Andrew's Dallas Stars and NHL Blog

Some significant transactions

There wasn’t a lot of news on Friday around the NHL, but there was some big news.

Ryan Smyth got shipped from Colorado to Los Angeles for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a fifth-round pick. .

Rick Nash signed an eight-year, $62.4 million contract extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Another Red Wing is on the move. Mikael Samuelsson is now a Vancouver Canuck, after signing three-year, $7.5 million deal on Friday. 

Thoughts on Skrastins

I’ll be honest right off the bat - I’ve always liked Karlis Skrastins. Always thought he was a rock solid, rock steady defenseman. So when I saw the TSN report that the Stars had signed him, my initial thought was that I like it. I liked it even more when I saw the money involved, which is just under $1.4 million per season. The Stars got a good player at a good price. That’s important when the team is on a budget.

This is far from a blockbuster signing, but it’s a nice add. Skrastins is a good defensive defenseman who does a lot of those little things that can help a team win. He’s known as someone who blocks shots, takes away passing and shooting lanes and plays a pretty sound positional game. He’s a smart defender with a lot of experience and it’s a good guy to have around a group of young defenseman. He’s a good player who will hlpe make the team better defensively.

Adding Skrastins gives the Stars six NHL defensemen under contract and Mark Fistric, a restricted free agent, still to be signed. That would add to up seven, but I don’t think they stop there. That’s why they are still interested in Sergei Zubov. Of course his status is up in the air. There are reports he is getting interest from several teams. We’ll have to see how that plays out. If he’s healthy, Zubov can still be a very effective player and that’s why he is getting some attention from other teams.

There is nothing new on Jonas Gustavsson, other than him telling Leafs GM Brian Burke he wasn’t ready to make a decision. His Swedish agent told the Toronto Sun it could be a few more days. The Stars are still right in the middle of this, so there’s still a good possibility they could get their guy in goal.

It’s still early in the process, and this is pretty much what I expected from the Stars. They added to their defense by getting someone at a reasonable price. The goaltending issue is still out there, and they are still in the running for Gustavsson. Once that gets resolved and Zubov’s status is settled, we’ll have a lot better idea of where they stand. 

Stars release on Skrastins

Here’s the Stars’ press release on the signing of Karlis Skrastins:

Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced today that the club has signed free agent defenseman Karlis Skrastins to a two-year contract, worth $2.75 million ($1.1 million in 2009-10 and $1.65 million in 2010-11).

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Karlis Skrastins on a two-year contract,” said Nieuwendyk. “He is coming off a solid season with the Florida Panthers, and he is a proven NHL veteran that brings durability, experience, leadership, toughness and stability to our group of defensemen.”

Skrastins, 34, skated in 80 games for Florida last season, collecting four goals and 14 assists for 18 points with 30 penalty minutes. His assist and point totals in 2008-09 were both career highs. He led the Panthers with 171 blocked shots, ranking ninth overall in the league in that category.

The 6-1, 210-pound defenseman has skated in 679 career NHL games with the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, posting 27 goals and 88 assists for 115 points with 313 penalty minutes. He also appeared in 20 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, all with Colorado in 2004 and 2006, recording three assists and 12 PIM.

Originally drafted by Nashville in the ninth round (No. 230 overall) in the 1998 Entry Draft, Skrastins holds the NHL record for consecutive games played by a defenseman – 495 straight games from February 2000 through February 2007. 

A native of Riga, Latvia, Skrastins has skated for his country at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympic Games, and has appeared in the World Championships on nine occasions, most recently 2009.

TSN: Stars sign Skrastins

TSN is reporting that the Stars have signed defenseman Karlis Skrastins to a two-year, $2.75 million contract. That's $1.375 per year.

Morrow, Robidas to Canada Olympic camp

Dallas Stars Brenden Morrow and Stephane Robidas have been invited to Canada’s orientation camp for the 2010 Olympics. The camp will be held August 24-27 in Calgary. Here’s the list of players:

Goaltenders (5)
Martin Brodeur (Montreal, Que./New Jersey, NHL)
Marc-André Fleury (Sorel, Que./Pittsburgh, NHL)
Roberto Luongo (Montreal, Que./Vancouver, NHL)
Steve Mason (Oakville, Ont./Columbus, NHL)
Cam Ward (Sherwood Park, Alta./Carolina, NHL)

Defencemen (16)
François Beauchemin (Sorel, Que./Anaheim, NHL)
Jay Bouwmeester (Edmonton, Alta./Calgary, NHL)
Dan Boyle (Ottawa, Ont./San Jose, NHL)
Brent Burns (Ajax, Ont./Minnesota, NHL)
Drew Doughty (London, Ont./Los Angeles, NHL)
Mike Green (Calgary, Alta./Washington, NHL)
Dan Hamhuis (Smithers, B.C./Nashville, NHL)
Duncan Keith (Penticton, B.C./Chicago, NHL)
Scott Niedermayer (Cranbrook, B.C./Anaheim, NHL)
Dion Phaneuf (Edmonton, Alta./Calgary, NHL)
Chris Pronger (Dryden, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL)
Robyn Regehr (Rosthern, Sask./Calgary, NHL)
Stéphane Robidas (Sherbrooke, Que./Dallas, NHL)
Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen, B.C./Chicago, NHL)
Marc Staal (Thunder Bay, Ont./N.Y. Rangers, NHL)
Shea Weber (Sicamous, B.C./Nashville, NHL)

Forwards (25)
Jeff Carter (London, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL)
Dan Cleary (Carboneau, N.L./Detroit, NHL)
Sidney Crosby (Cole Harbour, N.S./Pittsburgh, NHL)
Shane Doan (Halkirk, Alta./Phoenix, NHL)
Simon Gagné (Ste-Foy, Que./Philadelphia, NHL)
Ryan Getzlaf (Regina, Sask./Anaheim, NHL)
Dany Heatley (Calgary, Alta./Ottawa, NHL)
Jarome Iginla (St. Albert, Alta./Calgary, NHL)
Vincent Lecavalier (Île-Bizard, Que./Tampa Bay, NHL)
Milan Lucic (Vancouver, B.C./Boston, NHL)
Patrick Marleau (Aneroid, Sask./San Jose, NHL)
Andy McDonald (Strathroy, Ont./St. Louis, NHL)
Brenden Morrow (Carlyle, Sask./Dallas, NHL)
Rick Nash (Brampton, Ont./Columbus, NHL)
Corey Perry (Peterborough, Ont./Anaheim, NHL)
Michael Richards (Kenora, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL)
Derek Roy (Rockland, Ont./Buffalo, NHL)
Joe Sakic (Burnaby, B.C./Colorado, NHL)
Patrick Sharp (Thunder Bay, Ont./Chicago, NHL)
Ryan Smyth (Banff, Alta./Colorado, NHL)
Martin St-Louis (Laval, Que./Tampa Bay, NHL)
Eric Staal (Thunder Bay, Ont./Carolina, NHL)
Jordan Staal (Thunder Bay, Ont./Pittsburgh, NHL)
Joe Thornton (St. Thomas, Ont./San Jose, NHL)
Jonathan Toews (Winnipeg, Man./Chicago, NHL)

Here’s the release from the Stars on Morrow and Robidas being invited to the camp.

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All quiet on the Dallas front

There was a lot of activity on day one of free agency (TSN’s signing tracker is here), but it was very quiet as far as the Dallas Stars. Not surprising there. There shouldn’t have been any expectation that they were going to throw money around on the first day.

The only thing that surprised me - as it relates to the Stars - was how quickly some of the goalies moved. Some of these guys - Ty Conklin, Craig Anderson, Scott Clemmensen - would have been very good options if Jonas Gustavsson doesn’t ended up signing with the Stars. Although those guys are out of the picture there are still some capable options available if Gustavsson goes elsewhere.

I don’t think there is a definitive word on when Gustavsson will make his decision, but I believe it is a two-team race between the Stars and Toronto. Leafs GM Brian Burke is over in Sweden and will apparently be making a push to get Gustavsson.  A Swedish newspaper reported that Burke was over there to talk to the Sedin twins, but shifted his focus as those two re-signed with the Canucks just before free agency opened today. Don’t know what if any Burke being over there will have.

The way I see it Gustavsson remains option number one, and the Stars still have a very good shot at him. But if that falls through, I don’t think all is lost. There are still some viable options out there. 

Gaborik a Ranger

TSN says it is a five-year, $37.5 million deal.

Still plenty of goaltenders left

Although some of the higher profile backups went off the market on day one of free agency, there are still quite a few capable ones out there. I wouldn’t really hit the panic button over this. Here’s a list of some of the goalies I believe are still available. They are in no particular order and I am not saying the Stars should even look at some of these players. Just throwing out some of the names out there to show that there are still plenty to choose from if Jonas Gustavsson falls through.

Andrew Raycroft
Fredrik Norrena
Dany Sabourin
Curtis Sanford
Nolan Schaefer
Brent Johnson
Manny Legace
Jason LaBarbera (signed with Phoenix, 2 years)
Kevin Weekes
Marty Biron
Antero Niittymaki
J-S Aubin
Manny Fernandez
Marc Denis
Joey MacDonald
Mathieu Garon (signed with Columbus - 2 years/$1.2 million per)
Martin Gerber
Olaf Kolzig
Yann Danis
Curtis Joseph

Begin signs with Bruins

One of the Stars free agents has moved on. Steve Begin signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Boston Bruins, according to TSN.

The goalies keep going

Scott Clemmensen in the latest goalie to go off the market. He’s signed a three-year deal with Florida at $1.2 million per year. He joins Ty Conklin, Craig Anderson, Brian Boucher, Dwayne Roloson and Nikolai Khabibulin as goalies who have changed teams today.

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