The Dallas Stars were busy Saturday on the ice losing 3-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes but much of the focus was off the ice with the club making two separate trades. After trading for defenseman Ben Lovejoy earlier in the day, Dallas struck a second deal acquiring winger Mats Zuccarello from the New York Rangers in exchange for two conditional picks.
Zuccarello, 31, has 37 points in 46 games this season with the Rangers. He has spent his entire career in New York but may only be in Dallas for a few months as he’s an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The two draft selections Dallas is sending to New York could be substantial depending on what happens in the next five months. For now, the picks going to the Rangers are a 2019 second round pick and a 2020 third round pick. If the Stars advance to the Western Conference Final round in the 2019 playoffs then the conditional second round pick becomes a first round pick in 2019. If the Stars re-sign Zuccarello to an extension then the conditional third round pick will become a first round pick in 2020.
While it’s unlikely, the Stars could end up without a first round pick in 2019 and 2020 if they advance to the Western Final and Zuccarello re-signs. Zuccarello and Lovejoy are both expected to play for the Stars tomorrow afternoon in Chicago, depending on their travel arrangements.
Brian Roe is the founder and head writer of The Roe Report. He spent five years working for the Dallas Stars and has been a contributor at Hockey’s Future, The Hockey Writers, NHL Intel, and more. Follow Brian on Twitter @brianproe.
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