THRASHERS TRADE GOALIE KARI LEHTONEN TO STARS
The Atlanta Thrashers have traded goalie Kari Lehtonen to the Dallas Stars for defenceman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth-round draft pick in the 2010 draft.
Lehtonen, 26, was recalled by Atlanta on Tuesday after completing a conditioning assignment with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. The Finnish backstop has not played this season after undergoing back surgery on Sept. 16.
How should Stars address goalie questions?Stars Director of European scouting (and former North Stars goalie) Kari Takko played for Assat, where Rynnas plays, and has a good relationship with the franchise, so the Stars are hoping that could help if they get to the point where they want to try to recruit Rynnas. But again, Stars scout Johan Garpenlov had a good relationship with Gustavsson, and Fabian Brunnstrom is a close friend, and the Stars still could not win that recruiting battle.
Anyway, it's a name to watch....and it shows just how wide the Stars are spreading their net in hopes of keeping options open in goal.
Turco tempting for team to trade If Minnesota Wild backup Dwayne Roloson fetched a first-round draft pick from the desperate Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline in 2006, shouldn't Dallas Stars starter Marty Turco be the same attractive bait?
Turco has been the Stars No. 1 guy since Eddie Belfour left the team in 2002, but his contract is up July 1, Dallas isn't winning a Stanley Cup with this edition and Turco turns 35 in August.
The Marty Turco issue Mike Heika/Reporter
We've talked about our ``sourcing'' policy at our paper before, but to reiterate, I need to get something confirmed pretty well before I can report it as fact. So when some out there say that Marty Turco will not be re-signed and could be available at the trade deadline, I need to get that from somebody within the organization who agrees to be a ``source'' and agrees to know that my editors know that person is the ``source.''
Cap Strapped Stars Should Still Hang ToughAfter a while of free spending, the now suddenly frugal Dallas Stars have a strict budget to work with thanks to the issues owner Tom Hicks is dealing with.
But yet this should not stop them from being a fairly dangerous squad this coming year as they've built up a good core of young players where some have already shown excellent promise.
The missed playoffs led to a major shakeup off the ice and it is now up to a couple of former Stanley Cup winners to bring Dallas back to the second season.
Mike Modano to return next seasonTsn.ca is reporting that Mike Modano has decided that he will return to the Dallas Stars next season which will be his twentieth season.
Dallas a few moves away from contentionDallas Stars are currently 12th in the Western Conference, with 74 points in 72 games. Everybody tagged them as Cup contenders in september. So what happened?
1rst, Dallas has been plagued with injuries this year. Brendan Morrow and Sergei Zubov, their 2 best players, were out for the year after only 15 games. Brad Richards has played only 60 games this year. Same for Toby Petersen, a versatile and dependable center. Joel Lundqvist has played only 40. Same for Jere Lehtinen, a Selke winner. Steve Ott has played only 60 too. A lot of times this year, half of their roster was filled with minor league players. It doesn't help.
