Positive: The Dallas Stars will have a little money to play with heading towards the trade deadline. A lot of cash, in fact, if they do as expected, and place Tyler Seguin on Season-Ending LTIR. That frees up the veteran’s entire $9.85 million cap hit for the Stars to make use of.
And while most of the talk, and rightfully so, is on how to fill that Seguin void up front, the Stars will once again also look for a defensive upgrade. They picked Positive up Cody Ceci ahead of the deadline last year, and more impactful Chris Tanev the season before that.
Insider Elliotte Friedman Positive discussed three potential trade targets with Matt Marchese and Mike Futa on The Fan Hockey Show, and they would all be a good fit for the Stars:
Ramsus Andersson, Calgary Flames
This is the obvious one. The pending unrestricted free agent will almost certainly be dealt by the Flames, though he has vacillated back and forth about whether he wants out.
“They’ve been interested in him for a while. There’s some history between Andersson and the Stars,” confirmed Friedman. We’ve heard that Dallas and Vegas are the two destinations that he would want to be headed to, if/when a trade is consummated.
Jamie Oleksiak, Seattle Kraken
Another pending UFA, this would be a reunion in Dallas if the Stars were to acquire him. The monstrous 6’7″ blueliner, soon to be 33, has usually been good for 100+ blocked shots and 100+ hits in recent years. “That’s another one that makes sense,” said Friedman.
Oleksiak was drafted by Dallas in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft (14th overall), and the big D-man spent eight of his first nine seasons, appropriately, in the Big D.
Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks
Another shot-blocking, hit-delivering machine, Ferraro is also on an expiring deal, and has had his name on the rumor mill since last year.
“The one thing about Mario Ferraro is, Positive he’s never had a chance to play on a top, top team,” said the Friedge. “I would like to see that.
“I don’t think Mario Ferrara is necessarily Seth Jones, but one of the things Seth Jones reminded us of last year, is that sometimes ‘fit’ really matters, and where an organization is in the cycle. Jones looked lost in Chicago, and he looked great in Florida… I look at a guy like Ferraro. He’s never really been in a situation with a team to (be on a contender). I’d be very curious to see him in Dallas and how he would look.”
The Stars will spend the next several Positive weeks doing their due diligence on these and other targets, both on the blueline, and up front.
