will anyone from DBD be in Fort Worth tonight for the watch party or is everyone here an Eastsider?

Game Preview:

Stepan has been on fire. Richards is doing what he was brought in to do.

Daley is clutch. Nystrom is showing no signs of cooling down (chew on that Liles). Players will be motivated to play in front of "Bacher". NYR are a hot team, so expect an "A" effort from their squad.

Boom.

I think the Stars should offer up a nice little contract. I would give up four first round picks (if he signed for more than $7.8 million). He's a true sniper, and i think he would play well with Loui. The Stars also have more than enough cap space, and as a lender, how can you not approve a deal for a 96 goal scorer over the last two seasons?

It never hurts to try.

and i have a top 5 scoring center dangling as trade bait, and i'm dealing with the NY Rangers, this is what i'm looking for in return:

Derek Stepan (16-18-34)

Great shooter, still young and developing. Could be a very promising young player to center Benn/Glennie in the future.

Marc Staal (7-16-23)

Gives the Stars the much needed top pairing D-man, who at 24 is just coming into his prime in the league. Could be a huge shut down guy.

Dylan Mcilrath (Prospect)

Taken 10th overall in the 2010 entry draft, This is what scouts say about him:

Director of NHL Central Scouting, E.J. McGuire
"Big and mean, old-time typical NHL defenseman. He scares people not only with some frequent fights he might get in, but with 6-4, 212 lbs. straight ahead speed and offensive ability to match. Often, and in a very complimentary sense, makes puck carriers cut to the other side of the ice with his intimidating size."

Sounds like somebody the Stars could really use in the organization.

Also:

first round pick and a conditional second rounder (moves to first in next years draft if they re-sign Richards)

All in all i think it's a pretty level deal, i'd love to get some feedback from anyone familiar with Rangers organization or from the Rangers blog.

This is my attempt at a head-to-head between two lower pairing Defensemen that i think should be going through the minds of every one in the Stars' front office right now.

I hope everyone enjoys this, and thanks to Brandon for encouraging me to write this.

If you have any feedback, i'm all ears.

Continue reading this post »

I'm not sure how many of you complaining about the lack of offensive output from the blueline realize that this 30+ goal scoring defenseman was taken 29th in the 2004 draft.

Do you know who was taken directly before him at 28th?

The Stars very own Mark Fistric.

I'm aware that the scouts cannot predict the future, this is just some food for thought. In Fistrics' defense (no pun intended), he is having a stellar year with a remarkable plus/minus.

fact or fiction?

this is a quote from NHL.com

Kari Lehtonen finally showed Dallas fans why the Stars wanted him. Dallas acquired Lehtonen from Atlanta prior to the Olympics, signed the former No. 2 draft pick to a four-year deal and let his back heal some more before finally getting him into uniform after the break.

I certainly wasn't aware of any extensions being signed.

full story here:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=521793

Editor's Note: I'm merging AA6's post and the news release on Brandon Segal being claimed by the Stars.

Energy forward with a right hand shot. Don't know too much else about him, but he looks like he could be dynamic if put on a line with Barch. I'm glad to see Dallas being a little more active lately. I think it will be interesting to see if they can snag a solid D man off of waiver wires.

Segal had a scoring touch in the AHL, so we'll see how that translates into minutes on an NHL 4th line.

Dallas Stars Press Release:

Frisco, Tex. - The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has claimed right wing Brandon Segal off NHL waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. Segal has been added to Dallas' NHL roster. The team also announced that it has placed Steve Ott on Injured Reserve, retroactive to Feb. 6.

Segal, 26, has appeared in 25 games for the Kings this season (27 NHL games in his career), scoring one goal and one assist with 20 penalty minutes. The 6-2, 209-pound right wing scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 9 vs. St. Louis in his 14th NHL game. Segal played in 21 games with Manchester (AHL) at the beginning of the season, scoring six goals and eight assists. A right-handed shot, he was originally drafted by Nashville in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Segal made his NHL debut last spring with two games as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also played in 69 games last season with Norfolk (AHL), scoring 26 goals and 26 assists, and was named to the 2009 Canadian AHL All-Star Team.

Ott, 27, has appeared in 52 games this season, scoring 11 goals and 12 assists with 100 penalty minutes. He underwent surgery on Monday for an emergency appendectomy and is expected to be out until after the Olympic Break. Ott has played in 389 career NHL games, scoring 51 goals and 85 assists with 778 penalty minutes.

Which one am i supposed to follow thoroughly? first Montreal, then Washington, and now Edmonton? Can anyone answer me which one is looking like the most reliable source?

steps to solve this problem.

identify the BIGGEST problem with the team.

find someone whose needs we could meet.

work something out.

I'd like to hear from a few different demographics on this one, anybody familiar with another teams needs should definitely feel enticed to speak their mind.

and i STILL won't rest until we are talking to Marc-Andre Bergeron.

that's all.