Ott would fit Canucks nicely
DALLAS
“If playoff teams are calling and want me to be a piece of their puzzle, that’s a pretty high compliment.”
— Dallas Stars forward Steve Ott
Tom Gaglardi knows it. So does Steve Ott.
As much as the Dallas Stars have won three straight for the first time since mid-december to remain in playoff contention, the real future is not now. It will be when ownership and management provide Jamie Benn, the new face of a floundering franchise, a younger and potentially potent support group to make the postseason a regular reality — not a once-every-four-year reach for some level of respectability. Doing that will attract the corporate community and a fan base that dwindled to 6,000 season tickets.
That’s why Ott is a hot commodity as the NHL trade deadline nears Monday. The feisty winger matches a good skill level with great grit and leadership. He leads the Stars in faceoff percentage (57.3), hits (204) and penalty minutes (117) and ranks eighth, fifth and eighth respectively in those league categories.
At $2.95 million US for two more seasons, the 29-year-old Ott also brings cost certainty and his 10 goals and strength on the puck would be a fine fit on the Vancouver Canucks’ third line. That’s why those trade rumours — restricted free agent Mason Raymond or whatever it would take to swing the deal — won’t go away. Especially with injured defenceman Keith Ballard not skating with a neck injury going on the long-term injury list Saturday and the Canucks getting $4.2 million in cap relief.
And with Stars owner Gaglardi conceding he’s willing to sacrifice some present for the future, it’s like tossing a match on smouldering rumours. He can easily move Ott. Maybe Mike Ribeiro and Michael Ryder, too.
“That’s the type of thing we’re going to look at,” said Gaglardi.
“It’s no mystery. We all know where we’re at — we’ve got to get some top-six help to build around Benn. We’re not buyers, but we’re not sellers. We’re listening. It’s safe to say our core and our best players are in their 20s — Benn, Eriksson, Goligoski, Lehtonen, Daley — and you’ll see us look to get a little younger and better. But it’s going to take a special deal to do that.
“We’re more interested in being a good team for a long time and if that means we take a small step back with our roster, we might be prepared to do that. We don’t get excited about being in that No. 8, 9 or 10 spot in the standings — we’ve got to be better than that. We’re not going to be a [salary cap] floor team anymore. We’re not going to spend a lot of money, but we’re going to get core guys and keep them together and develop them. We’re going to build something special here.”
Gaglardi added there’s nothing stopping the Stars and Canucks from doing business — even though Francesco Aquilini and Gaglardi were in a tug of war for Vancouver ownership — and that Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk and his counterpart Mike Gillis converse. So, no bad blood to kill a deal?
“Not at all,” stressed Gaglardi. “That’s old news and in the past and a non-event. I know Joe talks to Mike regularly.”
For Ott, his play has done the talking. In a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday, he set up a goal, was the decoy on another, blocked two shots, was a plus-2 and won 71 per cent of his faceoffs. He even drew the ire of Wild enforcer Cal Clutterbuck after he playfully tapped Jared Spurgeon on the head after the diminutive defenceman tried to rough him up.
“We were battling in front of the net and his stick came up a little high and I gave him a hey-littleguy tap on top of the head and I got hog-tied from behind,” shrugged Ott. “We have a belief system here and we want to continue to make things difficult and push and prove we belong in the playoffs.”
That’s what you expect to hear, but Ott has been hearing his name for six weeks in trade scenarios.
“The rumblings are out there.” he said. “Obviously, if playoff teams are calling and want me to be a piece of their puzzle, that’s a pretty high compliment. I take the confidence from it. We’re making it hard on our management in the way of trades and hopefully we’re buyers instead of sellers. It’s nerve-racking when you have people texting you and calling you.
“I honestly don’t know what’s going to go on and I can only control what I can control and that’s how I’ve approached it. I’ve been mentioned in different things. I wanted to keep it professional.”