Dallas Stars trade Lauri Korpikoski to Columbus
The Dallas Stars made one more trade prior to the NHL trade deadline, sending veteran forward Lauri Korpikoski to Columbus for young defenseman Dillon Heatherington on Wednesday afternoon.
But it was the move Dallas didn’t make, keeping veteran forward Patrick Sharp, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, that was most talked about.
Once the deadline had passed at 2 p.m. CST, Stars general manager Jim Nill disclosed during a news conference that Sharp has been playing with an undisclosed injury, which created pause from potential trade partners, even with Sharp winning three Stanley Cups in Chicago prior to coming to Dallas.
“He (Sharp) will require season-ending surgery. He’s going to keep playing as long as he can,” Nill said. “We’re going to keep monitoring it game-by- game, then we’ll make that decision, but he will require season-ending surgery. That’s the reason he was not traded.”
The deal sending Korpikoski, who signed a one-year contract prior to the start of the season, to the Blue Jackets was the fourth trade the Stars have made since Friday, when Dallas dealt veteran forward Patrick Eaves, who scored a career-high 21 goals, to Anaheim for a draft pick. On Monday, Dallas sent defenseman Jordie Benn to Montreal for fellow defenseman Greg Pateryn and a draft pick.
And before Tuesday’s game with Pittsburgh, Dallas sent veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya to Chicago, where he won two Stanley Cups, for minor-league forward Mark McNeill and a draft pick.
Like Sharp, Eaves, Korpikoski and Oduya are unrestricted free agents (UFAs) at season’s end, making them higher-priority targets for the Stars to move and other teams to acquire. For the first time since 2000, when Columbus and Minnesota began play, Nill and his fellow GMs have an expansion draft to consider with Las Vegas starting play next fall, and that was also a factor in who stayed put and who was traded around the league.
“You’d like to be a buyer at this time of year, but it’s the situation we put ourselves in and we know we have to get better,” Nill said. “When you have the UFAs, you have to decide to re-sign them or try to get some assets for them. It’s all about asset allocation right now. You’re better off to get something for players before you lose them. That was our mindset going into this week.”
Pateryn arrived in Dallas Tuesday morning, but has yet to practice with his new teammates. Heatherington will join McNeill in reporting to the Texas Stars, Dallas’ American Hockey League affiliate in Cedar Park near Austin.
Nill sees plenty to like in Heatherington, a 21-year- old defenseman who was a second-round pick of Columbus in 2013, but said there are no immediate plans to bring him to the NHL this season.
“This is his second year pro,” Nill said. “(He’s a) big kid-6- 4, 220. He played World Juniors for Canada, so he’s a good prospect. We’ll put him down in Austin and let him continue his development.”
Nill is pleased with what the Stars received from these four trades, and took time during his news conference to thank Korpikoski for his contributions during his short time with the organization.
“Lauri’s played very well for us,” Nill said. “With the injuries, he came in and did a great job for us. A character guy on and off the ice. He’s going to a good team. He’s going to Columbus, (who has) got a chance to win it. He’s got a good connection there with (Blue Jackets GM) Jarmo Kekalainen, so it’s a good move for him.”
After defeating Pittsburgh 3-2 on Tuesday at American Airlines Center, Dallas (25-28- 10) are seven points behind St. Louis for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference with 19 games remaining.
The Stars host the New York Islanders Thursday.
This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Dallas Stars trade Lauri Korpikoski to Columbus."