ScottM Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 One of the biggest free agent prizes is off the board, as Johnny Oduya has reached an agreement with the Dallas Stars. The two year deal is worth $7.5 million.I think this is a great signing for Dallas. Their defense and goaltending were both bad, and not having made a goalie move, this was severely needed. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/johnny-oduya-watch-ends--signs-with-dallas-for-two-years---7-5m-152144631.htmlEdit: for clarity on the goalie remark, I don't see Niemi as an upgrade. I just didn't phrase that well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Overpayment IMHO but that is what you do in free agency. And the Stars desperately needed to upgrade their defense which was (and even with Oduya) has to be considered one of the most porous in the game. Oduya is okay, nothing special, just a 4 or 5 d-man who is responsible in his own zone, nothing more. I have always thought that when a bad team loses, the stars on the team get the rap for that and get unfairly (usually) considered losers. It works in reverse on a good team. Guys like Oduya and Shaw get more credit than they deserve, look at a guy like Dave Bolland who for years people were saying was the best second line center in hockey which was foolish because he was more of a 3C anyway, but he leaves Chicago, signs that ridiculous deal and now is considered a flop. The last time the Hawks had to cut salary guys like Sopel, Burrish, Kopecky, Eager and Colin Fraser were let go (along with Buff and Ladd). Yes, they are tough to replace en mass but individually they weren't much of anything for the most part. Same with Oduya. Just a 4 or 5 who will be replaced by TVR and nobody will remember him being in Chicago come Christmas. I do like him coming to Dallas mostly because Dallas defense is so awful. Anything is better than throwing Jordie Benn out for 20 minutes a night. Oduya is better than what they had and that is all that counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 @ScottM I DO see Niemi as an upgrade over Lehtonen from last year. In the pay league that i am in with a bunch of these guys I had Lundqvist and Luongo as well as Lehtonen in net, the first two were solid, Lehtonen was wretched, when Lundqvist and Luongo missed most of March I nearly slipped out of first place because Lehtonen in net was like putting gasoline on the fire. Just dreadfully inconsistent. They were top two in goals scored but bottom of the league in goals against. Lehtonen nearly single handed kept the team out of the postseason. Niemi is not great, but anything is better than that season Lehtonen gave them last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 @ScottMI DO see Niemi as an upgrade over Lehtonen from last year. In the pay league that i am in with a bunch of these guys I had Lundqvist and Luongo as well as Lehtonen in net, the first two were solid, Lehtonen was wretched, when Lundqvist and Luongo missed most of March I nearly slipped out of first place because Lehtonen in net was like putting gasoline on the fire. Just dreadfully inconsistent. They were top two in goals scored but bottom of the league in goals against. Lehtonen nearly single handed kept the team out of the postseason. Niemi is not great, but anything is better than that season Lehtonen gave them last year.In Lehtonen's defense.......Well, his......that's the problem isn't it. the defense in front of him was atrocious. Can't wait to see how Niemi does with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Agree that Mr. Oduya is a minimal upgrade in ways of "defense"....although what he DOES bring is championship experience and having played with some of the best players in the league, he will no doubt expect his new teammates in Dallas to be every bit as accountable and focused while on the ice. I am sure Johnny Oduya has picked up a thing or three being around world class players like Toews, Kane, Seabrook, and Keith and he should bring some of that over. About his actual defense, while he isn't going to be mistaken for a shutdown guy by anyone, watching him the last two seasons, his overall defense isn't as bad as what I remember he had with the Devils and Thrashers/Jets.Perhaps it was the end result of playing in a quality system with quality players in Chicago, but it would certainly be better for Dallas if it was because he has matured and honed his craft to where actual improvements were made. And considering that Dallas really didn't have much in the way of defense last season, having Oduya on the blue line may be more noticeable and actually appear somewhat competent. Oduya also brings a bit of sandpaper personality with him towards his opponents...something the Stars seem to like very much in their players (see: Roussel, Fiddler, and the former Stars Garbutt and Ott). At the end of the day, if the Stars can score like they did last season and the goaltenders are at least average, then the defense doesn't have to be spectacular for the team to make the playoffs.Winning it all would be another matter entirely though.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 @yave1964 The thing I like about this move for Dallas is what you said about Oduya being responsible in his own zone. He's not a superstar, but he's solid, and he is good defensively. I don't believe any of the Dallas blueliners from this past season deserve to be called defensemen. With that in mind, I wouldn't say that Lehtonen singlehandedly kept the Stars out of the postseason. I think it was more of a collaboration between him and the defensive corps. Lol. Maybe I was a bit harsh to say Niemi isn't an upgrade at all. But I don't think he's as good as some people think he is. I'm not saying anyone in this conversation puts him on a pedestal, but there are certainly those who do. I think it's largely a function of (again, as you said) getting more credit than he should from having been on a winning team. Anyway, we'll see how much Oduya (and Niemi for that matter) helps, but I think he's a good bit better than what Dallas had. Dion Phaneuf might have been a positive for Dallas last year. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Well he sure won't have Hjalmarsson there to cover his ass.....so his defensive play better pickup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Well he sure won't have Hjalmarsson there to cover his ass.....so his defensive play better pickup... Yeah, Hjalmarsson is the next best defensive Dman in the league behind or equal to Vlasic. Oduya is sure gonna miss him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Yeah, Hjalmarsson is the next best defensive Dman in the league behind or equal to Vlasic. Oduya is sure gonna miss him. Yeah but at his age it was hard to turn down 3.75mill and he has got 2 Cups so collect his money and ride off into the sunset.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRangers Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I actually think it was a pretty good deal by Dallas. I expect Oduya to live up to the contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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