Hockey operations are back in full swing for the Dallas Stars as they prepare for the upcoming shortened hockey season which is projected to start Saturday January 19th, 2013. So that means a short amount of time for training camp and getting the feel for competitive physical hockey for the players. On the other hand, there is also a short amount of time for social media and marketing teams to create a campaign for the Stars to win back the fans.
So with the players and coaches busy, other members of the Stars organization have stepped out to media outlets in the area spreading the word and promoting Dallas Stars Hockey. This promotional team includes former players Marty Turco and Mike Modano, General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk, President/CEO of the Dallas Stars Jim Lites, and team owner Tom Gaglardi have been taking to the local radio shows, mostly KTCK 1310 The Ticket, to answer questions and promote the upcoming season. The Dallas Stars marketing team themselves have brought back the “Believe” slogan for this season. “Believe” was the slogan for the Stars last playoff run in 2008.
As the Stars are working to bring hockey relevance back, it is a great time for them to unleash as many promotions as they can. The Dallas Cowboys missed the playoffs, and got into a little twitter debacle with the Stars, the Dallas Mavericks are struggling and the Texas Rangers are still in offseason. A great open to the season could bring the fans back instantly and push the Stars a great deal in their post-lockout recovery.
This lockout hurt many fans as the emphasis was clearly money, the Dallas Stars are working hard to win back their fans and bring the team back to relevance in the DFW sports market.
OH KARI LEHTONEN (Photo credit: Bridget Samuels/Flickr)
Big news out of the Dallas Stars camp today as team General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk has announced that starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen has received a contract extension of five years worth 29.5 million dollars. Kari Lehtonen was set to become a free agent next summer, but the new deal will give Lehtonen a 5.9 million AAV making him currently the highest paid Dallas Star. Kari Lehtonen is coming of the best statistical season of his career, he went 32-22-4 with a goals against average of 2.33 and a save percentage of .922 and four shutouts, even though the wins are not his career high (34) the goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts set new career best or tied career best for Kari Lehtonen. Kari Lehtonen’s new deal will keep him in Dallas until he is 34 years old.
Joe Nieuwendyk has very positive things to say about Lehtonen in this quote about the new deal.
“Kari Lehtonen has worked extremely hard in his time with the Dallas Stars to establish himself as an elite goaltender in the NHL. We believe that his best days as a goaltender are ahead, and that his work ethic and leadership will help guide this team into a perennial stanley cup contender.” -Joe Nieuwendyk
Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced today that the club has signed goaltender Kari Lehtonen to a five year contract extension worth $29.5 million ($5.9 million per year) through the 2017-2018 NHL season.
Lehtonen, 28, concluded his eighth NHL season in 2011-12, earning a 32-22-4 record with a .922 save percentage, a 2.33 goals against average and four shutouts in 59 games. Earlier in the season, he became the first goaltender in Dallas Stars history to win seven consecutive games to start a season and finished the campaign allowing two-or-fewer goals in 37 of his 59 games. He was named the NHL’s Second Star of October after posting an 8-1-0 record with a .947 SV% and a 1.75 GAA.
Kari Lehtonen was drafted second overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2002 NHL entry draft after an award winning season in the Finnish Elite League with Jokerit where in 23 games Lehtonen went 13-5-2 with a goals against average of 1.79 and a .941 save percentage. Being drafted second overall makes Lehtonen the highest drafted player from Finland. Lehtonen’s time in Atlanta was mixed with highs and lows including posting a 34 win season in 2006-2007 including a playoff appearance for the Thrashers, but then the next two seasons became injury plagued for Lehtonen, where he dropped from 68 games played in 2006-2007 to 48 games played in 2007-2008 and then to 46 games in 2008-2009. Questions about his conditioning and work ethic began to rise and he was looked at as damaged goods in the Thrashers media, and when he became available for trade in the 2009-2010 season General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk jumped at the opportunity looking for a new goalie to replace the soon departing Marty Turco, sending to the Thrashers former prospect Ivan Vishnevsky and a fourth round draft pick. Lehtonen has worked his way back to form in Dallas and has certainly at the door of becoming a league-wide recognized elite goaltender.
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 3rd 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!
When the regular season begins the Dallas Stars will be looking to make the playoffs, after missing the postseason in four straight years. This off season was very productive for the Stars in free agency and in the trade market, as they completely changed the look of the team, with the free agency signings of Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney, plus the off season trade acquisitions of Cody Eakin and Derek Roy, Dallas looks to roll with a deep lineup game in and game out to push for the playoffs. So what questions do the Stars have to answer? What do people say when they look at our organization?
New season for the Allen Americans (Photo: Melissa Grissom)
Today the Dallas Stars and Texas Stars have extended agreement with the Allen Americans. Here is more on the agreement from the Dallas Stars website:
Frisco, TX – The Dallas Stars and Texas Stars announced today that the clubs have signed a new affiliation agreement with the Central Hockey League’s Allen Americans through the 2012-13 season. It will be the fourth season the trio of teams has worked together.
The Allen Americans play at the 6,275-seat Allen Event Center, which opened in Allen, Texas, in 2009, and the club played host to over 140,000 fans last season. The Americans have qualified for the playoffs every year since joining the CHL in 2009, including reaching the 2010 Ray Miron President’s Cup Finals and winning the 2010-11 Berry Conference Regular Season .
“We are pleased to continue our affiliation with the Allen Americans,” said Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. “Allen has had a great deal of success since their inception, and it’s been a very positive partnership having a development affiliate in such close proximity.”
The CHL is a “AA” professional minor hockey league with ten active teams located in eight states. The AHL is the highest level of minor-league hockey in North America.
Very good news for both team as the Americans have been with the Stars and their AHL team, the Texas Stars, for 4 years. I am very excited about this news!
Jaromir Jagr is A STAR (Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr)
This offseason for the Dallas Stars was an eventful for one for them as they signed a few veteran forwards along with one that I thought they would never sign in the first place. If you are guessing Jaromir Jagr then you are correct. Yes that is right the Dallas Stars signed Jaromir Jagr to a 1 year deal, worth $4.55 million to play for the Stars. The Stars have a legend that is playing for them and a veteran who has experience in the playoffs. He won a Stanley Cup Championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins back to back from 1991-1992. He has the ability to score goals when needed to and he also has the ability to lead the team into the playoffs. Even Jagr was excited about playing for the Stars as he told the Stars official website:
“All of a sudden, I got a call from Joe Nieuwendyk that the Dallas Stars were interested and I was very, very happy for many reasons,” Jagr said during a media conference call on Thursday. “For one thing, they feel I can help them. That’s the most important thing for me. I think I can play on the first two lines, which is important to me. I just don’t want to be in the NHL to sit around; I want to be a big part of a new team.”
Whenever the new season starts, expect Jaromir Jagr to play on a line with Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson. He will probably play a mentor role like he did with Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux in Philadelphia, then this line will be powerful and unstoppable. Having a veteran around young players will do the Stars well and signing Jagr this summer answered their questions. If you are curious as to what Jagr can do on the ice then look no futher to a couple of these videos from Youtube:
In overtime, Jaromir Jagr scores from in front, stealing the extra point from the Winnipeg Jets.
Or this video where Marc-Andre Fleury kicks a rebound right to the stick of Jaromir Jagr, who gives the Philadelphia Flyers their first lead.
Those two videos of Jaromir Jagr scoring those golas then doing the solute. AREN’T YOU STARS FANS EXCITED? I sure am! I am excited to see what Jagr can do for the Dallas Stars next season! Also if you have twitter give Jaromir Jagr a follow at @68Jagr
Initially when the offseason began, there was much debate about whether the DallasStars had seen the end of Tom Wandell‘s tenure as a Star. As the offseason began the Stars began to send tender qualifying offers to all of their restricted free agents, and with the acquisitions of Cody Eakin and Derek Roy in the offseason and contracts awarded to Ryan Garbutt and Jaromir Jagr, plus with training camp close and Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk giving praise to prospects Scott Glennie and Matt Fraser, it didn’t seem like their would be a spot for Tom Wandell and it was a head scratcher when Tom Wandell was offered a tender qualifying offer on the very last day the Stars could do so back on June 25th. Tom Wandell would eventually accept the qualifying offer on July 6th and will make $892,500 this season. Early line projections had Wandell as a 13th forward, but on July 11th it was announced that newly acquired 2nd line center Derek Roy was gonna need shoulder surgery and could be out until mid to late November so that leaves a big hole in the top six. So a competition is up for the second line center spot and competitors for the spot include: Cody Eakin, Scott Glennie, Radek Faksa, and of course Tom Wandell.
So far on paper, I give the advantage to Tom Wandell, he has previously played on the top six on Dallas and has the ability to center the second line.
Wandell has been here since the 2008-2009 season and twice he has hit his career high in points which is 15. He is a part of the veteran group of forwards that hasn’t been a real positive in helping the team trying to make the playoffs the past four seasons, so he could really be looking at his last chance to make a name for himself in the NHL this season. If not Joe Nieuwendyk has been making statements this offseason moving players who he didn’t believe will help the team in his plan and there are players in the minors just waiting to get a spot on the roster even if it’s just fourth line minutes.
This season we should look for Tom Wandell to work for the breakout season that many Stars fans were expecting to happen. Wandell has many great qualities including his skating and level of grit he plays with, to play in the top six we will need to improve his playmaking and shoot the puck on net more often, in 72 games played last season Wandell registered just 103 shots on net which is an average of a little bit over 1 a game. Wandell will need to make a statement in the first month of the season so Stars fan should look for that this season.
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.”
Richard Bachman taking a break (Photo taken by me)
Yesterday the Dallas Stars organization announced the signing of Max Lagace to a entry-level contract, Lagace was an invitee to Dallas Stars development camp. He spent last season in the QMJHL with the Prince Edward Island Rocket.
Frisco, TX – The Dallas Stars announced today that the NHL club has signed goaltender Max Lagace to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Lagace, 19, played 56 games last season for the Prince Edward Island Rocket in the Quebec Major-Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he posted a 12-34-5 record with a 4.51 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .867 save percentage (SV%).The 6-foot-2, 168-pound goaltender finished 2011-12 ranked sixth in minutes played (2,911:58), fourth in saves (1,422) and fourth in shots against (1,641) among all QMJHL goaltenders.
Earlier this year, the native of Longueuil, Quebec was selected as one of three goaltenders who will represent Hockey Canada in the Canada-Russia Challenge this August, an event that is replacing Canada’s Junior Team summer development camp. Lagace also participated in Dallas’ Development Camp earlier this summer.
Lagace had a very impressive rookie camp and caught the eye of coaches running the camp and General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. This signing brings the Dallas Stars Organization goaltender depth to eight goalies and seven of them already signed to contracts.
Lagace numbers are not impressive by any means, but the PEI Rockets had the worst regular season in the teams history since relocating to PEI from Montreal before the 2003-2004 season began with a record of 19-43-6. The QMJHL is also not the most successful place for goalies. In 68 regular season games Lagace had the decision in 61 of them, which means he can be a work horse for a team which is common for a lot of the goalies in the Stars organizations.
Let’s take a look at the Stars and their minor league affiliates to see how this goalie depth is panned out.
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.
