(Photo taken by Melissa Grissom)

There was a lot of activity in Dallas during the free agency period. Several players departed Dallas to enjoy their careers elsewhere, but a few players headed to Dallas to pull on a Stars jersey.

GM  Joe Nieuwendyk surprised a lot of Dallas Stars fans as well as a lot of fans across the NHL in early July. He managed to work some magic and bring Czech legend Jaromir Jagr to Texas. The deal was announced on July 3^rd 2012, and was worth a reported $4.5million.

I am really hoping that a deal is made and the lockout won’t occur. Jagr is on a one-year deal and the 2012/13 could be the only chance to see him in a Stars shirt. He will also be massive to the hopeful success on the ice. I expect him to form a formidable first line alongside Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson. Jagr is superb at puck distribution, and if Jamie and Loui can get themselves in the right positions, we could see a lot of goals from this line. Jagr has a massive 988 assists in the NHL, he will certainly develop the game of his peers.

Another big addition for the Stars was center man Derek Roy. He was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in a trade involving Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. It is as simple as this: Roy was acquired to be a top 6 forward and replace Mike Ribeiro who departed to the Washington Capitals.

The Ottawa native will bring a lot to Dallas. With over 500 games to his name, the 29-year-old brings a lot of experience, and also has the ability to be a relatively big points scorer, scoring 60+ points on 4 occasions.

Another asset of his game is the crucial one for me, and this is his ability to perform on the power play. The Stars’ power play was average at best last season. It lacked structure and rhythm, managing to score just 33 goals throughout the season. I am hoping that this is an area of the game that they will be working hard on in training camp. Roy will be an integral part of this, and if the power play can get going, the team will benefit with positive results.

The third big addition was of Ray Whitney from the Phoenix Coyotes. He is another experienced player and a points scorer as well. This is a great addition for Dallas. He has well over 1000 appearances in the NHL and over 1000 points. He is getting on a bit, aged 40, but he is still a great hockey player.

I think that Whitney will help form the second line alongside Michael Ryder and Derek Roy. These guys might take a bit of time to gel, but if they get going I think they will bring the best out of each other. The Stars lacked depth last season, and a lot of scoring was done by the first line. 2012/13 will be different, the second line will take a lot of pressure off of the first line, and should benefit the team as a whole.

With other new recruits including Cody Eakin and Aaron Rome, and some promising draft picks, the Stars are starting to look like a decent outfit for next season!

Derek Roy (Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

Center/#11

May 4, 1983 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

5’9″/184

GP: 80

G: 17

A: 27

P: 44

+/- :  -7

Contract Status: 1 year deal for $4 million

On July 2nd, the day after the free agency frenzy, the Dallas Stars traded fan favorite Steve Ott and defensemen Adam Pardy for center Derek Roy, who will take the spot of departed center, Mike Ribeiro who was traded to the Washington Capitals. A few weeks later after the trade, the Stars learned that Roy needed surgery for a posterior labrum on his shoulder and he will be out until November. The situation with trading Roy for Ott showed confidence of the front office and a risky trade but maybe after Roy comes back from surgery, he will prove to the NHL that he can be that second line center, the Stars have been looking for. Derek Roy did tell the media that he was willing to play with the shoulder injury but the Stars didn’t want to take a risk with him, making the injury worse. Here’s more on Roy talking about the shoulder injury via from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News:

Roy will likely be out until late November after he had surgery to tighten up a loose shoulder he had been playing through since last season. Roy had a very difficult season injury-wise, and he spoke with John Vogel of the Buffalo News in April as the Sabres were cleaning out their lockers. Here was his quote:

“Doc said it was going to take two years to get back to 100 percent. I had a tough stretch. I missed the exhibition games when I got injured (shoulder), and I got injured in July working out (a hamstring injury before last season), as well. Nobody knew about that one, but I took maybe a month off this summer. I pulled my hamstring in the summertime. That was tough working out. I took some time off and had to come in and do therapy every day on it. That was a tough stretch, then training camp came around and I got injured again (with the shoulder). Usually, I’m not injury prone at all, and it was tough to start the season off with those two injuries. I had a hard time going, and it’s still bothering me now to this day with both injuries. I’m going to take a month off and do absolutely nothing and try to rest and get back into shape and get ready for the season.”

» Continue reading “Player Profile: Derek Roy”

Brenden Morrow (Photo taken by Melissa Grissom)

Brenden Morrow has been very loyal to the Dallas Stars and has become one of their most successful and well-liked players in the franchise history. Now aged 33, a lot of Stars fans feel that Breden’s time in Texas is over, as he is becoming less effective on the ice and starting to pick up more injuries as time goes on.

However, with the recent loss of Steve Ott to the Buffalo Sabres, I think it is crucial that Morrow stays in Texas with the Stars for the 2012/13 season.

Steve Ott was the enforcer in Dallas, and a great one at that. He was a player that every team wants, but a player that no team wants to play against. He got under the opposition’s skin and forced them to make mistakes and give up penalty minutes.

Brenden Morrow plays an enforcer role to an extent, but not to the degree that Steve Ott did. However, with Ott now in Buffalo, Morrow’s role has just become a whole lot more important. His physicality will be absolutely crucial next season. He is not afraid to put in a big hit, go hard at the goaltender or to drop the gloves. He backs up every single one of his team mates and his experience within the changing room is invaluable. Every team needs one of these guys to be a successful outfit.

The one thing that the Stars now perhaps lack is physicality. Ott and Souray were the main men for Dallas last season in terms of putting in big hits.  Sheldon Souray is looking unlikely to be in a Stars jersey next season, meaning the rest of the defensive unit need to work together to roughen opposition up.

Morrow is not the big points scorer he once was. He still seems to have the ability to score goals, and they seem to big goals in big games. Goals for Morrow now seem a bit of a bonus on top of the role of backing up his team mates. Morrow will be given new line mates for next season and it will be interesting to see how he clicks with them.

Now that Ott has departed, I think it is crucial for GM Joe Nieuwendyk to keep hold of Brenden Morrow for at least another season! At the end is a video of Morrow  discusses his childhood hockey experiences in Carlisle, Saskatchewan, being able to give back to children in his hometown the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program and the feeling of capturing a gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Jaromir Jagr Portrait (Drawn by Que-ink from deviantart)

Right Winger/ #68

February 15, 1972 in Kladno, Czech Republic

6’3″/240

GP: 73

G: 19

A: 35

P: 54

+/- :  5

Contract Status: 1 year deal worth  $4.5 million

Today the Dallas Stars signed yet another player after acquiring center Derek Roy from the Buffalo Sabres yesterday in exchange for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy.  They signed Jaromir Jagr to a 1 year deal worth $4.5 million dollars that shocked the hockey world. It even shocked me but then I realize that Nieuwendyk is going for the rebuilding phase of the Stars and maybe the veterans like Ray Whitney and Jagr will help the youth movement. Also help Jamie Benn and the rest of the younger players.  Here is the article from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News on the Dallas Stars signing Jagr:

» Continue reading “Welcome To The Dallas Stars, Jaromir Jagr”