Editor's note: This is the third and final entry from our (as of now still anonymous) contestants applying for the new Daily Links "job" with Defending Big D. -BG
Say what you will about Tyler Seguin, but he has spend the summer saying all the right things as a new member of the Dallas Stars. He has now gone on record stating that they will be the team to beat in three years' time. Kevin Allen has the story over at USA Today. [USA Today]
Seguin has clearly embraced the new start and a new team. However, as he's faced the dreaded "partier" charges throughout the summer, I can't help but think there is a positive side to this so-called stigma that the Stars just might be able to manipulate and utilize.
For the past several seasons, the Stars have manufactured and pushed the idea of being a "pesky" team. Just how successful at being "pesky" they have been can be debated, obviously, but nonetheless, it has still provided the Stars with an interesting narrative to reflect the style of play of their most recognizable players at the time. The peskiness left with Steve Ott and the Stars have truly been absent of any sense of an overall team narrative ever sense.
There is obviously quite a bit of time before we ever see what 2014 Dallas Stars team will look like on the ice, but it's never too early to hope that Seguin might be the catalyst to bringing a new narrative to the Stars. Picture this...a team that is led by a too-hot-to-handle, black-hat, east-coast scorned scorer, Tyler Seguin, who is flanked on one side by a forceful sniper and potential captain Jamie Benn, and on the other, the shadowy block of raw talent from the country formerly known as the USSR, Valeri Nichushkin. Sound good? I'll take that any day of the week.
There is something to be said for a team who is portrayed as having a chip on their shoulder, no matter what the reasoning is. The chip that Boston fans have placed on Seguin's shoulder is enormous. The Stars as a team can feed off of this if they so choose. They have the ability to reshape the way they are seen by the league and for my money, there's nothing better than a villain to make things that much more exciting.
Meanwhile...
Only slightly trumped by the NFL's opening weekend, the Traverse City tourney rolled along on Sunday with your Dallas Stars' youngsters defeating the Baby Wild 2-1 in a shootout. Mark Stepneski has some footage for you over at Stars Inside Edge, including some video of a Nichushkin goal. Somehow I don't think he will be a man who decides he wants to score boring goals in the NHL. He is rather exciting and raw talent tends to trend up, so feel free to draw conclusions. [Stars Inside Edge]
Former Dallas Stars player, GM, and ex-Ambassador of Fun, Brett Hull is rejoining the St. Louis Blues as a member of their front office. Sadly, he will not be reprising his AOF role for them, but will rather be accepting a position with the more traditional and payroll-friendly title of "Vice-President". No word on if he'll be bringing Sean Avery on board. NHL.com fills you in. [NHL.com]
Chicago Blackhawks GM must have Dollar Bill Wirtz rolling in his grave as he is telling us that Kane and Toews will never leave Chicago. That's some big talk even for a big market team who are the current toast of the NHL. ProHockeyTalk dives into the issue further. [Pro Hockey Talk]
And finally, you can never have too much fuel to add on to a new rivalry, so here you go. Mike Fisher of the Preds felt the need to scoreboard a chipmunk via Twitter this weekend. His wife, country singer and star of the worst opening to a sporting event possible, Carrie Underwood, didn't help the situation as she too decided to report the event on the ‘Gram. Enjoy. [Dead Spin]
The editor's at the Morning News take a solid preseason preview piece from Heika and put the words "drastic overhaul" on the title. A bit dramatic, perhaps? Or was it "drastic"? [DMN]
The Stars announce the Little Rookie program designed by Mike Modano, an initiative to get kids into hockey and provide equipment. [Stars.nhl.com]
Another prospect ranking from Hockey's Future, and guess who's #1... [Hockey's Future]