In a “well, this sucks” update to Monday’s article about a thinner blue line in Dallas the unfortunate news dropped that Stars young defenseman, Lian Bichsel, will be out for a minimum of 6-8 weeks with a lower body injury the team announced Tuesday afternoon. The injury suffered on Sunday’s win against the Ottawa Senators will require another surgery on the left leg previously repaired for a broken ankle. As of Tuesday afternoon, there was no further update on what exactly happened in the collision that led to the injury.
This leaves the Dallas Stars with one less defender heading into Tuesday and Wednesdays back-to-back roadies against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, in that order. It also leaves fans wondering, who else do the Stars have left?
Well, not much. Thomas Harley last played on November 13thbefore being scratched on the November 15th tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers. Harley would subsequently shut down following the game against the Flyers and is notated as week-to-week. Harley was considered day-to-day leading up to being shut down for what hockey fans are all too familiar with as the infamous “lower-body injury”. No further details have been disclosed as to what is ailing Harley. Harley as it stands is not an option.
The AHL Texas Stars have already helped as much as they possibly can it seems. Currently the Dallas Stars have utilized Vladislav Kolyachonok, Kyle Capobianco, and Alex Petrovic. All have been serviceable but from a depth perspective only Petrovic and Ilya Lyubushkin are right-handed defenders and quite frankly, you need one more righty to step in and slot in and possibly keep Esa Lindell on the second line. Allow me to introduce, Rasmus Andersson.
Andersson, the alternate captain for a floundering Calgary Flames, is on the final year of a 6-year contract with an annual hit of $4.5 million. The 29-year-old defender is exactly what the Stars need right now and could easily slot in at the opposite side of Miro Heiskanen giving you two NHL alternate captains on the same blue line. As it stands, not only does Andersson fill that player void, he could also do so and be within the cap for Jim Nill to make it realistically happen.
The Stars currently sit with $3,098,960 in cap space per PuckPedia and while far-fetched, it is possible to work out a deal with the Flames that could consist of draft picks with the stipulation of retaining part of the Andersson contract. (If I had to take a wild guess, I would say at least 35-40% retained to keep within the cap for the Stars.) The Stars currently hold a 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and two 7th round picks in the 2026 NHL Entry draft, and what could be a very attractive 1st round pick in the 2027 Entry Draft. While it may be a gamble as the Stars prospect pool is shallower than it has been in recent years, a package of multiple picks being sent back to Calgary in what most consider to be an already rebuilding franchise. I tagged in TMS’s own Andrew Jenkins, our sweet Calgary cowboy, to give his two cents on what I am learning the Flames fans refer to as “Raz”.
Flames Fan: “Raz needs to go. Not because we don’t love him, and not because he isn’t a contributor. He deserves better than an organization that can’t agree on a direction, and there are teams like the Stars and the Leafs that desperately need help on the blue line and can afford to pay later for success now.Jenks: “Seeing Raz go to Dallas would be unbelievable. Dallas gave us the best playoff series I can remember watching, they’re a deep playoff threat now with an entire hospital wing devoted to fixing their blueliners that have a serious case of contagious booboos and ouchies. Raz gets a shot, the Flames can lose more and feed the tank. Win-win. Raz needs a goddamn shot at something joyous, the Flames need as much draft capital as they can muster, Maloney needs to retire and go back to Arizona where he can’t hurt us anymore and Gavin McKenna needs to start shopping for a sturdy vehicle with winter tires for those early morning Crowchild commutes to the practice rink. I see no downsides.”
Now, if you have been keeping up with my previous ramblings, you know I tabbed Blake Coleman as someone to keep on eye on with the Dallas Stars. Reports have also been circulating that Nazem Kadri could also be on the move to the Lone Star State. Needless to say, while any of the three could be a good get for the Stars organization, Raz is the one that could be of most service to a bruised and battered defensive core in Dallas.
The Morning Skate 
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