Dallas Stars: Do they buy or sell at the trade deadline?
Saad Yousuf of The Athletic: With Dallas right around .500, they face some decisions with a little over a month until the trade deadline. Do they soft or hard sell, soft or hard buy, or even just stay put? Keep in mind, Dallas gets two of their stars back in April — Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop. Alexander Radulov remains uncertain as to when he will return.
There are many dilemmas. Dallas should consider listening to some offers at the least. The Stars lack cap space especially when Seguin and Bishop return. This eliminates any real chance of being a buyer at the trade deadline. Their best scenarios involve staying put and hoping their players return to form quickly. Or, Dallas, if things go poorly, could sell some talent to help start a retool for next season and beyond.
Are the Pittsburgh Penguins contenders?
Joe Starkey of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette(mailbag): It sounds crazy but there are targets Pittsburgh should look at. One includes Eric Staal, who carries a $3.5 million salary. That is reasonable for a guy who nearly topped 20 goals last year. That sounds like center insurance. Mike Sullivan misses having a solid bottom-six and Staal would go a long way toward fixing that problem.
The Los Angeles Kings’ Search For Defense
Lisa Dillman of The Athletic: The most pressing need for Los Angeles has been the left side of their defense. That mostly remains an unanswered question. They are on the other side of the bubble in the West but tantalizingly close to a playoff spot.
The big target would be Mattias Ekholm. Los Angeles can afford to trade the first-round pick and prospect for him a lot easier than most teams. Also, they have two second-round picks in the draft. Most teams do not enjoy that flexibility.
After Ekholm, players like Niklas Hjalmarsson are out there who play a simple brand of all defense. The problem is it is Arizona. Shayne Gostisbehere does not seem to be on the market right now. Several Buffalo Sabres defensemen are available. Realistically, players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Noah Hanifin, and Josh Manson are wishes and little else. Options are a bit limited.