Greetings Stars’ Fans!  The day we have all been waiting very impatiently for, has finally come:  Tom Hicks is being kicked to the curb per the Stars Press Release.  It is usually not nice to kick someone when they’re down, especially since Hicks is really hurting right now (Google Cache link), but exceptions can be made.  In true Hicks fashion, this sale process has been a rigamarole of conjecture, rumor, “facts”, and countless stories of “as soon as next week…”.  To say that Stars fans are exhausted from the news of ownership or lack thereof over the last year, is an understatement.

But alas, the time has come…to wait longer.  60 – 75 days to be exact.  While we have training camp and the first quarter of the season to focus on and keep our mind off things (seriously who isn’t ready for the season to begin?), the Lord of the Debt trilogy will be wrapping up the epic conclusion.  This time period could prove tenuous and nerve racking and with so much possible legal jargon being thrown about, it would surprise no one if Law & Order sues for copyright infringement.

Hope is not lost, Stars fans.  Someone once said ” its darkest before the dawn”.  We can survive and even thrive during these coming weeks.  The ways are numerous but here are the top 5:

#5 – Become a Bankruptcy Expert

Everyone else has (I think the NHL employs a permanent team these days for this) or will become one, so why not join the club.  We can then talk about assumed debt, unsecured creditors, reorganization, and court approved operations to our heart’s content on the message boards and twitter.  In the end, we’ll realize how crazy and delusional we are for watching this debacle but it was still better than watching any preseason game.

#4 – When visiting AAC for games, be sure to bring extra cash and some thick skin

While operations will continue as normal, we may start to see a few changes.  Cost cutting is a way of life these days and its no different for the Stars.  Creativity will be king.  Lower quality food at higher prices wouldn’t be hard to fathom.  Maybe even the removal of the brand-name beer we all enjoy and replaced for, well, beer-like substances.  All of this at the low, low price of $20 for an AT&T 12 ounce cup and $15 for the Reebok 6″ hot dog (the foot long ones were just too expensive).  Don’t forget the Chili’s Trifecta Ketchup!!

#3 – Community Outreach

Charity is chicken soup for the soul.  What better way to make a difference and feel good about it, than to donate to the Stars’ inaugural “Adopt an Unsecured Creditor” drive.  There are some very notable creditors for the Stars and we should do everything in our power to make sure that these poor, poor souls can recover some of the money owed to them.  Sean Avery thanks you in advance.  Joking aside, these people deserve their money before Tom Hicks sees a cent, but I digress.

#2 – Twitter-ing

If you’re not into Twitter, this is the time to join.  To see 5,000 opinions flying at you in 30 seconds is a very magical thing.  I highly recommend the guys at @DefendingBigD as well as @DalStarsWriter.  Follow the #Stars hash and join in on everyone’s opinion or create your own.  While completely unproductive, at least boredom will not be an issue.

#1 – Drinking

Last and certainly not least, while not advocating any illegal activities (DWI, underage drinking, etc), I highly encourage every fan (that is every fan of legal age in your respective area) to continually put back some brew, wine, or your favorite liqueur profusely while watching, discussing, or tweeting about the Stars.  Stars fans are the greatest fans in hockey and drinking is just the Texas way.

As any Stars fan will tell you, this has been the news we’ve all been waiting for (well since we finally got our answer about Brad Richards).  It’s taken a long, long time and then took more but here we are waiting again for one final time.  The payoff is worth it as the Dallas Stars will be a better team and organization once this saga is over.  Goodbye Mr. Hicks, please don’t let the door hit you.

Feel free to add to the list in the comments section.

Kevin Navarre
NHLHS Correspondent
knavarre@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @jabberwockkie

By Melissa Grisso
NHLHS Dallas Stars Correspondent

The Dallas Stars took another step towards getting a new owner by filing for bankruptcy in order to sell the team via auction next week. The team, as you probably know by now, has been having money issues since Tom Hicks decided to sell the team in February 2010. Back then it was clear he was looking to sell a team to a future owner.

Once this bankruptcy is filed for the Dallas Stars, they can finally look past what Hicks did in the past and move forward with the franchise. They can look back and realize they went through a rough spot in their history, and that time is now over. Stable ownership lets the GM spend the money for needs like scoring and acquiring players help them achieve their ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup. Right now GM Joe Nieuwendyk is doing his hardest without any ownership and has proven to many doubters he can make this team a better franchise.

Once the ownership is in place, the Dallas Stars will be able to spend their money to the cap ceiling and re-sign Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski to long-term deals. Ownership’s backing is key to a team’s stability in the sports these days. They can let the GM spend the money and make trades to help the team become better, opposed to operating on a nonexistent budget.

Having an ownership would certainly provide a stability for the franchise; they should have an owner after this process is over within the next 60 days or so.  This event will be a big step for the Stars in the near and distant future.

@DalStarsWriter

Melissa Grissom
NHL Hot Stove Dallas Stars correspondent  

In February 2010, former Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks explained that he was exploring the sale of the Dallas Stars. It’s now September 2011 where the ownership situation is moving forward as they have potential owners with Vancouver businessman Tom Galardi as one of the bidders along with Irving businessman Billy Quinn, Allen Americans Owner Doug Miller, Former Texas Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Tom Galardi bidding for the Dallas Stars as a court filling might be happening on September 14t in Delware. Looks like the sales for the Dallas Stars might have an owner before November or December for everything to be signed, sealed and delivered.

With a stable ownership in place for the Stars, the team and their fans can put this behind them and look towards a brighter future for the team.

Only one week left in the season but still plenty of story lines surrounding the League. As of this writing, and mostly thanks to the Dallas Stars, only three teams in the Western Conference — Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks — have clinched.  However, not everything in the Western Conference is focused on winning and losing as we do see five teams already well out of contention, focusing their attention on try-out and to a lesser extent scouting.

RED WINGS CLINCH PLAYOFFS, THEN DIVISION

With a victory over arch-rival Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings clinched a playoff spot.

Instead of resting on their laurels, they sent newly-healthy Jimmy Howard back out to the wolves against the Minnesota Wild the next day and earned the Central Division. In addition, the team even sent Pavel Datsyuk back into the lineup, having him center a line with Henrik Zetterberg once again, a sign that the two may combine for one of the more powerful lines to enter the playoffs.

After an embarrassing 10-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues earlier in the week, the Red Wings want to enter the playoffs on a strong note.

Defeating the Predators and “lighting” Rinne up for four goals might have given this sleeping monster all the fuel they needed. In fact, the entire team may have awoken, starting with Todd Bertuzzi — who fought Shane O’Brien not once, but twice. The Red Wings rarely find the need to carry an enforcer or a planned fighter but perhaps Bertuzzi would be more than happy to take on that role. Adding a bit of extra snarl certainly never hurts in the postseason, although history may indicate that Bertuzzi lets his emotions get the best of him, so the team could be dealing with a double-edge sword, or blade in this instance…

For the Red Wings to play well, they need an even effort from all involved, from Zetterberg and Datsyuk to Justin Abdelkader and Bertuzzi, as cited by Mike Babcock via Mlive:

“I thought Bertuzzi was great today. He was physical, he was standing up for his teammates a lot. Abdelkader played real well. Howie made some big saves down the stretch, the guys stuck with it and we were able to win.”

It seems like they are doing just that with Darren Helm even drawing comparison in terms of leadership to Kris Draper.

This older Red Wings team has the ability to strike fear into their opponents with their plethora of offensive talent. Now, playing with an edge, and a budding superstar in Howard between the pipes, they could very well get back into the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in four years.

STARS MAKE THINGS A BIT MORE INTERESTING

The Dallas Stars have been incredibly fun to follow this season for a variety of reasons.

First, they were never expected to make the playoffs and by all means still may not. Second, their ownership situation has been questionable at best with the controversy surrounding Tom Hicks and the team’s inability to re-sign Brad Richards. Third, their coverage is just incredibly good thanks to Mark Stepneski, who ran the independent news source Andrew’s Stars Page, which eventually was bought out and now featured by ESPN Dallas.

Stepneski posted this excellently worded tidbit prior to last night’s regulation win over the Ducks. Let me paraphrase.

If the Stars win in regulation (which they did) they essentially make things a little more interesting. Exactly 15.5 percent more interesting as they not only climbed their way back into the race with a 24.6 percent chance of making it, but they also prevented all three of their Pacific Division rivals — Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks — from clinching!

All the Ducks needed to do was win in regulation and they would have made the big show. So would the Coyotes and the Kings, making the Stars just that much more compelling as a team.

However, before we move forward, let’s take a small step back.

The Stars play in one of the most challenging divisions, especially this season where all five teams likely would qualify if they played in the Eastern Conference. In addition, this team withstood lengthy injuries from Loui Eriksson, Richards, Jamie Benn and Adam Burish up front and Karlis Skrastins, Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric on the back end. Last night they had journeymen Brad Lukowich and Jason Williams dressed.

Resiliency seems like a very nice word to use here.

Furthermore, the team got a full season out of Kari Lehtonen and got him for a player who was since traded from the Atlanta Thrashers and has yet to make an impact on the NHL level, or the AHL level for that matter. They made a shrewd move re-acquiring Jamie Langenbrunner from the New Jersey Devils and managed to look great in acquiring Alex Goligoski — who may be their best puck-moving defenseman since Sergei Zubov.

For what it is worth, the Stars made 2010-2011 very interesting and Joe Nieuwendyk and company deserve a good deal of respect because of it, regardless if they make the playoffs this season.

COREY CRAWFORD FOR CALDER?

Most of the Calder Trophy discussion has been limited to Logan Couture and Jeff Skinner (especially after Skinner lightning up Carey Price and the Habs) but Corey Crawford gets my (non PHWA) vote.

The man breaks into the NHL after five years in the AHL and takes the defending Stanley Cup Champions back into the playoffs after they stumbled out of the gate. More importantly, Crawford has 31 wins and is in the top 10 in terms of GAA while Couture and Skinner play less important roles as secondary scorers on the second or third line. While one could certainly make the argument for Skinner — who plays mostly with Finnish forwards Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu — Couture definitely has more comfortable surroundings than his likely competitors come awards time.

Yes, Crawford is arguably on the top team in the League, or the team expected to be that, but the Blackhawks have really struggled this season.

They have played without Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp for lengthy amounts of time while dealing with uneven seasons for guys like Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell and to a lesser degree Niklas Hjalmarsson. Notice how I fail to mention losing Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and others to the offseason.

One of the biggest knock on the Blackhawks have been their defense, or lack of this season which has been sheltered by their above-average offensive — nine different players have 12 goals or more; six top 17 tallies. Life in Chicago has been no picnic, opposed to last season when the Blackhawks clearly coddled their netminders.

Both Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi last season saw their save percentage plummet simply due to boredom as they got less work and therefore stayed less sharp throughout the game. Niemi’s “exposure” during the Finals is evidence to this catching up to them at the wrong time with the offense bailing them out.

This year has been a completely different story with Crawford facing close to 27 shots per game. The 26-year-old has stood on his head for lengthy periods of time, showing signs of perfection (four shutouts). The addition of Crawford has legitimately made the Blackhawks a better team which is more than you can say for Couture, and to a lesser degree even Skinner.

SITTING OUT WHEN IT DOESN’T COUNT

Yes, we have five teams officially eliminated for the playoffs. Should those teams let their superstars, or better players rather sit out their remaining games?

The Edmonton Oilers probably take the least amount of blame in this situation since they have been blistered by foot injuries. Their reckless (in a good way) play led to an exorbitant amount of blocked shots and injuries, from captain Shawn Horcoff to Calder nominee Taylor Hall. Due to a slew of injuries, the team has been forced to field a team with Chris Vande Velde and Teemu Hartikainen on the top line. At this point, head coach Tom Renney is hoping he can get through the rest of the week without re-calling anyone from Oklahoma City.

But honestly, the gripe should not be with the Oilers. Especially when the most important players on the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche and (arguably) the Minnesota Wild sit out.

St. Louis Blues forward TJ Oshie was berated by team brass for missing a team practice, forcing him to miss two games, however Rick Nash will not be forced into any games because the Blue Jackets would prefer him healed up for next pre-season. Makes sense, right? The scarce populace inhabiting Nationwide Arena would prefer seeing Derek MacKenzie center Kristian Huselius, who returned last night after a lengthy absence, but Nash’s season is lost because if there is nothing worth playing for then their star needs to be held out.

Likewise, the Wild may be jeopardizing their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros by taking all of their NHL-ready talent. Not only have they already lost Marco Scandella for the year but they risk hurting Maxim Noreau, Justin Falk, Colton Gillies and Carson McMillan because Marek Zidlicky, Nick Schultz, John Madden and Martin Havlat could not bear to play with only three games left in the year. No use putting these kids into a position where they can succeed, just throw them on a sinking team.

Don’t even get me started on the Avalanche, where John Michael Liles and Paul Stastny are done for the year as is their offensive chemistry. Can’t seem to recall a team that shot up so fast before crashing so hard. Remind me to never trade for Erik Johnson…

_____________________________________________

Thanks for reading. If for some reason you made it through my rant, please stick around for several other new articles from today as the entire staff does excellent, hard work here. You can contact me at amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com.

Mike Modano leads all USA born hockey players in points and goals but now mans the fourth line in Dallas. After he and Marty Turco blamed the team’s woes on agitator Sean Avery, which amongst other things led to his exodus from Dallas, the Stars have not played any better than their mediocre 10th seed standing.

Turco destroyed all hopes of a playoff seed last year with a 2.81 GAA and .898 SV%.  His 33-41 record accounted for 90 percent of the Stars’ starts.  So what did the Stars do to alleviate their problems? Nothing!

Modano finished with less than 20 goals for just the third time in his career.  His point totals represented his fourth lowest total while he did not eclipse the 30 goal mark for an eighth straight season.  The former first overall pick projects for 44 points on the season, a stark contrast from his high scoring past.

What do these two players have in common?

The need to step aside and allow the franchise to build around youngsters Tom Wandell, Loui Eriksson, James Neal, Jamie Benn and now Kari Lehtonen amongst others.

By GM Joe Nieuwendyk trading for the oft-injured Lehtonen he receives a tall, agile goaltender whose younger than the 34-year-old Turco and 29-year-old Alex Auld.  The Finnish netminder provides a cheap and hopefully reliable option going into next season.  He may not represent the answer, but going younger needed to happen.

With Modano, Turco, Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott impending free agents, expect plenty of moves to be made in Dallas.  Stars owner Tom Hicks outright said he would cut costs this season as he attempts to sell the team leading to frequent speculation that both Turco and Mike Ribeiro will be traded.  With the emergency tracheotomy on Ribeiro, it appears more likely only Turco and perhaps Ott will move to another team.

The Stars need a transition and this is how they will start.  Although they traded a 21-year-old and former first round pick for a 26-year-old goaltender and added age, they took from a strength and in theory plugged a gaping hope.  Good job, Joe!

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotstove

Central

• Andrew Ladd fielded questions regarding his fight with Ryan Kesler on Sunday. Kesler called Ladd a coward following their bout.  Ladd seems to handle it in stride.  ”We all got a pretty good laugh at it,” Ladd said.
• The writers at The Columbus Dispatch decided to gage fan interest for the remainder of the year.
• The famous Joe Louis Arena should be on its way out. As the building turns the 30 year mark, it becomes more and more of a fossil.
• Pekka Rinne will receive his second consecutive start, which could mean coach Barry Trotz decided on a full-time starter.  John Glennon of The Tennessean has the full story.
• The Blues defeated the Calgary Flames last night by the narrow score of 2-0.  As Jeremy Rutherford of The St.Louis Post-Dispatch points out, both teams combined for 37 shots before Patrik Berglund began the scoring.

Northwest

• According to Ian Busby of The Calgary Sun, the boo birds are out in Calgary and appear pretty vocal.  The players understand the movement and the need to improve.  ”It’s tough but rightfully so,” said winger Brandon Prust.
• Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson received third star of the week honors after notching two shutouts in three games.
• Lots of exciting information regarding a new arena in Edmonton.
• Andrew Brunette took to the broadcasting booth during yesterday’s skills competition.  As the author points out, Brunette will play another couple of years and continues to produce.
• The game story appeared to be all about Olympic goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Ryan Miller, leaving NHL leading scorer Henrik Sedin out to dry.  To no one’s surprise Sedin made a huge difference as he scored on a breakaway.  ”I rarely get a breakaway — it might have been four years ago,” Sedin said.

Pacific

• Saku Koivu began skating with the Ducks in hopes of returning shortly. He handled conditioning drills with ease, skating alongside Dan Sexton and Bobby Ryan.
• Despite Stars owner Tom Hicks selling the Texas Rangers, the teams budget should look eerily similar.  ”It is challenging, but I think it’s been challenging for every GM in the league,” GM Joe Nieuwendyk said.
• Kings forward Wayne Simmonds will face his hometown Maple Leafs tonight.
• Lauri Korpikoski scored two goals against the Capitals despite the eventual 4-2 outcome.  ”It was a long time since I last had a couple of goals, so it was good. It creeps into your head when you’re not scoring, it’s a mental thing,”  Korpikoski said.  He looks to continue his scoring tonight against the Red Wings.
• David Pollack of The Mercury News describes the success of all four Sharks penalty kill units noting their different styles.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove

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