Let's Contemplate Some Crazy Roster Shakeup for the Dallas Stars

They can do more than you think, even if more isn't always better

Neither of these players is part of the craziness, for the record.

As rumblings increase around the NHL world leading up to the draft, the Dallas Stars’ open questions are all well-known: Will Jason Robertson come down from his reported $14 million+ ask? Will Dylan Larkin force his way to Dallas like Jason Spezza did 12 years ago? Can the Stars sign Mavrik Bourque before offer sheets start spilling out of his fax machine next week?

These queries ring loudly in the minds of Stars fans right now, and understandably so. As things stand, the best-case scenario for Dallas is that they are able to bring back both Robertson and Bourque at the palatable expense of sending out a couple of depth pieces. That might be perfectly fine, but it’s probably hard for some folks to get terribly stoked about the idea of running back a team that just got bounced in the first round of the playoffs, injuries or no.

So today, let’s look at not running it back, in the most ridiculous way possible. LEt’s contemplate some wilder possible outcomes of the next few days with an exercise that, while not quite a full Vegas-ification of the Stars roster, would still constitute a big shakeup, at the very least.

To be clear, these are not moves I am advocating or even speculating about, but simply moves that are possible on paper. None of them involve a Stars player needing to waive a no-move clause, which I believe would be a key part of this exercise, as no current Stars player appears to be looking for reasons to leave this team and this city right now, if they had their druthers. (And who doesn’t love having their druthers?)

Here’s one example of just how much shaking up Dallas could really do, starting with some possible outcomes all the way to the downright outlandish. You may want to buckle your seat belt, or at least set down any pots of coffee¹ you’re holding.

***The below is purely an exercise in chaos. Take it seriously at your own peril.***

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Okay, let’s start with the obvious: if Jason Robertson doesn’t come down from his offer, the Stars have to pivot. That’s pretty clear. What’s less clear is exactly what that pivot would or could look like.

Would the Stars simply opt to qualify Robertson and head toward arbitration, daring a team to offer sheet Robertson in the meantime in exchange for handing Dallas four unprotected first-rounders?

That’s not the craziest outcome, in a vacuum. But it’s hard to see that being a particularly desirable one for Dallas, as the teams with which Robertson would probably be willing to sign such an offer sheet (say, Anaheim) would probably be good ones, and therefore teams likely to make the playoffs for a while—which would make those first-rounders later ones, and thus less appealing to Dallas.