much time and money and time has been invested for anything else.

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