Hudler signs one year deal with Stars

[yave1964]

 As if the offensive first Dallas Stars needed more scoring......

 

  The Stars just brought in Jiri Hudler on a one year 'show me' deal for two million a year, an absolute steal of a contract. Hudler and Stars GM Jim Nill go way back and both spoke glowingly of the relationship they share dating to their days together in Detroit.

 

  A team with Seguin and Benn as their top offensive line is bound to put up points by the barrel full. A team with Hudler, Hemsky and Spezza as their second line seems to be unfairly cornering the market on goal scoring, something they need with a not so dynamic duo in net of Lehtonen and Niemi. And the defense, well they did add past his prime shut down defender Hamhuis but lost Jordie Benn, Alex Goligoski,, Jason Demers and Kris Russell. Coming up to replace them through the minors are Julius Honka and Esa Lindell two young speedsters who are known more for their offense than for their shut down abilities.

  The Stars play as close to eighties style of Hockey as any team in the game, again this year they will be an elite scoring team and at the same time be among the worst in the league in goals against. Hudler comes in on a sweetheart of a deal to help offset the defensive woes with even more offense.

  Fun times in big D.

[ruxpin]

Well, that's interesting. I didn't see that one coming. 

 

As weird as this may sound, this will probably help Hudler more than the Stars.   This can't help but inflate Hudler's numbers, one would think.  That, of course, helps the Stars, but they already have offense.   It won't really help the defense.  So, it MIGHT get the Stars four more points in the standings but not really change much come playoff time. 

 

Hudler, meanwhile, increases his output my 10-15 points.    That will do much more for his next contact than the 4 points will for the standings. 

[no1sjsharksfan]

I would rather see them sign some help on defense, where they need it...

 

But this could be a very good signing. They can trade Valeri Nichushkin for defensive help now, as he has been a bummer so far. They fill a similar spot in the lineup. Could just be a one-year replacement for Nichushkin.

 

21 hours ago, yave1964 said:

 As if the offensive first Dallas Stars needed more scoring......

 

  The Stars just brought in Jiri Hudler on a one year 'show me' deal for two million a year, an absolute steal of a contract. Hudler and Stars GM Jim Nill go way back and both spoke glowingly of the relationship they share dating to their days together in Detroit.

 

  A team with Seguin and Benn as their top offensive line is bound to put up points by the barrel full. A team with Hudler, Hemsky and Spezza as their second line seems to be unfairly cornering the market on goal scoring, something they need with a not so dynamic duo in net of Lehtonen and Niemi. And the defense, well they did add past his prime shut down defender Hamhuis but lost Jordie Benn, Alex Goligoski,, Jason Demers and Kris Russell. Coming up to replace them through the minors are Julius Honka and Esa Lindell two young speedsters who are known more for their offense than for their shut down abilities.

  The Stars play as close to eighties style of Hockey as any team in the game, again this year they will be an elite scoring team and at the same time be among the worst in the league in goals against. Hudler comes in on a sweetheart of a deal to help offset the defensive woes with even more offense.

  Fun times in big D.

 

They still have Jordie Benn

[J0e Th0rnton]

28 minutes ago, no1sjsharksfan said:

I would rather see them sign some help on defense, where they need it...

 

But this could be a very good signing. They can trade Valeri Nichushkin for defensive help now, as he has been a bummer so far. They fill a similar spot in the lineup. Could just be a one-year replacement for Nichushkin.

 

 

They still have Jordie Benn

I feel Ruff has not given Nichu a fair shot in the top 6. Saw flashes of brilliance from him last year, but he was bumped down again.

 

Lots of potential

[pilldoc]

9 hours ago, no1sjsharksfan said:

They can trade Valeri Nichushkin for defensive help now, as he has been a bummer so far

 

You do realize that Nich is only 21?  He made the team as a rookie at age 18.  He is missed ALL of his 2nd year (except for 8 games) because he had surgery.  Last year at 20 really was only his 2nd full year as an NHL player.  Look at his peers none of them have really made an impact at the NHL level yet.  The 3 exceptions are MacKinnon (153 pts), Barkov (119 pts), Monahan (159 pts).  Matter of fact looking at the NHL 2013 Entry draft, Nich has more points than Drouin.  Just saying you can't write this kid of yet.  To do so would be very short sighted in thinking.  To call Nich a bust would have to call a lot of the players in the 2013 1st round also a bust.  You simply CANNOT define his career a bust after 2 seasons.  Agree with @J0e Th0rnton, Nich still has a lot of potential.  Plus like Joe said, it does not help that Ruff moves him all over the line-up.

 

Overall	Team	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
1	Colorado Avalanche	Nathan MacKinnon	C	218	59	94	153	9	80
2	Florida Panthers	Aleksander Barkov	C	191	52	67	119	11	34
3	Tampa Bay Lightning	Jonathan Drouin	LW	91	8	34	42	4	38
4	Nashville Predators	Seth Jones	D	240	17	66	83	-34	66
5	Carolina Hurricanes	Elias Lindholm	C	221	37	62	99	-60	42
6	Calgary Flames	Sean Monahan	C	237	80	79	159	-18	38
7	Edmonton Oilers	Darnell Nurse	D	71	3	7	10	-15	60
8	Buffalo Sabres	Rasmus Ristolainen	D	194	19	46	65	-68	65
9	Vancouver Canucks	Bo Horvat	C	150	29	36	65	-38	34
10	Dallas Stars	Valeri Nichushkin	RW	166	23	41	64	17	22
11	Philadelphia Flyers	Samuel Morin	D
12	Phoenix Coyotes	Max Domi	C/LW	81	18	34	52	3	72
13	Winnipeg Jets	Josh Morrissey	D	1	0	0	0	0	0
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	Alexander Wennberg	C	137	12	48	60	-20	24
15	New York Islanders	Ryan Pulock	D	15	2	2	4	1	5
16	Buffalo Sabres	Nikita Zadorov	D	89	4	14	18	-19	67
17	Ottawa Senators	Curtis Lazar	C/RW	143	12	23	35	0	32
18	San Jose Sharks	Mirco Mueller	D	50	1	3	4	-12	17
19	Columbus Blue Jackets	Kerby Rychel	LW	37	2	10	12	8	17
20	Detroit Red Wings	Anthony Mantha	RW	10	2	1	3	-6	2
21	Toronto Maple Leafs	Frederik Gauthier	C	7	0	1	1	-5	0
22	Calgary Flames	Emile Poirier	LW	8	0	1	1	0	2
23	Washington Capitals	Andre Burakovsky	LW	132	26	34	60	16	22
24	Vancouver Canucks	Hunter Shinkaruk	C/LW	8	2	1	3	-4	2
25	Montreal Canadiens	Michael McCarron	RW	20	1	1	2	-10	37
26	Anaheim Ducks	Shea Theodore	D	19	3	5	8	7	2
27	Columbus Blue Jackets	Marko Dano	C	69	13	18	31	5	24
28	Calgary Flames	Morgan Klimchuk	LW
29	Dallas Stars	Jason Dickinson	C	1	1	0	1	1	0
30	Chicago Blackhawks	Ryan Hartman	RW	8	0	1	1	-2	2

[ruxpin]

@pilldoc

 

I'm on my phone so couldn't follow the chart ,but completely agree with the prose.  Well said. 

[no1sjsharksfan]

22 hours ago, pilldoc said:

 

You do realize that Nich is only 21?  He made the team as a rookie at age 18.  He is missed ALL of his 2nd year (except for 8 games) because he had surgery.  Last year at 20 really was only his 2nd full year as an NHL player.  Look at his peers none of them have really made an impact at the NHL level yet.  The 3 exceptions are MacKinnon (153 pts), Barkov (119 pts), Monahan (159 pts).  Matter of fact looking at the NHL 2013 Entry draft, Nich has more points than Drouin.  Just saying you can't write this kid of yet.  To do so would be very short sighted in thinking.  To call Nich a bust would have to call a lot of the players in the 2013 1st round also a bust.  You simply CANNOT define his career a bust after 2 seasons.  Agree with @J0e Th0rnton, Nich still has a lot of potential.  Plus like Joe said, it does not help that Ruff moves him all over the line-up.

 

Overall	Team	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
1	Colorado Avalanche	Nathan MacKinnon	C	218	59	94	153	9	80
2	Florida Panthers	Aleksander Barkov	C	191	52	67	119	11	34
3	Tampa Bay Lightning	Jonathan Drouin	LW	91	8	34	42	4	38
4	Nashville Predators	Seth Jones	D	240	17	66	83	-34	66
5	Carolina Hurricanes	Elias Lindholm	C	221	37	62	99	-60	42
6	Calgary Flames	Sean Monahan	C	237	80	79	159	-18	38
7	Edmonton Oilers	Darnell Nurse	D	71	3	7	10	-15	60
8	Buffalo Sabres	Rasmus Ristolainen	D	194	19	46	65	-68	65
9	Vancouver Canucks	Bo Horvat	C	150	29	36	65	-38	34
10	Dallas Stars	Valeri Nichushkin	RW	166	23	41	64	17	22
11	Philadelphia Flyers	Samuel Morin	D
12	Phoenix Coyotes	Max Domi	C/LW	81	18	34	52	3	72
13	Winnipeg Jets	Josh Morrissey	D	1	0	0	0	0	0
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	Alexander Wennberg	C	137	12	48	60	-20	24
15	New York Islanders	Ryan Pulock	D	15	2	2	4	1	5
16	Buffalo Sabres	Nikita Zadorov	D	89	4	14	18	-19	67
17	Ottawa Senators	Curtis Lazar	C/RW	143	12	23	35	0	32
18	San Jose Sharks	Mirco Mueller	D	50	1	3	4	-12	17
19	Columbus Blue Jackets	Kerby Rychel	LW	37	2	10	12	8	17
20	Detroit Red Wings	Anthony Mantha	RW	10	2	1	3	-6	2
21	Toronto Maple Leafs	Frederik Gauthier	C	7	0	1	1	-5	0
22	Calgary Flames	Emile Poirier	LW	8	0	1	1	0	2
23	Washington Capitals	Andre Burakovsky	LW	132	26	34	60	16	22
24	Vancouver Canucks	Hunter Shinkaruk	C/LW	8	2	1	3	-4	2
25	Montreal Canadiens	Michael McCarron	RW	20	1	1	2	-10	37
26	Anaheim Ducks	Shea Theodore	D	19	3	5	8	7	2
27	Columbus Blue Jackets	Marko Dano	C	69	13	18	31	5	24
28	Calgary Flames	Morgan Klimchuk	LW
29	Dallas Stars	Jason Dickinson	C	1	1	0	1	1	0
30	Chicago Blackhawks	Ryan Hartman	RW	8	0	1	1	-2	2

 

Yeah and Seth Jones was 20 when the Preds traded him for a need? This team is loaded up front. You have to make some sacrifices to get better. Just an idea.

[pilldoc]

@no1sjsharksfan

 

You seriously are not comparing Seth Jones to Nich.  Your words are ...

 

On ‎8‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 10:58 AM, no1sjsharksfan said:

he has been a bummer so far

 

I simply stated that he is not a bust and to think otherwise is short sighted thinking.  The situation with Seth Jones is completely different.  Seth Jones, I think you would agree, is not a bust.  Two completely different set of team circumstances.  You claim Dallas lack of defense, but is that really the issue?  Both goalies in the regular season and in the playoffs, were terrible. Both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi posted such poor numbers that neither goalie was able to really \win" the starting job. This is nothing new though; the Dallas Stars of 2014-2015 gave up the 5th most goals in the NHL.  Is that totally on the defense?

 

True Demers left via FA and Goligoski was traded, but to replace these losses on the back end, the Stars signed Dan Hamhuis as a free agent and plan on using some of the defensive youth in their system. They also believe that Esa LIndell is ready at this time.

 

At the time NSH was trading from strength as they still had both Weber and Josi.  Trading Jones at the time, though shocking, was a good move.  They were not trading Jones because "he was a bummer so far". (your words for Nich) 

 

I agree that at times you have to give to get, but this is not one of those times. 

[ruxpin]

@pilldoc  @yave1964

 

I haven't thought this fully through but am kind of wondering, so I'll through this out there as a buy or sell question:

 

I'm thinking...

 

Nichushkin (maybe with a pick) would have been a more appropriate trade with the Devils for Adam Larsson than Taylor Hall.  And it's a shame that Dallas wasn't in on that trade (before Hall was dangled.  Hall is obviously better than Nichushkin, possible locker room issues for Hall not withstanding}.

 

Buy or sell?  What do you think?

[ruxpin]

Secondly, I kind of wish Dallas would be willing to trade Nichushkin to Philly for either Streit or MacDonald.

[no1sjsharksfan]

23 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

Secondly, I kind of wish Dallas would be willing to trade Nichushkin to Philly for either Streit or MacDonald.

 

You are mad if you think anyone will take MacDonald. Maybe a David Clarkson-type deal.

[no1sjsharksfan]

4 hours ago, pilldoc said:

@no1sjsharksfan

 

You seriously are not comparing Seth Jones to Nich.  Your words are ...

 

 

I simply stated that he is not a bust and to think otherwise is short sighted thinking.  The situation with Seth Jones is completely different.  Seth Jones, I think you would agree, is not a bust.  Two completely different set of team circumstances.  You claim Dallas lack of defense, but is that really the issue?  Both goalies in the regular season and in the playoffs, were terrible. Both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi posted such poor numbers that neither goalie was able to really \win" the starting job. This is nothing new though; the Dallas Stars of 2014-2015 gave up the 5th most goals in the NHL.  Is that totally on the defense?

 

True Demers left via FA and Goligoski was traded, but to replace these losses on the back end, the Stars signed Dan Hamhuis as a free agent and plan on using some of the defensive youth in their system. They also believe that Esa LIndell is ready at this time.

 

At the time NSH was trading from strength as they still had both Weber and Josi.  Trading Jones at the time, though shocking, was a good move.  They were not trading Jones because "he was a bummer so far". (your words for Nich) 

 

I agree that at times you have to give to get, but this is not one of those times. 

 

No, I'm not comparing Jones to Nichushkin. But no one expected Jones to be traded, even if they had Weber and Josi. Everyone expected Weber to go. Anyone can be traded. The Stars have TONS of offensive talent. Maybe they move the young guy like Nashville did.

[yave1964]

1 hour ago, ruxpin said:

@pilldoc  @yave1964

 

I haven't thought this fully through but am kind of wondering, so I'll through this out there as a buy or sell question:

 

I'm thinking...

 

Nichushkin (maybe with a pick) would have been a more appropriate trade with the Devils for Adam Larsson than Taylor Hall.  And it's a shame that Dallas wasn't in on that trade (before Hall was dangled.  Hall is obviously better than Nichushkin, possible locker room issues for Hall not withstanding}.

 

Buy or sell?  What do you think?

I hold onto the kid, they are six deep in quality veteran forwards, (Benn, Seguin, Spezza, Hudler, Hemsky and Sharp) so the kid can play on a pretty quality third line with Eakin and Roussel and bump up in case of injuries. I would keep him, signing Hudler allows Nichushkin to gradually get his game on.

[pilldoc]

50 minutes ago, no1sjsharksfan said:

 

No, I'm not comparing Jones to Nichushkin. But no one expected Jones to be traded, even if they had Weber and Josi. Everyone expected Weber to go. Anyone can be traded. The Stars have TONS of offensive talent. Maybe they move the young guy like Nashville did.

 

Again, you are missing my point, your post insinuated that the sole purpose of trading Nich was "he was a bummer so far" (your words).  I am simply arguing you cannot label Nich a bummer / flameout / bust (whatever term one wants to use) at this time.    I agree anyone can be traded.  I just disagree with your assessment of Nich.  The kid is still young and has just barely scratched the surface of his NHL career. 

 

If the Stars feel they can move Nich because they are loaded with offensive talent, I stronly disagree with you there.  Sharp / Spezza / Hudler / Hemsky are all over age 30 and generally at that age many agree that players start a slight decline in their skills (note: I'm not saying this will happen in this case, but that is just a generalization).   Are you really counting on Sharp? For the past 3 years in a row is SH% is below 10%.  To me that shows me he is beginning the downhill side of his career.  Benn is 27 and is in the twilight of his career.  However is he going to keep up the pace of SH% of16%  when his career SH% is 13%.  I would expect a small decline there. Despite those facts, the Stars have a veteran top 2 lines which affords them the chance not to rush Nich.

 

The only true young offensive players the Stars have are Seguin (24) / Nich (21).  True the Stars have Ritchie (23) and McKenzie (25) But they too have NOT proven themselves in the NHL either.  Kind of hard to do that when you are buried on the 4th line and not getting the premium offensive zone starts. IF you traded away Nich (who has played more NHL games than Ritchie or McKenzie then the Stars will really be without out any young offensive prospects.  Sure the Stars may have older offensive talent, but not young offensive talent and in a few years that will catch up with them.  In the long run trading Nich as this moment is not the right thing to do. The Stars have the luxury of bringing him along slowly. 

 

Now if Stars want to trade Nich to the Flyers like @ruxpin suggested, I would welcome him with open arms.

[ruxpin]

4 hours ago, no1sjsharksfan said:

 

You are mad if you think anyone will take MacDonald. Maybe a David Clarkson-type deal.

Oh I'm not serious. You're definitely right on its being crazy.