Monday Rundown: Lian Bichsel's Return, Jason Robertson's Agent, and a Trade Dallas Might Need to Make Again
And a bit of debate about children's entertainment programming
After a week’s hiatus during some travel, welcome back to the Monday Rundown.
I’ll start today by hitting my Texas friends with a bit of a truth bomb: Tri-tip might be my favorite barbecued meat.
Yes, smoked brisket is incredible when done well. And sure, great ribs are fantastic, always. But having spent most of my childhood on the Central Coast of California, I continue to believe that barbecued Tip-Tip is among the best ways to consume beef on this earth.
If you are ever in the area, hit up Firestone Grill and get one. You don’t need cheese or peppers or other fixins—just incredible sliced tri-tip, some barbecue sauce, and a toasted French roll. You can debate whether it’s actually sirloin if you want, but there’s no debating the taste. It’s as good as it gets.
On the Stars front, one of the biggest pieces of news today was that, as Elliotte Friedman initially reported on 32 Thoughts this morning, Jason Robertson confirmed today that he and his brother Nick have indeed changed agents. Both are now represented by Andy Scott of Octagon.
Robertson was previously represented by Pat Brisson of CAA. And as recently as last week, Jim Nill told Eric Stephens of the The Athletic that he was still in communication with Brisson about the Robertson negotiations, though the two sides hadn’t yet bridged the gap in their respective views about the value of such an extension.
Andy Scott is a familiar name to Stars fans, as he represents players like Mikko Rantanen, Thomas Harley, and Wyatt Johnston—all three of whom received high-dollar, long-term extensions from Dallas over the last year.
While any speculation about why both Jason and Nick chose to change agents remains just that—speculation—it is certainly true that Scott has a clear track record of getting big contract extensions over the finish line with star players in Dallas. One view of the situation might be that this is a move by Robertson to facilitate just such a deal.
On the other hand, it’s also true that players sometimes switch agents ahead of unrestricted free agency because they believe a new agent will help them to maximize their value on the open market.
It’s unclear right now which direction Robertson and his camp are leaning. I keep seeing the number $12 million thrown around out there, and it would seem logical to me that the Stars would prefer to keep Robertson at or below Rantanen’s average annual value of that same $12 million.
If you’re Robertson, however, I can see looking over at Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million he got in Minnesota and thinking that you could get at least closer to $13 million on the open market.
Again, all speculation. But it wouldn’t surprise me to hear some update on the negotiation process one way or the other before too long.
Another bit of news today was which players were and weren’t there.
Mikko Rantanen took a maintenance day, but Gulutzan said afterward that we will still see Rantanen play tomorrow, so it doesn’t appear to be anything to be concerned about.
More interesting was the fact that Lian Bichsel skated before practice today. Sam Nestler took some video of Bichsel working out if you’re curious, and I also saw Bichsel skating, cutting, and looking pretty comfortable ahead of practice today. He had a pretty noticeable smile, too.
Bichsel joined an early drill after practice started, but he left the ice before long. Gulutzan said afterward that this was actually the eighth skate Bichsel had completed—he apparently had been working out on the ice at home during most of the team’s road trip.
Gulutzan also said Bichsel had been “pretty pain-free” in his previous seven skates, though there is still “some” pain off the ice. Gulutzan reiterated that it’s a very similar injury to the broken foot that Nils Lundkvist suffered, which means that once the bone is healed, the player should be good to go, presuming conditioning is all there.
As of now, Gulutzan says that Bichsel is still on track to play before the Olympic break in February. Certainly, the Stars could use him.
I think I’ve said this in comments or on social media, but I should put it here, too: I think the Stars need to make another Evgenii Dadonov trade.
Now, I don’t think they should trade for Dadonov himself—he’s battled injuries in New Jersey and has yet to look like the player Dallas saw score some big goals. But given how tough the market is right now (and with Kiefer Sherwood also coming off the board in today’s trade to San Jose), I think the Stars could really benefit from that same type of trade: Acquiring a complementary player who can improve any line he plays on, and without breaking the bank to do so.
Think back to 2023, when Dallas acquired Dadonov. During Wyatt Johnston’s rookie year, he played with Jamie Benn on his left, but the right wing was a rotation of Denis Gurianov to start the year, followed by Ty Dellandrea and Mason Marchment.
But when Jim Nill traded Gurianov to Montreal for Dadonov in late February, suddenly the Stars had a really well-balanced third line. Dadonov scored 10 points in 16 playoff games that spring, and he went on to be a very reliable winger for the next two seasons, including scoring 20 goals last year.
This season, the Stars don’t have that player, and it’s been noticeable. They’ve had to elevate players like Adam Erne, Colin Blackwell, and even Jamie Benn (who is better used on the fourth line at this stage in his career) to third-line roles, and that’s hurt their secondary scoring something fierce. It’s also, I think, been one of the reasons they’ve had to move Matt Duchene up to different wing positions, rather than keep him planted at center to create scoring against the other team’s lower-lineup defenders.
We’ll talk more about what such a piece might look like in the coming days, but with the biggest names drawing most of the attention right now, don’t overlook the importance of finding that player to elevate a line—even if it’s not the most impressive name on the list.
Monday Rundown Miscellany
Lastly, here are a few quick hits from different conversations over the past two weeks:
Jamie Benn says that when he travels, he brings a track suit, and a regular suit. Wait, I clarify: He still brings a suit, even with the new dress code that doesn’t require them? Yes, the Stars captain says. He’s worn one since he was 15 in juniors, so I guess some habits are hard to break. Nothing wrong with a little class, I say.
In talking with a few players lately, the sense right now is that the frustration around the team is with their lack of ability to play a full 60 minutes, not with any specific tactics or changed.
It’s a long NHL season, but this recent stretch is really beginning to bring frustration to the surface in a way I haven’t seen in quite a while with this team. If they can channel that frustration into the type of effort we saw against Washington, then great. But recent evidence suggests they’re still searching for that collective rhythm, and it’s resulting in a few too many individual attempts to press, resulting in plays like Wyatt Johnston’s turnover on the third goal last night.
One thing I didn’t realize: The new CBA prevents teams from using sleep tracking technology anymore. The Stars were utilizing this technology as recently as last season, to minimize jetlag effects during the Finland trip, but teams aren’t allowed to do so any longer. Check out the piece if you missed it, too:
Mavrik Bourque continues to strike me as a player who needs to be scoring to feel like his game is at its best. When talking about his success with both the QueBäck line and the Robertson/Hintz line, he very much doesn’t want to rest on any laurels, bringing the conversation back to how he’s working to contribute more offensively, and he believes he can do it. Some players just have that drive.
Another player like that is Matt Duchene, I think. Even experienced veterans want to feel like they’re helping the team, and being moved around the lineup in search of more offense cannot be an easy experience for someone who had such a clear role and position for the previous two years.
Of course, if Duchene can weather all this and find that spot, everything will be fine. But the Stars need to figure out how to do that sooner rather than later.
I do wonder if Misha Donskov’s absence is particularly noticeable during the Stars’ current stretch. Having such an elite (and trusted) eye-in-the-sky doing video and working with players was a luxury for years, and with Donskov’s being poached by Team Canada, I wonder if there are some growing pains happening behind the scenes right now. Donskov was frequently praised for being able to point out little things that got out of whack, and I believe he was great at communicating with players, too. Any change of personnel always requires building new rapport, and that could be an underrated element of the current hiccups right now. One suspects time will see it sort itself out, though.
Radek Faksa’s son, Elliot chose the team’s Twitter song of the game for Kids Day on Sunday. He chose the Paw Patrol theme song, though Faksa says his son is also pretty big on Lightning McQueen of the Cars movie/franchise right now.
Another player overhearing our conversation heartily endorsed the Cars movie, then recommended the Shrek franchise, though I feel pretty strongly that Bluey is a far superior investment of time (and one much less grating for adults to hear repeatedly that any movie with the soundtrack sung by Smashmouth).
Sadly, my parenting advice is rarely taken on account of my not actually being a parent. Discrimination, I say!
(But for real, the Bluey episodes “Bike” and “Baby Race” are worth every second of your time. Go watch them right now.)
Robert, you are probably the first non-parent who I have seen recommend Bluey to anyone. You're not wrong, though!
My favourite episodes include Cricket (fantastic story of Rusty) and Café (how easy it's for kids to become friends as opposed to adults).
These cultural references are what makes a difference IMO, when reading about "just hockey".
I see the point about Dadonov but I think that player IS on the team already: Sam Steel.
But because there is a gaping hole on the top line, Steel is being used there when he really needs to be on the 3rd line elevating the bottom half of the lineup instead of some kind of drowning stop-gap on the top end of things.
But to take that point and question further:
DO they need that player? Are the Stars pushing to win this year (in which case they need way more than a 3/4line guy when their top scoring lines are performing so poorly compared to the rest of the league) or are the Stars waiting for 27-28 and cap and roster flexibility and in which case why not call up some of the very small handful of AHL guys who might be some down the lineup impact guys and let them have a go? Either to drive up their value as assets or to see if they can be enough to ensure playoff revenue