There was never a sense of what kind of team Glen Gulutzan’s Stars was supposed to be. (Dustin Bradford/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

The Dallas Stars are in the market for a new head coach.

Glen Gulutzan, who’d manned the bench for the past two seasons, had a third year on his contract at the team’s option. New general manager Jim Nill informed him today that the team would not extend the option.

Although it took a little longer than was expected, the decision to go in a new direction didn’t catch anyone by surprise. After five straight playoff DNQs, including both years under Gulutzan, the Stars are a team in the midst of a significant organizational shakeup. Nill was brought in last month to replace Joe Nieuwendyk and tasked with not just changing the makeup of the team, but the culture of the franchise.

Part of that has to be establishing an identity. Gulutzan’s hands were tied there by the mixed bag of players he was handed, but there was never a sense of what this team was supposed to be under his watch. Like a lot of the youngsters on his roster, he might not have been seasoned enough for this level of play.

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With a new administration coming in, coach Glen Gulutzan is likely a goner. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

If you’re looking for a major reason why Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi has reportedly axed fourth-year general manager Joe Nieuwendyk, you really only needed to glance around the stands at the American Airlines Center on Saturday night. Two colorful clues made it obvious: Grey, as in the thousands of empty seats, and red, as in the jerseys and shirts worn by the majority of fans who showed up to support the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

Gaglardi spent nearly a quarter-billion dollars to purchase the Stars about 18 months ago with an eye on rebuilding a flagging brand. This scene, reminiscent of so many others during his brief tenure, wasn’t what he had in mind. Neither was a team that ended a fifth straight season without a playoff berth after 3-0 loss to the hated Wings.

In Dallas, a town where hockey has always had to struggle for attention, the Stars have finally collapsed into irrelevance. Gaglardi knew he couldn’t sell the same weak tea next season.

He had to be able to offer a significantly different product. And he had to start with a change at the top.

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Their season finale on April 27 will likely determine the playoff fates of the Red Wings and Stars. (Tony Ding/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Herewith, the first of our looks at the final week of regular season action. Today, the Western Conference. Check back Sunday for the East.

Just two teams — Chicago and Anaheim — have officially clinched berths in the Western playoffs, there really are just two spots up for grabs.

Four clubs — Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Jose and St. Louis — are virtual locks that will close out the campaign by jockeying for position. That leaves four others — Minnesota, Columbus, Dallas and Detroit — to battle it out for the seventh and eighth seeds.

If past seasons are any indication, this race will go down to the final weekend. Here’s how each team’s chances stack up.

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Acquiring center Derek Roy made sense for the Stars last summer, but he didn’t pan out. (Dustin Bradford/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Multiple sources report Derek Roy going from Dallas to Vancouver in exchange for a 2013 second-round pick and defenseman Kevin Connauton.

Canucks skinny

Finally, the Canucks get a legitimate, second/third line center to fill a long-gaping hole, and they did it without tampering with their current roster. Roy brings veteran experience and proven playmaking ability (18 assists in 30 games), but as I’ll explain below, his game is not without flaws. Still, he’s an upgrade over what they had, and he gives coach Alain Vigneault some flexibility in his top nine. That kind of depth will be key as the Canucks push into the playoffs.

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Jaromir Jagr is not your classic banging Bruins winger, but if he can juice Boston’s power play, he’ll be a good add. (Photo by Mark Humphrey/AP)

By Allan Muir

The deal

The Boston Bruins acquired winger Jaromir Jagr from the Dallas Stars in exchange for prospects Lane MacDermid and Cody Payne and a conditional draft pick.

Bruins skinny

There will be a lot of talk about his remarkable career when this deal is discussed, but the Bruins didn’t trade for the 1996 Jagr. They got the 2013 model — far from a superstar, but still a solid contributor at age 41. He had 14 goals and 26 points in 34 games with a low-rent Dallas offense, generating most of his chances with hard work down low, something coach Claude Julien says the B’s have gotten away from lately. What’s most intriguing about him is that, despite his considerable size, he’s not a typical banging Boston winger…and that’s not a bad thing. Given his familiarity with top center David Krejci, he could replace Nathan Horton on that unit and give it a very different (and tougher to defend) look 5-on-5. But where the B’s really need him to shine is on their 24th-ranked power play. Jagr’s a left-handed shot but plays off the right boards, which changes the angle of attack from what was a predominantly left-side assault.

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Trading veteran Jaromir Jagr is part of the Stars’ plan to get younger. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Midway through the second period of last night’s 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a message appeared on the video board teasing a look at the new jerseys the Dallas Stars will be wearing in 2013-14. The news generated a buzz through the crowd of 9,000 or so diehards who’d been beaten into silence by another error-filled performance from the Stars.

The third period comes around, and finally, the big reveal. A curtain parts and out comes some idiot in a horse-head mask wearing the much-despised mooterus jersey from a decade ago.

Ha ha! April Fool’s! It’s a joke! Get it?

You know, if this had been a playoff team, or even one that was taking care of business instead of getting blown out at home for the third time in a week, maybe this bit works. Instead, the ill-conceived gag served to perfectly encapsulate the 2013 Dallas Stars: Tease something big, then spectacularly under-deliver.

The Stars, well, new owner Tom Gagliardi, made the mistake last summer of believing a couple of 40-somethings like Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney would push this close-but-no-cigar squad back into the playoffs.

It hasn’t worked. There have been bright spots in this roller coaster season–a 2-0 win in Los Angeles two weeks ago comes to mind–but there have been too many passionless efforts like the one last night. And so, with the team on the verge of making it five consecutive years without a sniff of the postseason, the Stars surely realize it is time to start the fire sale.

MUIR: Stars trade Roy to Vancouver | Jagr to Boston

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Stars captain Brenden Morrow may be a Penguin soon if he waives his no-trade clause. ( Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)

By Allan Muir

Multiple sources, including Canada’s TSN are reporting that Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow has been dealt to Pittsburgh for blueline prospect Joe Morrow.

The swap also sees a 2013 third-round pick going to the Pens and a 2013 fifth-rounder going to the Stars.

Brendan Morrow, the 34-year-old Canadian Olympian, agreed to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal, according to Aaron Ward of TSN.

The first significant swap of the deadline season seems to address obvious needs for at least one of these teams.

To get a high-end, young defense prospect like Joe Morrow, who was a 2011 first-rounder, is a coup for Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk. The younger (and unrelated) Morrow is a strong two-way defender with legitimate top-four potential. He’s quick on his feet, has a heavy shot and can play with some edge. Adding him to a talent pool that includes Brenden Dillon, Jamie Oleksiak, Ludvig Bystrom and Patrik Nemeth gives Dallas a promising core for the future and potentially frees Nieuwendyk to move veteran Stephane Robidas for another young prospect.

On their end, the Penguins fully understand that character will be Morrow’s primary contribution. Used properly, he can be a physical, defensively responsible presence at five-on-five, and he can still create a little havoc down low on the power play, but there’s not a lot of tread left on his tires. Maybe a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup — he arrived in Dallas one year after the Stars won it in 1999 — will add some jump to his aging legs. More likely though, he’ll reprise his recent performance in Big D: the occasional strong shift, but he was invisible more nights than not.

Two more quick takes on the deal.

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If Jack Campbell has a future in Dallas, it likely won’t be while Kari Lehtonen remains the Stars’ No. 1 goaltender. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

To outsiders anyway, it appeared as though the 2010 NHL Draft was falling perfectly for the Dallas Stars. The team had a clear organizational need for a puck-moving defenseman in the wake of Sergei Zubov’s retirement, and the best one in the draft, Windsor’s Cam Fowler, was about to drop right into their lap at No. 11.

When the New York Rangers went off the board to nab Moose Jaw thug Dylan “The Undertaker” McIlrath with the 10th pick, you could see the smile widen on Joe Nieuwendyk’s face.

Dallas’ second-year GM was the picture of cool as he strode to the podium, knowing he was going to get his man.

Jack Campbell.

Wait…what?

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The verdict is in on Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn after his vicious cheap shot on Edmonton forward Ryan Jones on Thursday night.

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Michael Ryder had eight goals and 14 points for the Stars this season. (Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Tuesday was homecoming day in the NHL.

Hours after Philadelphia re-acquired long-time Flyer Simon Gagne from the  Kings, the Montreal Canadiens repatriated winger Michael Ryder from Dallas in exchange for Erik Cole. The Stars also sent a 2013 third rounder to the Canadiens.

On the surface, this looks like a big win for the Habs.

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