The Dallas Stars made a big move in acquiring Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. But in a tight Western Conference, the Stars appear to need another bold strike to pull away from the pack and win their division and conference.
With Tanev not yet in the lineup, the Stars defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Thursday to take over sole possession of first place in the Central Division. They lead the Jets and Colorado Avalanche by two points each, though each rival has games in hand.
The Stars are also second in the Western Conference, two points behind the Vancouver Canucks with 20 games to play in the regular season. Finishing first in the division and conference is important because it brings home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dallas has won 18 games each at home and on the road this season, but having an extra game at American Airlines Arena is its preference.
Now that the Stars acquired Tanev, their defensive corps is much more stable. Tanev brings a veteran presence to the Stars blue line, which is already solid with Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell in place.
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Stars acquire ‘warrior’ in defenseman Chris Tanev
Tanev is a quality right-shot defensive defenseman who will also kill penalties, improving a strength of the Stars, who are eighth in the League on the PK (91.9 percent).
In addition, Tanev is a shot-blocking machine. He is second in the NHL with 171 blocks.
“He’s a warrior,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said about the 34-year-old defenseman. “He plays the game the right way. Plays hard, good size. You can match him up against others teams’ best players. … High end character. High quality player and person.”
Perhaps one of the biggest components of the Tanev trade is that Dallas is only taking on 25 percent of his salary. This leaves them with roughly $2.05 million in salary cap space to bring in one more piece. They also held on to their first round pick, and can use that in a potential deal as the March 8 trade deadline approaches.
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Stars could try to add forward before NHL trade deadline
With Tyler Seguin out week to week with a lower-body injury, the Stars may look to bring in a forward before the deadline, even though they have five 20-goal scorers and rookie Logan Stankoven is off to a hot start since being recalled from the minors.
But adding another veteran like Vladimir Tarasenko on the wing or Adam Henrique at center can’t be discounted.
Another interesting name for Dallas could be Jake Guentzel. If Seguin’s injury keeps him out for a while, the Stars could move some pieces around to bring in a high-end player like the Pittsburgh Penguins forward, who’s on an expiring contract. Getting Seguin back closer to the playoffs would make their forward group extremely deep as they gear up for another run after losing in the Western Conference Final in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights last season.
“Right now, we’re living day by day with our roster and salary cap,” Nill said. “Really no hard answer for that (another trade). It changes daily.”
The path to winning their conference this season is not an unrealistic one for the Stars. They could very well be one trade away from pulling away in the standings. If they want to make a legitimate move, however, they will probably have to make additional room in terms of salary cap.
So who does Dallas trade away without hurting their forward core? With Evgenii Dadonov on LTIR, the most likely option is Radek Faksa, who has another year at $3.25 million on his contract. Or perhaps young defenseman Nils Lundkvist is of interest to teams, along with that first-round pick and someone from their prospect pool. Remember, Dallas already traded Artem Grushnikov to land Tanev.
Whichever route the Stars decide to take, they’ve started on the path toward bolstering their lineup for a deep playoff run. Bringing in Tanev was the perfect fit to beef up the defense corps. Now, the Stars could be one trade away from winning a wide-open Western Conference.