Stars acquire Max Domi in trade with Blackhawks

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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CHICAGO — The Dallas Stars acquired Max Domi in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on the forward’s 28th birthday.

The move was announced after Dallas’ 5-2 victory at Chicago. Domi was scratched for what the Blackhawks said was “roster management.”

“We’re excited to add a player of Max’s caliber to our lineup,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a release. “His offense this season speaks for itself, but he’ll also provide energy, grit and a veteran presence as we continue our push to the postseason.”

The addition of Domi gives Dallas another veteran forward as it angles for playoff positioning. The Stars (33-16-13) are on top of the Western Conference, one point better than the idle Vegas Golden Knights.

Dallas also got minor league goaltender Dylan Wells from Chicago for veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin and a 2025 second-round pick.

The lowly Blackhawks (21-35-5) continue to lean into their tanking strategy, hoping for a chance to take Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Longtime star Patrick Kane, forwards Domi and Sam Lafferty and defensemen Jake McCabe and Jack Johnson have been traded away by Chicago.

The Blackhawks also made two minor deals. They acquired Maxim Golod from Anaheim for Dylan Sikura in a swap of minor league forwards, and they got forward Anders Bjork from Buffalo in exchange for future considerations.

Domi had a team-best 18 goals and 31 assists in 60 games with Chicago. He had two goals and an assist in a 4-3 victory at Dallas last week.

Domi, the son of former NHL forward Tie Domi, signed a $3 million, one-year contract with the Blackhawks in July.

The 36-year-old Khudobin was likely included for salary cap purposes. He hasn’t appeared in an NHL game this season. The Blackhawks said he would report to Rockford of the American Hockey League.

The Stars assigned Wells and loaned forwards Fredrik Karlstrom and Fredrik Olofsson and goaltender Matt Murray to the AHL’s Texas Stars.

Stars aligned with new coach DeBoer, Nill-constructed roster

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
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DALLAS — General manager Jim Nill sensed things were coming together for the Dallas Stars even before the season started with new coach Pete DeBoer and a roster mixed with proven veterans, up-and-coming young players, and even a teenaged center.

At the NHL’s All-Star break, after 51 games together, these Stars are leading the Western Conference.

“Every year you start, you put a team together, and there’s always going to be question marks,” said Nill, in his 10th season as the Stars GM. “You have ideas how you think you’re going to come together, but there’s always the unknown. . This year has been one of those years where right from the start, you could just see everything was kind of jelling.”

The Stars (28-13-10, 66 points) have their trio of 2017 draft picks that just keep getting better: All-Star winger Jason Robertson, goaltender Jake Oettinger and defenseman Miro Heiskanen. The seemingly ageless Joe Pavelski, at 38 and already re-signed for next season, is on the high-scoring top line with Robertson and point-a-game winger Roope Hintz. Wyatt Johnston, their first-round pick in 2021 and half Pavelski’s age, has 13 goals.

There is also the resurgence of six-time All-Star forward Tyler Seguin two years after hip surgery and 33-year-old captain Jamie Benn, who already has more goals (19) than he did playing all 82 games last season.

The Stars have a plus-40 goal differential, which is second-best in the NHL. They are averaging 3.37 goals per game, more than a half-goal better than last season when they were the only team to make the playoffs after being outscored in the regular season. They are also allowing fewer goals, and have improved on power plays and penalty kills.

“Where we sit at this break, I think guys are happy with that,” Seguin said, before being asked the keys to the Stars leading the West and on pace for a 100-point season with their new coach.

“Our style, our team speed, our puck speed, being predictable. All the clichés, knowing where the puck’s going. Really how we play the five-man unit,” he said. “Our pace this year, it’s been a lot quicker. There’s been some solid depth scoring this year while we’ve got one of the best lines in hockey.”

The Stars went into the break on their only three-game losing streak of the season, all 3-2 overtime losses at home.

“Those aren’t real losses,” said DeBoer, who twice has gone to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season with a new team. “I’m happy where we’re at. I like how we’re playing.”

Plus, Dallas won’t have to worry in the playoffs about 3-on-3 hockey, which has been the only real stain on their season so far. Only one team has more than its 10 losses after regulation.

“We’ve played a lot of good hockey. We’ve made a lot of good strides in our game,” DeBoer said. “We still have another level we have to get to when we get back, but there are a lot of good things that have happened. They’ve worked to have us where we are right now in the standings. Good spot to be in.”

The Stars have 31 games left in the regular season. The first four after the break at home, like the last four before their week-long hiatus.

Robertson’s 33 goals rank sixth in the NHL, and the 23-year-old has the same number of assists while averaging 1.29 points a game even after he missed most of training camp before signing a four-year, $31 million contract. Pavelski has 48 points (14 goals, 34 assists) while playing every game, and Hintz 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in only 43 games.

Oettinger, who is 21-7 in regulation, has a .923 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average since signing his three-year, $12 million contract. That deal came after 223 saves in a seven-game playoff series against Calgary last May, capped by 64 in the series finale that went to overtime.

Nill said Robertson’s production has improved even with the league adjusting to the high-scoring forward, and that Oettinger is proving to be one of the league’s best goalies. But they are just part of what has been a tremendous team effort.

“They kind of had that mojo right from the start, and it was kind of this team’s got the right mix,” Nill said. “It’s come together well, and it’s shown in the standings. It’s been good to watch.”

Hurricanes top Stars in OT to win matchup of 1st-place teams

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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DALLAS – Martin Necas scored 1:34 into overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars in a matchup of division leaders Wednesday night.

Sebastian Aho had a short-handed goal and Brent Burns also scored for the Hurricanes, who lead the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The game-winner was Necas’ 19th goal this season.

Dallas is still atop the Western Conference, and the Central Division, after its second consecutive 3-2 overtime loss at home. Jason Robertson scored his 33rd goal for the Stars, and 19-year-old rookie Wyatt Johnston got his 13th.

Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen didn’t return after the first intermission because of an upper-body injury, soon after a strange sequence that ended with Robertson scoring on a shot from what seemed to be an impossible angle.

The puck was bouncing on the ice behind Andersen and settled against the post after Tyler Seguin‘s shot before the goalie was able to swipe it away to his right. Robertson then shot from behind Andersen, and the puck apparently ricocheted off him and into the net for a 2-1 Dallas lead. Robertson’s 33rd goal matched his assists total.

Antti Raanta replaced Andersen and stopped all 15 shots he faced – none in overtime – after the starter had four saves. Raanta had to shake off getting struck in the head by Mason Marchment‘s stick when the Stars forward was behind the net fighting for the puck midway through the third period.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 22 shots, including a glove save of Andrei Svechnikov‘s wrister with just more than five minutes left in regulation.

Aho’s 200th career goal put Carolina up 1-0 midway through the first period. The Stars got even just more than two minutes later when Johnston scored unassisted after a faceoff.

Johnston also had a shot ricochet off the post with just under six minutes left.

In between the first two goals, Oettinger went into a fully extended split, with his right skate against the post, to deny Paul Stastny‘s attempt to knock in a loose puck.

Burns tied the game at 2 in the second period, getting the puck after a faceoff, then skating over the top of the circle and scoring top shelf over Oettinger’s left shoulder.

NOTES: Marchment was coming out of the penalty box at the same time Carolina made an errant pass in the second period. He had a breakaway attempt, but couldn’t get enough control of the puck to get off a quality shot. … Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce and Stars center Luke Glendening both got five-minute penalties for fighting in the second period.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Will play San Jose on Friday night in the first of three consecutive home games.

Stars: Host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night in their last game before the All-Star break.

Montgomery, Brind’Amour, DeBoer, Cassidy to coach All-Stars

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
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They were chosen because each of their teams is atop the division at the midway point of the season. The league announced the All-Star coaches less than a week after revealing the first 32 players picked for the Feb. 3-4 event in Sunrise, Florida.

Montgomery’s Bruins are atop the league standings at 68 points and on pace to break the record for the best regular season in NHL history. DeBoer’s Stars and Cassidy’s Golden Knights are tied for first in the Western Conference.

All three are in their first year with a new team after DeBoer was fired by Vegas and Cassidy by Boston. DeBoer coached the Pacific in the annual All-Star Weekend skills competition and 3-on-3 tournament last year in Las Vegas.

Montgomery’s last head job was with Dallas before he was fired in 2019 for unprofessional conduct, and his rehab and return with the Bruins has been one of the best stories in hockey.

Brind’Amour’s Hurricanes lead the Metropolitan Division in his fifth season in charge and are cruising toward a fifth consecutive playoff appearance.

The NHL’s hockey operations department chose one All-Star from each team. Fans are voting for the other 12, who will be announced Jan. 19.

Stars sign veteran Joe Pavelski to extension through 2023-24

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FRISCO, Texas — Veteran forward Joe Pavelski signed a one-year contract extension with the Dallas Stars months before he could have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

The extension for the 2023-24 season has a base salary of $3.5 million, along with an additional $2 million in potential performance bonuses. The 38-year-old Pavelski currently is in his fourth season with Dallas and his 17th in the NHL.

Pavelski has appeared in all 38 games this season and is third on the team with 37 points (25 assists, 12 goals). His +23 rating is the best for the Stars and ranks second in the NHL.

“Joe continues to prove why he is one of the best players in the NHL, and we are fortunate that he will be part of our group for another season,” general manager Jim Nill said. “He embodies what it means to be a professional hockey player with his approach to the game both on and off the ice. Joe’s leadership in the locker room is invaluable and the level of respect that he has throughout the entire league speaks volumes to the man that he is.”

Pavelski spent the first 13 seasons of his career with San Jose before a three-year, $21 million deal in free agency with Dallas. Late last season after he was an All-Star for the fourth time, and just before the end of that initial deal, the Stars signed him to a $5.5 million extension for this season.

Since joining the Stars, he leads the team with 200 points, 122 assists, 38 power-play goals and his +62 rating in his 243 games. He has played in 34 playoff games for Dallas, with 16 goals and nine assists.