***General NHL Discussion Thread***

Dallas Stars draft Radek Faksa, C, Czech Republic. Good size at 6'2 180lbs, probably need to put on about 15 more pounds of muscle to be ready for the NHL. Scouts compare his game to Eric Staal. Looks like a 2nd line C that plays a 2-way game and is very physical who can be a 20+ goal scorer.

He will probably play in the OHL for another year before spending a year or 2 in the minors before getting called up.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
Trades so far:
-Colombus gets Bobrovsky (Goalie). Philly gets 3 draft picks including the 45th pick this year.
-Islanders get D Visnovsky, Ducks get 2nd round pick
-Capitals get C Mike Ribiero. Stars get C Eakin (young prospect) and 2nd round pick

3 picks?

why

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
Trades so far:
-Colombus gets Bobrovsky (Goalie). Philly gets 3 draft picks including the 45th pick this year.
-Islanders get D Visnovsky, Ducks get 2nd round pick
-Capitals get C Mike Ribiero. Stars get C Eakin (young prospect) and 2nd round pick

I cannot understand why the Stars traded Ribeiro.

Originally posted by SoCal9er:
I cannot understand why the Stars traded Ribeiro.

It was inevitable.....Ribs is going into the last season of his contract, his play has slightly declined over the last couple of years, it frees up about 4 mil in cap space, and he is 32 years old and it looks as if GM Joe is trying to rebuild this team with youth.

We got a young prospect in Cody Eakin that I think has the potential to be a 2nd-line Center eventually, the only thing I was really upset about was the draft pick they recieved....I thought that a 2nd rounder was a little low.

The Stars will definetely have to pick up a C in free agency though to fill the gap this upcoming season, it is not going to be easy to replace Ribs' 60-70 points. I also would not be suprised to see guys like Morrow, and Ott being moved before training camps...GMJN is apparently determined to shake up this veteran core of a team that has missed the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. I will wait and see how active the Stars will be come Jul. 1 before I get too worked up over it.

Originally posted by eamjr10:
It was inevitable.....Ribs is going into the last season of his contract, his play has slightly declined over the last couple of years, it frees up about 4 mil in cap space, and he is 32 years old and it looks as if GM Joe is trying to rebuild this team with youth.

We got a young prospect in Cody Eakin that I think has the potential to be a 2nd-line Center eventually, the only thing I was really upset about was the draft pick they recieved....I thought that a 2nd rounder was a little low.

The Stars will definetely have to pick up a C in free agency though to fill the gap this upcoming season, it is not going to be easy to replace Ribs' 60-70 points. I also would not be suprised to see guys like Morrow, and Ott being moved before training camps...GMJN is apparently determined to shake up this veteran core of a team that has missed the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. I will wait and see how active the Stars will be come Jul. 1 before I get too worked up over it.

Yeah it was inevitable. I think GM Joe wants to create more space for our up and coming younger guys to get some ice time. We have a ton of guys turning pro this year or next year. Just from the forward crop:

RW Scott Glennie - spent a year in minors, played well but not spectacular. Will compete for NHL spot
RW Reilly Smith - finished up a great college career, will be competing for NHL spot
RW Alex Chiasson - also finished up a great college career, will be competing for NHL spot
RW Austin Smith - also finished up a great college career, will be competing for NHL spot
LW Alex Guptil - first year at Michigan, played very well. Probably 2 years away from NHL
RW Matej Stransky - exploded in Canadian Juniors, will probably go to minors next year
LW Matt Fraser - played well in minors, will probably stay there for another year with outside shot at NHL roster
C Emil Molin - played pretty good in the Swedish pro league, probably 1 year away from coming overseas

Glennie, the 2 Smiths, Chiasson, Stranksy and Fraser will be fighting over 2-3 spots on the NHL team.

LET THE FRENZY BEGIN!!!

I believe in GM Joe

Slow start to the Free Agent Frenzy, but there have been a couple moves in the first 70 minutes:

Benoit Pouliot (LW) - Tampa Bay Lightning - $1.8mil/1 year

Jonas Gustavsson (G) - Detroit Red Wings - $1.5mil/2 years

David Moss (RW/C) - Phoenix Coyotes - $/2 years

Matt Carkner (D) - New York Islanders - N/A

Dallas Stars sign Ray Whitney to a $4.5mil/2 years

I really like this signing, Whitney had 77 points last season and I think he still has a good 1-2 years left...perfect stopgap player until some of our younger prospects are ready.



So as of right now our top 6 looks like:
Whitney - Benn - Ryder
Morrow - Eakin/FA - Eriksson

I would like to see another #2C brought in to solidify our top 6

dont think Morrow will be a star for the full season

Originally posted by ads_2006:

dont think Morrow will be a star for the full season

I wouldn't be surprised if Morrow is not a Star by the start of the season.

Originally posted by eamjr10:
Dallas Stars sign Ray Whitney to a $4.5mil/2 years

I really like this signing, Whitney had 77 points last season and I think he still has a good 1-2 years left...perfect stopgap player until some of our younger prospects are ready.



So as of right now our top 6 looks like:
Whitney - Benn - Ryder
Morrow - Eakin/FA - Eriksson

I would like to see another #2C brought in to solidify our top 6

Interesting.

As far as our #2C, right now I'd pencil in Ott over Eakin.

Breaking Trade: Stars trade Steve Ott and Adam Pardy to Buffalo for Derek Roy

Holy Crap!

That's our #2 Center to replace Ribiero...can't believe the Stars got Roy that easily!

Great move by GM Joe!

Originally posted by eamjr10:
Breaking Trade: Stars trade Steve Ott and Adam Pardy to Buffalo for Derek Roy

Holy Crap!

That's our #2 Center to replace Ribiero...can't believe the Stars got Roy that easily!

Great move by GM Joe!

wow

Best move by GM Joe since he has been here. We got him CHEAP! And I know many Stars fans will disagree, but I'm glad we got rid of Ott.

My guess on forward lineup:
Whitney - Benn - Ryder
Morrow - Roy - Eriksson
Nystrom - Eakin - (Rookie)
Vincour - Fiddler - (Rookie)

thats great for you guys

but, made zero sense from Buffalos perspective. I know Roy has been injured and hopefully you guys didnt get damaged goods

Buffalo had grown tired of Roy, and they are trying to get "tougher" but I still think we win this trade.

Roy does have some injury concerns, but he has admitted to playing through some injuries last season that affected his performance. According to him, he has been working out and rehabbing and is close to 100% ( time will tell, I wouldn't expect him to say anything different)

But if he can stay healthy, I really like the look of our Top 6.

My only wishes would be to replace Morrow with another Top 6 forward (Semin, Doan)
Add a Top 4 Defensemen (Carle, Salvador, or possible trade)

Then I would feel great going into the season, but I have been happy with this offseason so far.