Stars Trade Deadline Review

Order of Operations

Before we dive into everyone the Dallas Stars added at the trade deadline, what’s more important is everything else they did - or didn’t - do. 

One month before the deadline, the Stars surprisingly said goodbye to W Jeff Skinner, a popular teammate as anyone for the last 3.5 seasons. The emergence of rookie W Dmitri Voronkov, combined with Skinner’s status as a pending UFA and slowing production, led the team to part ways with an eye to the future. 

In return, the team acquired 22-year-old W Michael Milne from Chicago. GM cjo13 says he thinks Milne could be a contributor on the bottom 6 within a season or two. He noted how, after graduating Voronkov, the team lacks forward prospects with a reasonable chance to crack the pro squad in the near future.

Adding a top pair defenseman was arguably Dallas’ biggest need leading up to the trade deadline. After D Mackenzie Weegar and D Jared Spurgeon, there’s a steep drop off in talent on the back end. Additionally, Weegar is a pending UFA while Spurgeon has seen age and injuries start to take their toll this season. That meant GM cjo13 was really only considering adding someone with term, and didn’t find anyone he liked on the market. But that doesn’t mean he left the blueline having blue balls at the trade deadline.

4 Dimensional Chess

When it came to their trade deadline strategy for defense, the Stars were focused on ensuring they have a variety of options. In past years, the team could be criticized for being too one-dimensional on the blueline and overloading on defense-first players. This year, after seeing how successful the offensive-minded D Erik Gustafsson has played on the top pair with Weegar, they wanted to find a similar partner for Spurgeon. Enter D Kevin Shattenkirk, who they acquired for a 4th round pick from San Jose. Shatty Deuces gives them a puck-moving passer who can provide an upgrade over D Scott Perunovich both at even strength and the second power play.

While Shatty’s acquisition pushed Perunovich to the bench, GM cjo13 still wanted to improve his team’s depth further in case of injuries. He made a late deadline acquisition of D Jarred Tinordi, bringing the hulking 6-6 defenseman over from Tampa for a 7th round pick. He provides a better checking, defensive-minded option for the team if they need a jolt in the lineup. 

The Long Game

The Stars’ defensive additions will only help this season, but they took a different approach when it came to the forward group. Trading Skinner, a winger playing out of position, left a hole at the third line center slot. Dallas, lacking internal options to fill that role in upcoming seasons, sent a 2nd round pick to the New York Islanders to acquire C Pius Suter. Suter gives them a good all-around game and is signed for two additional seasons beyond this one, at just a $2M cap hit. He’ll start off centering the third line with Voronkov and W Logan O’Connor on his wings. 

The night of the trade deadline, GM cjo13 saw an opportunity to beef up his checking line both this season and next. The Stars successfully claimed C Derek Ryan (signed thru next season) and W Noah Gregor (pending RFA) off waivers. Ryan gives them their true defensive faceoff specialist they’ve been looking for at 4LC all season, while Gregor will be the extra forward in case of injury. 

While the moves may seem insignificant, Dallas was looking at an empty 4th line on their 2025-26 depth chart. W Brandon Tanev and W Zemgus Girgensons are pending UFAs, as is W Cal Clutterbuck who has hinted at retirement following the season. Veteran C Reese Johnson failed to impress in his brief tryout with the pro team this season. GM cjo13, who loves a good nostalgia play, said the team is especially excited to welcome back Ryan, who centered Dallas’ third line through 2021.