Post by Chunks (Stars GM) on Sept 6, 2011 1:37:23 GMT -5
Dallas, Texas - It has been a very busy week for the Dallas Stars, and today put a huge smile on Stars fans. GM Chunks held a press conference announcing that the team has come to terms with John Tavares, resigning the young center to a 5 year deal totaling 37.5 million.
"We are very pleased to have Tavares signed for the next 5 seasons and it is a deal that we believe is fair for both sides. Signing him was our number one priority and getting it done before the offseason was important for us so that we can focus on bringing in players to bring this organization back into the playoffs as soon as possible.
The 22 year old Tavares is coming off a mediocre season by his standards, scoring 22 goals and 31 assists in 67 games this season. Despite these numbers Tavares is still the team's leading point getter despite having missed the first 9 games of the season with an apparent shoulder injury.
"I'm very pleased to be signed in Dallas for the next 5 seasons. Chunks sat down with me the other day and told me his offseason plan and 5 year plan for this team and it's something that I am very pleased with so it was easy to come to an agreement. It's been a rough year for not only me but the team as the whole but I believe in the players we have in this dressing room and hopeful next season we tweaks we can be competitive enough to make the playoffs."
Along with signing Tavares, GM Chunks made a number of other moves this week, as there has been some turn over in the organization. First Chunks made a couple of moves with the Predators which combined into the following trade,
To Nashville:
G Kari Lehtonen
G Andrew Raycroft
L Eric Nystrom
To Dallas:
G Michael Neuvirth
L/C Ryan Stoa
D Steve Montador
D Marco Scandella
D Justin Braun
"We are sad to see Kari, Razer and Nystrom go but we are a team that is looking to get younger. We believe that Neuvirth can be a great starting goalie for this organization moving forward, while Stoa with icetime could develop into a great 3rd line winger who can move up in the lineup. We also acquired some much needed depth on defense in Montador and Braun, and a player in Scandella who we believe can develop into a solid top 6 defenseman. It's a trade that we felt was fair for both sides, and it addressed different needs for different teams."
Not long after acquiring Neuvirth, Chunks quickly inked the young goalie to a 2 year deal totaling 5.2 million. in 21 games between the Stars and the Preds, Neuvrith put up 12 wins, 7 losses and 1 shootout loss while posting a 0.892 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA.
"I'm very excited to be a Star. It was fun to learn from Luo for the last few weeks but I'm happy to be in an organization where I'm the number one guy. It's exciting and I hope I can help this team moving forward."
Finally Chunks made a move with the Senators, sending defenseman Denis Wideman in exchange for Buffalo's 2013 draft pick and Carl Gunnerson.
"This was a tough situation. We wanted to sign Wideman to a long term deal and make him a key part of this organization, but he wanted to be moved to a competitor. Considering the situation we are in, we really had no choice but to field offers for Wideman and while we received a number of good ones we believed getting that 1st round pick was important. I have a pretty good relationship with Buff's GM but I have to say I'm cheering for him to suck for the remainder of this season hahaha. I'm just kidding, I wish all the teams luck that are currently in playoff position as any one of them could bring home the cup this season."