With the disaster that is and continues to be the Brad Richards situation, GM Joe now has some significant cap space to play with. Unfortunately, the UFA crop is underwhelming at best. It seems likely that his best option to improve the team will have to come through trades.

With the Flyers having just traded for the negotiation rights to Bryzgalov, there's all sorts of stories out there about Philly needing to unload some major salary to be able to sign big Bryzgalov and get in under the cap. Rumors abound that the Flyers might look to trade C/RW Jeff Carter and his monster contract (9 years left at $5.27 million/year cap hit).

I don't know about you, but Jeff Carter would look pretty damned spiffy in a Stars uniform. Does Dallas have the assets to trade for him though? The leading idea is that Columbus might be dealing young, talented Jakub Voracek and their first round pick (no. 8) to Philly for Carter. The Stars have a mid-first round pick they could deal, but don't really have a young player the caliber of Voracek aside from Jamie Benn, who isn't going anywhere thank-you-very-much.

Highly unlikely, as they may not have the pieces to get a deal done, but man it would be sweet if GM Joe could finagle a way to get Carter to Dallas. Of course, he should probably focus more on fixing the porous defense, but that's another issue entirely.

So the Stars once again will be on the outside looking in as the playoffs begin this spring. Lots of important decisions coming up for Nieuwendyk and Co., and potentially quite a few holes on the roster to fill.

Obviously the ownership situation continues to be the dark cloud hanging over everything. Unfortunately, it becomes clearer every passing day that there will probably not be a new owner in place by July 1st, which makes the re-signing of Brad Richards seem like a longshot at best.

"But, but, but, the Stars are gonna win all 5 of their remaining games and the Ducks are gonna lose out after Getzlaf and Perry get injured in an unfortunate tandem-bike accident, and the Stars are gonna make the playoffs and win the Cup and Brad Richards is gonna re-sign for 5 years, $5 million because he loves it here so much and said he wants to stay! You'll see!!!!"

OK, Pollyanna. That's great, I'm looking forward to it.

But juuuuuust in case things don't quite go down like that, how should the Stars go about their off-season in the event (likelihood?) of Richards leaving town? You would have some money to play with (at least, oh, $7.8 million worth) for free agents/adding salary via trade. Do you slide Jamie Benn into the number 1 center slot or go out and sign/trade for a center and  keep Benn at his current "Play on every line in every position possible"  role until his legs just fall off? 

Probably need a winger or two as well... any UFAs interest you? Ribs and Morrow need a good RW to play with, maybe one that can actually score a goal every once and a while. A Nik Zherdev might be worth a (cheap) look at, and I'd love to have a Joel Ward to play on the 2nd or 3rd line.

How do you address the D-corps? Skrastins and Woywitka are UFA, wouldn't be surprised if they let both walk, but Karlis is a possibility to come back on a one year deal. Any free agents out there they should target? Do some of the current guys need to be shipped out?

How about the young guys? Gotta think Philip Larsen is a full-timer next season, but maybe they think he needs more seasoning. Will Glennie break camp with the team or does he need some AHL experience first? Do Sceviour, Gagnon or maybe a Chiasson become regular roster players next year?

What if Richards does re-sign? You certainly wouldn't have much money to play with barring an ownership miracle. How would you construct the roster in that event?

Here's some resources for cap space/contracts/upcoming free agents:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/team.php?team=DAL

http://www.mynhltraderumors.com/2010/06/01/2011-unrestricted-nhl-free-agents/

Link to TSN story

VAUGHN, N.M. - The 18-year-old daughter of former Montreal Canadiens captain Pierre Turgeon has been killed in a car crash, according to New Mexico State Police.

Elizabeth Turgeon was pronounced dead at the scene of a two-car collision near Vaughn, N.M., early Thursday morning.

Police said in a release that Turgeon was driving southbound when she approached an intersection, failed to stop and crashed into the trailer of a northbound semi.

Brittany Kraemer of El Paso, Texas, a passenger in Turgeon's pick-up truck, suffered life-threatening injuries. The semi driver was uninjured.

Dense fog is listed as a contributing factor in the accident.

What a horrible thing... thoughts go out to Pierre and his family.

http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AgTBtzr68oox.pSHEDoy4gg5nYcB?slug=ki-pacquiaoclottey011010&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The super fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is officially dead, as Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said he closed a deal Sunday for Pacquiao to meet Joshua Clottey in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium on March 13.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he is thrilled to land a bout featuring Pacquiao, who is widely regarded as the top boxer in the world. And while he’s disappointed he won’t be hosting a Pacquiao fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. as he had hoped, he said he doesn’t see Pacquiao-Clottey as a consolation prize.

“This is a very significant fight and I’m truly ecstatic,” Jones told Yahoo! Sports by telephone on Sunday. “From the time we began work on the stadium, I envisioned bringing boxing here. We have a very large Hispanic fan base surrounding us and they’re very loyal boxing fans. I think they’ll be thrilled with this event.”

Jones said he considered naming the stadium Vaqueros de Cowboys, which is Spanish for Dallas Cowboys, in homage to the many Hispanics in the area.

Arum said he was amazed by the new stadium, which will initially be configured to seat around 45,000. That figure can increase, he said, if there is sufficient demand. The top ticket will be $700.

Any fight fans out there? Disappointing that Floyd won't be involved, but this could be a decent fight. I'll definitely be there so long as tickets aren't outrageous.

to start thinking about the trade deadline and where exactly this team is heading. Things are not looking great right now, with the Stars sitting about 5 points out of a playoff spot just over half of the way in. The West is incredibly tight as we all know, so by this time next week they could well be sitting in the no. 8 spot or damned close to it. Or, they could be tied for 14th. Hard to say. The trading deadline is March 4th, or just about 6 weeks away.

There are two scenarios heading into deadline day. Scenario A) has the Stars right in the thick of things and looking to maybe add a piece to give them an extra push for the final playoff push. Scenario B) has the team on the outside looking in, several points out of 8th place and fading fast.

The question is, which scenario is more likely? If it's A), what kind of player would you realistically like the Stars to go out and get, and at what cost? And If B), who do you see the team possibly unloading? Again, let's be real here.... if they end up trading people away, it won't be Modano(obvious reasons) and it won't be Turco (horrible contract). But could a Richards or Ribeiro be dealt? Robidas? A young defenseman? Dare I say Jere Lehtinen Himself?

Clearly Tippett and Co. don't trust poor Tobias Stephan, and obviously Turco has been the team's biggest weakness this season.

Sanford is out there on waivers, ripe for the picking. He's a solid veteran backup that might be able to gain some trust and carry them through a few games next time Turco forgets where he placed his confidence.

I say go get him... agreed?

need a few more words to meet the minimum.... Red Wings suck. There we go.

Going out to Lone Star Park tonight... you usually seem to have a pretty good hold on things. Need any and all info before putting down my bet on the Derby.

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http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjMmNNl6QFLLG1g3g1KPw3ERvLYF?slug=ti-rangers032108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Nothing new to anybody around here really. Just weird to see a Rangers article on a national site. He does suggest the Rangers take a look at newly released John Patterson, though. And I also never knew Daniels had a knuckler...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Av3hisKTtezv0OwRTQkKOZc5nYcB?slug=ap-nlmvp&prov=ap&typ e=lgns

just barely over Matt Holliday. think i would have gone with Holliday myself... here come the cries of an east coast bias.

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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/hockey/stars/stories/111507dnspocogen.1125cde.html

Rangers' president Jeff Cogen will now hold the same position with the Dallas Stars. Hicks says he will begin the search for a new team president for the local ball club.

can't say I'm surprised about Lites stepping down... he and Armstrong are apparently pretty tight. Lites has had some lame brained moments PR wise of late. Not sure how excited most Stars fans will be that the president of the super-successful Rangers will now be in the hockey team's front office....

interesting... Maybin has only had something like 6 games played in AA ball, now he's making his debut in Yankee stadium tonight. too bad about local boy Monroe. i think he's the type of guy the Rangers might have picked up just for the hell of it a few months ago, but probably no way now. he had a pretty decent year last year but has fizzled this season and is already 30 years old.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AsGW_2GTxay7wd1qmZ2krMmFCLcF?slug=ap-tigers-boldmoves&prov =ap&type=lgns

Randy Galloway is reporting on his radio show that the Ballpark will no longer be named "Ameriquest Field".

It will now be known as "Rangers Ballpark in Arlington"... not really sure why they don't just go back to "The Ballpark in Arlington".

Sorry I don't have another source on this. Tom Hicks will be on Galloway at 3:20.