Dallas Stars Trade Deadline: The Next Three Weeks Will Tell All

Welcome to Dallas Stars Trade Deadline Week at The Hockey Writers! The trade deadline is fastly approaching (March 21) but there is still a lot to be decided. The Stars are currently sitting in the final playoff spot in the Western Conference so these next three weeks will help narrow down exactly how they will approach the deadline. 

Stars Inconsistency Is Concerning 

When looking at the 2021-22 Stars season, it is hard to define. The team has surged through franchise-tying winning streaks, hit rock bottom with long losing skids, beaten some elite teams, and lost to the bottom dwellers. The theme so far has been inconsistency. 

“One of our downfalls has been inconsistency, up and down,” Braden Holtby said. “That’s one thing we want to fix in this playoff push. Win or lose, you go about your business the same way the next day. That’s going to go a long way for us.”

The inconsistency has been on display as of late. Dallas was smothered by the Colorado Avalanche, losing 4-0 at home only to beat the Avs in Denver 4-1 two nights later. They nearly swept a tough road trip against four Central Divison opponents but after defeating Colorado and Chicago, lost in Arizona to the worst home team in the league. However, their overall record is 6-2-1 since the All-Star break, propelling them into a playoff spot as of today.

“We’re implementing new things,” Rick Bowness said. “It’s about getting our defense more involved. We score goals when our defense is getting 10-15 shots a game. 5-6 shots, we don’t score any goals. When we see things, we work on them.”

Are The Stars Sellers, Buyers, Or Neither? 

With some tight salary cap space, many older veterans, and a mix of young talent, it is not known how Dallas will approach the trade deadline this year. It is possible they could add some pieces for a playoff run but also realistic that they decide to go younger and move some veterans as rentals. Only time will tell. 

“It’s so different this year because it’s so much later,” Jim Nill said a few weeks ago. “We have a lot of games to play before we get to the trade deadline, so a lot can happen there with injuries and how teams are playing. With the schedule we have, we’re going to be playing a lot, so we’ll know a lot more in six or seven weeks. You look at last season and while we had a condensed schedule, the road trips were a lot easier. We only traveled to a few cities, and we would stay there for two games. This year, we’re all over the continent and we still have a condensed schedule, and it’s going to be a grind for everyone. The teams that handle that grind will be the ones that succeed.”

For now, the Stars are in a dogfight for a playoff spot. After a solid month of February, they have put themselves in a much better position overall. The team believes that they are not only capable of making the postseason but also of securing a better seed and making a run. 

“I think we’re just aware of where we are right now in the season,” said Seguin. “You have that at the beginning where you’re excited for the year and then halfway through, you kind of get in those dog days, every team goes through that. But we’re at the point right now where there’s that push and we’re right on the cusp. It’s exciting hockey and it’s an exciting opportunity for us. We feel like we’re all trending in the right direction.”