With the 11th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Dallas Stars select…

Jeff Skinner

Picking up a center who continues to improve like Skinner has, this choice is a no-brainer. The need for defense in Big ‘D’(how ironic) is clear, but so is picking the best player available, which the native of Markham, Ontario certainly is.

Known for his well-rounded game, Skinner continues to improve offensively, notching 50 goals in only 64 games for the Kitchener Rangers.

An utter steal at this juncture in the draft. Jeff Skinner indeed is a Dallas star in the making!

Brandon Augienello
NHLHS Dallas Stars Correspondent
brandon@nhlhotstove.com
@HockeyGuy_B

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We go live tomorrow with our 2009-2010 NHL season wrap-up show.

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What does the future hold for Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars? The team continues to fall out of playoff contention, Do they begin rebuilding or do they resign the veteran and try again? At 34-years-old, one would speculate his reign in Dallas would be coming to an end.

The goaltending pipeline provides nothing.  The team drafted two NHL quality goaltenders in Dan Ellis and Mike Smith but let them go with Turco their man between the pipes.  This season, Turco’s numbers turned some heads, creating trade buzz after an admitedly dismal showing last season.

With Turco’s expiring contract and excellent career numbers, some contending team should be willing to part with prospects or picks.  This transaction would relieve the limited budget in which owner Tom Hicks forces the team to operate. In fact, rumors surrounding the team and their financial woes indicate both Turco, star center Mike Ribeiro and most likely and recently agitator Steve Ott should pack their bags.

Rumors earlier in the year indicated interest from the Philadelphia Flyers.  Both teams however shot down these rumors almost immediately.

Also, the recent play of Alex Auld fires up further speculation. Auld got his second start in a row Monday and backstopped the Stars to their second consecutive victory, beating the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, at American Airlines Center.

He wasn’t flawless, but he was consistent and steady. And that’s what the Stars need right now. If his play continues to be steady, there is still hope for a playoff birth as well as a return with shipping Turco out.

Keep in mind that the Stars are not the most gifted club in the league.  They posses future pieces but stare at a second season of playoff absence. With a team mostly filled with veterans the Stars brass need to focus more on the future and less on the now.

Brandon Worley of Defending Big D recently breached the subject of trading Turco, below shows an excerpt from his article.

This past weekend, several online publications and hockey television analysts stated that the Dallas Stars are preparing to move on without Marty Turco. Now this is hardly surprising news; the future of Turco with the Dallas Stars has been in doubt since the start of the season. Yet now it’s being reported as if this is a fact: the Dallas Stars are moving on without him.

The question now asked is: What is the value of a player with a 2.84 GAA and a .900 SV%?

The answer: The Stars need to use Turco’s history as a selling point in order to retain full value.  A second or third round pick seems fair at this point, if you consider Cristobal Huet only fetched the same two years ago.

The domino’s are then able to fall.  GM Joe Nieuwendyk has a situation. It is inevitable that Turco is with a different club come October 2010. Do not go the route of the Florida Panthers Mr. Nieuwendyk.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @ACHockeyGuys

The latest live chat by Mike Heika’s Stars Blog reveals interest in Marty Turco by one team that desperately needs help between the pipes: the Philadelphia Flyers.  Turco, an impending free-agent and life-long Star, certainly would seem different outside a Dallas uniform.

As rumors swirl around a possible Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux for Ilya Kovalchuk swap, this reporter feels the Flyers really need to address their goaltending situation.  As successful as the team has been over the years, their one downfall has always been a weak goalie.  Forcing a star player, and most likely rental, to adapt in a couple of months while gutting part of the core to do so.

This year the Flyers play between the pipes struggled mightily.  Between Brian Boucher, Ray Emery and now Michael Leighton the team sports a hefty2.85 GAA and .897 SV%, certainly not statistics you would see on a Stanley Cup contender.

With rumors in Dallas leading to both Turco and Mike Ribeiro exiting the greater state of Texas, the cash strapped Stars may by default go into a full rebuild.  Beleaguered defenseman Braydon Coburn may show some interest as well as other young trade chips Mika Pyorala, David Laliberte or Darroll Powe.

With Turco, Philadelphia gets a player two years removed from leading the Stars to the Western Conference Finals.  However, since almost attaining entry into the finals Turco simply has not been the same posting a below average 2.81 GAA and .898 SV% last season.

So since Dallas may rebuild and he is a UFA after the season, would the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native take a small vacation to a contender in order to build value in free agency.  What other teams would even be interested or show a glaring need in a 34-year-old goalie with diminishing skills.

Still with decent peripherals this year, the Flyers could do worse.  Their season seemed over as Boucher left the game last night with a finger laceration.  One can only wonder what would happen should the veteran go down for the season.  Locker room issues, a change in the coaching staff and now two goalies going down leads to a genuine feeling of disappointment in Philadelphia which can only be turned around with a deep run into the playoffs.

Would Turco bring them into the playoffs? Would Kovalchuk at the expense of two cornerstone building young players bring them to where they need to be?  Only time will tell.  The team as currently constructed needs to change.  Whether that change is in the front office, another coaching change or a complete rebuild is another question.

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-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com