Lone Star, No Longer

It was Friday, June 20th 2014. Dallas Stars General Manager cjo13 was heading into his first-ever RHL draft holding the 10th overall selection. Throughout the whole draft process, cjo had his eye on one player in particular: William Nylander. But cjo wasn’t certain Nylander would make it all the way to #10, and started getting antsy as the picks went off the board.

When Nylander went untouched throughout the first seven picks, cjo decided to strike. He made a deal with rival Chicago Blackhawks GM Cyan Winters. The Stars traded pick #10 to Chicago for pick #8 and taking on the albatross contract of Brooks Laich. The Stars landed their man, while the Blackhawks went with Nick Ritchie at #10. Cyan boasted that Ritchie would end up having a better career than Nylander, but fast forward a decade and Ritchie isn’t even in the league anymore.

Nylander, on the other hand, has developed into the top line forward cjo envisioned he would be when he drafted him. Since he entered his prime four years ago, he’s developed into a point per game player who can net 40+ goals with the versatility to play either center or wing. He’s been a franchise cornerstone who’s still signed for two more seasons at a reasonable $8M AAV. So why did the Dallas Stars decide to say goodbye?

Simply put, this team needed a shakeup. After getting embarrassed by the Anaheim Ducks in a first round playoff sweep, the latest in a decade full of playoff disappointments, the Stars could not run it back. The defense was clearly lacking, and the team’s stable of offensive dynamos couldn’t make up for it. The team lacked major cap space to add a defenseman on their own in free agency, and are short on future assets that could have land them a true top pair talent. You have to give something to get something, and GM cjo made the tough realization that one of the team’s star forwards would need to go if he wanted to bring in an impact defenseman.

In the end, cjo made the tough decision to part ways with longtime Dallas Star William Nylander. He, along with backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov, were traded to Seattle. In return, the Stars landed their new #1 defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, plus needed forward depth in William Carrier. Sergachev gives the Stars everything they were looking for to improve their defense. He’ll play big minutes, move the puck, rack up big goal and assist numbers, play physical, and do the little things to win hockey games. With Sergachev onboard, the Stars now boast a strong top half of their defense. Mackenzie Weegar and Jared Spurgeon will no longer carry the full burden, and can more appropriately slot in as the teams’ second and third best defensemen.

It’s a sad day in Dallas, as General Manager cjo wanted to see William Nylander wear the green and white for his entire career. But with Nylander set to be a UFA in two seasons, the same year that Jack Eichel’s contract expires, GM cjo knew that he needed to maximize the return on Nylander. And that they did, landed a top blueliner who’s in the prime of his career while being signed for 7 more season. He’ll help bring the Stars into a new era, where they hopefully can finally break through and win their first RHL championship.