Dallas Stars holen Odelein und Barnes

Stars add Odelein, Barnes
By Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com
March 10, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeing several legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup upgrade their rosters in the past few days, the front-running Dallas Stars got into the act Monday, dealing for veteran defenseman Lyle Odelein from the Chicago Blackhawks. In a separate move, the Canadian Press reports the Stars imported Stu Barnes from the Buffalo Sabres
Dallas, which has been the top team in the Western Conference virtually all season, was dealt a significant blow last week when power forward Bill Guerin was ruled out for the rest of the regular season after undergoing emergency surgery on a thigh injury suffered in a game against Ottawa on Thursday.

Barnes, 32, will help in that regard. He has 11 goals and 21 assists in 68 games for a Sabres team that has had trouble scoring this season. He also is a fundamentally sound, defensively responsible player that will fit seamlessly into coach Dave Tippett's system.

Dallas sent prospect Mike Ryan and a second-round pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft to the Sabres, who are out of the playoff picture.

In 807 regular-season games with Winnipeg, the Panthers, Pittsburgh and the Sabres, Barnes has accumulated 208 goals and 269 assists.

Odelein does little to address the loss of the team's third-leading scorer, but he does bring the same intensity and physical presence that are the hallmarks of Guerin's game. Dallas may still make another move for a goal scorer before Tuesday's trading deadline, which falls at 3 p.m. ET. According to various print and broadcast reports, they have been rumored to be heavily interested in Montreal's Doug Gilmour.

Odelein, who was traded from Columbus to Chicago at last season's deadline, arrives in Dallas to bring added muscle to a blue line that already features the hard-hitting Derian Hatcher. Dallas sent 29-year-old defenseman Sami Helenius and future considerations to the Blackhawks to obtain Odelein.

This year, Odelein has seven goals, four assists, a plus-7 rating and 76 penalty minutes for a Chicago team that is on the fringes of the Western Conference playoff picture. For his career, Odelein has 46 goals and 185 assists and 2,172 penalty in 944 games with Montreal, New Jersey, Phoenix, Columbus and Chicago.

The 34-year-old Odelein also brings a wealth of playoff experience to the Stars, having won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993. Overall, he has appeared in 84 playoff games and scored five goals and 13 assists to go with 209 penalty minutes.

Barnes also has valuable Stanley Cup experience. In 1996, Barnes was a key player in the expansion Florida Panthers' amazing run to the Stanley Cup Finals, scoring 16 points in 22 playoff games. In 1999, he was a key contributor as the Sabres reached the Stanley Cup Finals, ironically falling to the Dallas Stars in a tense six-game series. Barnes had 10 points in 21 playoff games in that run.

Overall, he has appeared in 78 postseason games, scoring 24 goals and 24 assists.


nhl.com