Dallas Stars land Chris Tanev in a three team trade

The Dallas Stars have been in a little bit of a slump lately. It made everyone wonder if they were going to make a move sometime soon. Well, the wondering is over. 

With the trade deadline just a couple of weeks away, the Stars acquired Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames. He was one of the defensemen near the top of the trade block. 

Tanev has been with the Calgary Flames for the last five seasons after spending the first 10 with the Vancouver Canucks. He is a defensive defenseman but will make a play now and again. He has one goal and 13 assists so far in 56 games. 

In addition to Tanev, Cole Brady is going to Dallas from Calgary. The Stars are sending prospect Artem Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Flames in this deal. 

The Calgary Flames traded Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday

Calgary is clearly in sell mode right now. They are right below the playoff line but it is time for them to sell off assets. As for Dallas, they are Central Division and Stanley Cup contenders at this point. Tanev will be a big help. 

The New Jersey Devils helped facilitate this trade for Calgary and Dallas. They are retaining 50% of Tanev’s contract. They have the space with Dougie Hamilton on LTIR. They can afford to do this and still be buyers if they want ahead of the deadline. 

In doing this for them, they got a 2026 fourth-round pick out of it. That is Tom Fitzgerald using the added cap space as a weapon. The Devils are having a down season but the future is still very bright for them with all of the young talent. Adding more picks will help them keep the development going. 

This may be the tipping point that gets trade deadline season truly going. In addition to that, we’ll see how Tanev fits in Dallas and if he can help them get over the hump in the playoffs.  All three of these teams should end up happy with how this trade went.