Tuesday Dallas Stars Tidbits: Road Trip Wrap-Up in Toronto, John Klingberg’s Potential Return, and Tom Gaglardi’s Latest Restaurant Import

Dallas will be using the same lineup that they did on Sunday in Ottawa when they play Toronto tonight, so that means Matěj Blümel and Matt Dumba will still be in the lineup tonight, with Jake Oettinger in net.

The Maple Leafs held an optional skate this morning, but it looks like Jani Hakanpää isn’t going to play just yet. The big offseason addition for Toronto hasn’t played since mid-November, but he was skating at practice yesterday, if you want to read into that. He’s also on the roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off next month, so obviously there’s motivation for him to get up to speed sooner rather than later, if his knee is up to the task.

During media availability today, Pete DeBoer made a wry comment that “our Robertson has to outplay their Robertson for the first time,” which brought some chuckles from the media. DeBoer followed that by saying, “obviously I’m joking,” but he’s not wrong, really. Nick Robertson very much was the better brother in the teams’ matchup in Dallas, but with Jason Robertson heating up lately, there’s every reason to expect him to make up for that tonight. Certainly Dallas will need something better from its top-end guys than they got last time around. That starts with Robertson, and with the power play.

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Speaking of improving the power play, John Klingberg looks poised to rejoin the NHL, according to Darren Dreger. Five to seven teams are said to be in the mix for the 32-year-old defenseman’s services, with Toronto, Edmonton, and Ottawa named specifically as teams in the mix.

For the record, I don’t really think Dallas would be one of the other unnamed teams, though I suppose anything is possible. Klingberg is very much an unknown quantity at this point, and I don’t see one of Thomas Harley or Miro Heiskanen being displaced on the power play in order to bring in a former player with a ton of history with the organization for what would surely be very sheltered minutes, at least inititally.

I also think Klingberg and his (new) agent are smart enough to look for a team where those power play minutes are easier to grab right now in hopes of earning some kind of multi-year deal on the heels of a productive performance. That was the original play with Anaheim, though Cam Fowler ended up taking back the top power play job before long, and Klingberg was eventually sent to Minnesota, where he ended up facing Dallas, though the Stars would win that series.

How much Klingberg has left after hip resurfacing surgery ended his short time with Toronto last year is an open question, but Klingberg has been working hard to get back, and given the magic his hips could work when they were functional, he may still have a shot at reviving his NHL career. How long that revival lasts will be determined by whether Klingberg’s mobility gets back to where it needs to be in order for his creative vision and power play brilliance to outweigh the potentially weaker parts of his game at even-strength play, though.

The main downside of Klingberg’s play more recently has been his rough defensive impact, which went from “fine” to “yikes” after the COVID bubble run and only got more dire after he left Dallas to spend parts of two seasons in Anaheim, Minnesota, and Toronto while failing to impress. Both the underlying numbers and the raw plus/minus tell the same story: Klingberg has been a defensive liability since 2022. Maybe that was just the hips needing work, but until he shows that he can get back to his Dallas self, I don’t see a Dallas reunion happening any time soon. But that’s just my speculation, to be clear.

With that said, this is also a player who has found ways to surprise, even in his final games in Dallas. You might remember that Klingberg was one of the most physical Stars players back in the playoffs in 2022, in fact:

I mean, it’s not like Klingberg won either of his fights in that series, with the other one being a pretty solid beat-down by Matthew Tkachuk, though Klingberg and he exchanged hits throughout the series.

(Also, show of hands: who had forgotten about Michael Raffl until this moment? Be honest. I did not forget, of course, and you cannot prove that I did. But I know that you did. Shame on you, and not me.)

Klingberg won hearts and minds in Dallas with his silky skating, creative offensive game, and highly effective transition play. Klingberg was even starting to draw Norris Trophy buzz midway through his time in Texas, finishing 6th for the best defenseman award after an outstanding 2017-18 season, with Miro Heiskanen on the cusp of joining the team. But after starting off the next season red-hot, he took a puck to the hand in November ’18, requiring surgery that took him out of the lineup for a while. He would return to finish the season strong, including a series-winning overtime goal against the Nashville Predators, but he never got back to a truly dominant level again, though he did put up 20 points in 24 playoff games in the 2020 Cup Final run.

The moment I’ll always remember best is Klingberg’s first NHL goal, when he sent Mikkel Bødker into space before ripping a puck over Mike Smith’s glove:

Oh, and I also wrote about Klingberg at length after he left Dallas, if you’re into some nostalgia from a couple years ago. Personally, he’s a player that I’ll always have a lot of fondness for, so it’s easy to root for the best-case scenario here, which would be a quick and strong return to the NHL.

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Tom Gaglardi is bringing another restaurant across the border. After Moxie’s Grill and Bar made its way from Canada to Texas thanks to Gaglardi’s Northland Properties Corp., the same consortium (if that’s the right word; no one knows what a consortium is, don’t lie) will be bringing CRAFT Beer Market to Dallas-Fort Worth in 2026. Here’s how CRAFT describes itself:

CRAFT is recognized for its lively ambiance, extensive selection of craft beers and creative food and cocktail menus. This community-centered restaurant concept will be brought to the Dallas County area. Their U.S. flagship will feature a wide variety of beers, including local Texas brews, cocktails, wine, and a menu of dishes made from scratch.

From what I’ve been able to gather from talking to folks who have been to one of the Canadian locations, CRAFT is known for their wide beer selection, craft cocktails, and above-average food, though you’ll also be paying gastropub prices. From a glance at Google, it looks like there’s usually a ton of seating, as well as a big patio. The location is off Northwest Highway in Irving.

By the way, if you’re newer to Texas, you might not know that the city of Irving only started allowing stores to sell beer and wine in 2009. Restaurants are obviously a different ballgame, with on-premises consumption, but I think that’s one of the reasons Irving is still one of the largest cities without a brewery of its own (though 3 Nations in Carrollton isn’t too far, and ODD Muse in Farmer’s Branch is easily the best brewery in the wider area).

And with the craft beer market beginning to take a pretty big downturn, places like CRAFT might end up being the best option for locals looking to grab a interesting beer (both local and national brews are planned to be on offer). Or, you know, people may just go to Yard House in Las Colinas, which looks like an extremely similar concept to CRAFT, to my untrained eye. But then, I am not a restaurateur.

It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out, but one suspects the groups has done its market research well enough to have a pretty good reason for planting the restaurant where and when they are. One obvious upside is that you’d think they’d have Stars games on their televisions by default, and that’s not nothing. Anyway, go check it out next year when it’s built, I guess.