The Dallas Stars have jumped to third in the Western Conference standings and, with the new roster additions, look to continue improving.
Dallas recently acquired center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a first and third-round pick in future drafts, indicating that Dallas is prepared to go all-in to win a Stanley Cup this season.
The Stars now sit in third place in the Western Conference with an overall record of 34-18 and 69 points, trailing the Edmonton Oilers by just three points for second place.
Stars coach Peter DeBoer said over the weekend that Granlund and Ceci are “both really solid, as advertised” and that adjusting to a new team at this point in the season is difficult.
“Especially when you consider they flew across the country last night and everything that’s on your plate – new team, new systems – I thought they both fit in seamlessly,” he added, per NHL.com.
Dallas will now look to incorporate the new player even more amid a lengthy six-game road trip that opened with a loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
DeBoer said he was not too surprised because the team “didn’t have great legs” due to the various trades and travel expectations that have taken place over the last week.
“We made a big trade last week. Those guys flew across the country to Dallas and then we flew all the way back here to California for the first game. You get this close to a break, I’m sure your mind starts to wander about what you’re going to do. I didn’t love our execution or our focus tonight, and to their credit, they were good,” he added, per NHL.com.
Ceci echoed these sentiments shortly after he was traded, saying that it had “been pretty crazy” for him to adjust to a new team on such short notice.
“I mean it’s the first time being traded in the [middle of the] season for me. It definitely all happened really fast, especially with today being a 5 p.m. game. There were no meetings this morning. We flew in last night and came right to the game,” he explained, per NHL.com.
Dallas will now look to bounce back from the loss earlier this week with a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday at 9:30 p.m., followed by another game against the Sharks on Saturday.
The Stars will then have time to regroup with a two-week break until their next game on February 22 against the New Jersey Devils.