Could underrated defensive center Vernon Fiddler’s days with the Dallas Stars be numbered?
Rumors are starting to swirl on that subject. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reported this past weekend that Stars GM Jim Nill is “shopping” Fiddler while TSN’s Bob McKenzie mentioned that Fiddler was the one asking for a trade during Tuesday’s Insider Trading segment.
Stars blog Defending Big D claims that it doesn’t pass the “sniff test” for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the 33-year-old is taking many of the second-line duties that Shawn Horcoff was expected to absorb.
It doesn’t jive with the constant refrain of “patience” Stars fans hear. Not at all. Nor does it jive with ye old eyeball test. If Jim Nill were to make a move this early, with playoff hopes still intact, it would, intuitively, seem to have to be one that improved the team definitively this season, unless it were some steal of an asset whose value would be long term.
Could this be something that develops quickly, marinates more gradually toward the trade deadline or evaporates entirely? We’ll have to wait and see.
This Fiddler’s third season with the Stars. He has five points in 17 games while often facing tough defensive assignments.