We’re still over a month away from the NHL trade deadline, yet the Dallas Stars have already started cooking, acquiring Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund in a trade with the San Jose Sharks. While Mike Grier and Company have a couple more draft picks at their disposal in this long rebuild, the Stars are now primed to make a run to the Stanley Cup.
Over the past two seasons, the Stars have come so close to punching their ticket back to the Stanley Cup Final, only for the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers to deny them access. That might change now with Granlund and Ceci joining the fray.
This all comes in the wake of Miro Heiskanen’s injury, which explains why Ceci’s in town. No, Ceci hasn’t been the greatest blueliner in the league, but he did play for the team that knocked out Dallas last postseason, so he should be a welcome presence in Texas.
So far this season, Ceci has 15 points and four goals in 54 games. He’s got 100 blocks already and he’s laid 52 body checks during his time with the Sharks. Ceci has also played top-four minutes, proving he can be at least a serviceable consolation in Heiskanen’s absence.
Dallas Stars look ready to make a Cup run following blockbuster
Mikael Granlund’s arrival is the real story here, as while the Stars are a good team, there’s no scorer on the Stars you could accuse as an ‘elite player.’ Yeah, they got a lot of great players up front, don’t get me wrong, like Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Matt Duchene. But a team without that elite centerpiece must keep adding solid talent if they want to make a serious Cup run.
That’s where Mikael Granlund comes in. Granlund, who will represent Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off, has 15 goals and 45 points across 52 games on what is a bad San Jose Sharks team. So, imagine what kind of damage he’ll do in Dallas, where he’ll find himself playing with what might now be arguably the best group in the Western Conference.
Yeah, there’s still Vegas, Winnipeg, and Edmonton, among others, to deal with, but expect Granlund to hit the ground running with his new Stars teammates. If he can play a good game in San Jose with a Sharks team that’s still years away from contending, what will he do in Texas?
It’s not a matter of if, but when, he becomes an impact player with the Stars, and it’s something fans will appreciate once he’s ready to rock.