Stars Hit a Home Run With Granlund & Ceci Trade

While the bottom of the roster has been contributing more as of late, the offensive production has been extremely top-heavy for the Stars this season. Adding Granlund gives you experience and production as a third-line center, specifically with his vision in moving the puck. Granlund can put pucks in the net from time to time, but where he’s really worth his money is his puck distribution.

He has 30-plus assists in every season since 2013-14, except for the COVID-19-shortened seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21. He will also be a big addition to the power play, which has been lackluster this season, to say the least. He had 28 power-play points in 2021-22, 12 in 2022-23, 23 last season, and 15 so far this season. The Stars’ power play ranks 24th in the NHL and could certainly use another puck mover, specifically on the second unit.

What Do the Stars Get in Ceci?

Cody Ceci is a big-bodied right-handed defenseman who is experienced, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. He has 840 regular season games and 88 in the playoffs, including a Stanley Cup run with the Edmonton Oilers last season. He also is not averse to playing big minutes, averaging 21:46 of ice time in 54 games this season. He has four goals and 15 points, but point production is not what the Stars need from Ceci. They are a sound defensive team already, so Ceci should have no problem filling that role on the third pair.

Ceci is also in the final year of a four-year deal and carries a cap hit of $3.25 million.

Why Now?

Seguin has been out since the beginning of December and the Stars officially put him on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on Saturday. Doing so freed up $9.85 million in cap space. The team also announced on Saturday that Lundkvist had season-ending shoulder surgery and was placed on LTIR, freeing up another $1.25 million. It was clear that Nill wanted to wait as long as possible to utilize LTIR, and with this trade becoming available, now was the perfect time.

Additionally, Nill’s patience allowed the Stars to see exactly what we were dealing with when it came to the roster they already had. After an up-and-down start to the season, the Stars have been one of the hottest teams since Christmas, logging a league-high 27 points in that span. The time was now to reward his team and show them that management would do whatever they could to give them the best chance to succeed in the spring.

“We’ve gone through a lot this year,” Nill said. “I think it was time for them to get rewarded for what they’ve done.” Nill later expanded on why Granlund was the perfect fit, saying “He’s a very efficient player. He can play any forward position, center, wing. He’s very, very effective on the power play. He’s a very good penalty killer, takes draws. He can really play up and down your lineup.”

Head coach Pete DeBoer had a similar sentiment. “It’s a message to our group that, obviously, we’re all in… (It’s) giving us a chance to win, which I think is important and deserved for the group for what they’ve done so far.”

“Obviously, you trust him,” Stars forward Jason Robertson said of Nill and the trade that was made. “You trust what he’s doing. Last year with (Chris Tanev) coming in, it worked really well. The year before that, he traded for (Max) Domi, and he fit in very well. Obviously, he’s got a plan, and it’s exciting when you get to this part of the year.”

When asked about Ceci, Nill’s explanation made perfect sense. “We lost two of our top six defensemen in three days. That was a big hit. Cody is someone we know well. He’s really what we need. He’s a big body. He’s very consistent and just plays a smart defensive game.”

Stars May Not Be Done Yet

One of the big reasons that this trade is a big hit, beyond getting two steady and reliable players, is the fact that Dallas didn’t have to give up any of their young players to do it. Mavrik Bourque, Logan Stankoven, and Lian Bichsel are not only a key part of the Stars’ future, but they’re contributing right now on a nightly basis. That also means that if a bigger fish (no pun intended) becomes available, they still have their best assets to pull off a trade. The Stars have their third-round pick in 2025 and their first three picks in both 2026 and 2027.

Nill said on Saturday that the Stars are still “very open” to another trade. The March 7 trade deadline might seem far away, but with the 4 Nations Face-Off coming up soon, the Stars have only 11 games before the deadline. That should be enough time to see what the team looks like with these additions, but it will move fast, and it will be interesting to see what the team does in the next few weeks.