Burlinbert Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 In a somewhat surprising move, the Dallas Stars have claimed defenseman David Schlemko after he was placed on waivers by the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. Schlemko is a 6-1, 190 lb puck-moving defenseman who has had some struggles this season for the Coyotes (like most of them) and has already passed through waivers once, with Arizona failing to trade the left-shot defenseman. He's not very physical, and was getting into trouble earlier this season for bad decisions with the puck. He's played better of late, however, and Schlemko isn't being asked to come into Dallas and immediately play a big role on the team. Instead, this is a move about the young defensemen on the Stars who need playing time -- not time in the press box -- and Schlemko will be the player that provides that opportunity. "You can never have enough defensemen," said general manager Jim Nill on the waiver claim. "We lost Gonchar. We lost Kevin Connauton, Patrik Nemeth's injured. We've lost three defensemen during the course of the season and we needed to add some depth. David's a good player. He's played over 200 games in the league. He moves the puck well and just adds some depth in case of injuries. We're making a run here. The guys have been playing well. We just want to make sure that we got enough assets to keep this run going in case of injuries." With Connauton gone and Nemeth injured, the Stars don't really have another player in the AHL available to provide legitimate depth should another injury occur. Cameron Gaunce is basically the only option the Stars have in Cedar Park now, and he hasn't exactly forced his way to the NHL this season. Jyrki Jokipakka and Jamie Oleksiak have basically been trading off healthy scratches since Kevin Connauton was waived, and it's clear that both need to be actually playing, whether that's in the AHL or in the NHL. The Stars briefly sent down Oleksiak last weekend for a few games in Cedar Park, where the scouting reports were less-than-favorable, and it will be interesting to see which player is assigned to the AHL first. "What I want to do is I want to keep the young guys playing, so we're going to look at the situation," said Nill, on having eight NHL defensemen. "I want the young guys playing all the time, so we might create a situation where the guys go down (to the AHL) for a week or two weeks and play four or five games and then come back up and maybe the next guy goes. Now that can all change quick as you know with injuries and that, but that's kind of the game plan right now. I want the young guys to keep playing. They'll still be up here, but I want them kind of when they're not playing get in the lineup down there and play." The best guess here is that Schlemko will come to Dallas and be a healthy scratch most nights, but will get a chance to play now and then and perhaps force the Stars to play him more if deserving. In fact, that's almost exactly what Nill told the media on Saturday as well. It certainly seems the Stars will have a rotation going with Jokipakka and Oleksiak trading time in the AHL and NHL instead of sitting in the press box half the time. "His play will dictate that," Nill said, on how much Shlemko plays. "I'll leave that up to Lindy and the coaches and David. He comes in here, he moves the puck well, I think he plays our system well and his play will dictate that and I'll let the coaches decided that." In the meantime -- I've seen some immediate speculation this is all leading to a trade or another big move. While that's certainly possible I doubt anything is happening until closer to the trade deadline. Schlemko is a UFA this summer and doesn't exactly fit into the long-term plans of the Stars, and this seems to be a move for Nill to ensure he has enough depth on the blueline for what he's hoping is a run at the postseason. Jokipakka is a healthy scratch tonight against the Wild, so the guess is he gets the first rotation in Cedar Park. *** The Stars will roll with the same lineup as the New Year's Eve game against the Coyotes, with Brett Ritchie getting another game on the fourth line while Colton Sceviour remains on the top line. The Wild are coming off a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night and after some plane trouble, did not arrive into Dallas until 2 a.m. and did not have a morning skate on Saturday.The Wild and Stars are now jockeying for position in the standings and fighting for a Wild Card spot and tonight's game will be a big swing for whoever comes out on top. What's interesting is that the win by Minnesota might have led to Stars claiming Schlemko, rather than the Wild. Michael Russo writes this morning that he was so certain the Wild had put a claim in on Schlemko, he had pre-written this article in anticipation of the move. Kari Lehtonen once again in net tonight for Dallas. *Schlemko will wear No. 28 for the Stars. http://www.defendingbigd.com/2015/1/3/7486217/david-schlemko-dallas-stars-waivers-minnesota-wild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklas Bo Hunter Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 could be interesting if Dallas picked up Schlemko as a piece to add in a Kassian trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 could be interesting if Dallas picked up Schlemko as a piece to add in a Kassian trade. Then why wouldn't we have just done that if we really wanted him. Wait, nm, I think lower ranked teams get first dibs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Please post an article or paragraph, NOT just a link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Not surprised - Dallas has a few young borderline NHL ready defenseman.... Would have been interesting though to know if the Canucks submitted a claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Templeton Peck Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Please post an article or paragraph, NOT just a link. This. Also remember to use tags on your topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyCuddles Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Then why wouldn't we have just done that if we really wanted him. Wait, nm, I think lower ranked teams get first dibs. Do we even have a contract spot open? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd. Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I would have loved to grab him and put him alongside Weber. He's definitely better defensively than Sbisa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Do we even have a contract spot open? When Linden (or Benning?) was interviewed in Utica recently, he said they're at 48. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Schlemko is a 6-1, 190 lb puck-moving defenseman who has had some struggles this season for the Coyotes (like most of them) and has already passed through waivers once, with Arizona failing to trade the left-shot defenseman. He's not very physical, and was getting into trouble earlier this season for bad decisions with the puck. Feeling less bad about not picking him up, and it's good that we stick with who we have instead of seeing him as a savior (which CDC normally does with most new guys) when he's really a depth guy. If he was an elite-level skater then sure, but bad decisions and not being physical may mean that he can't handle the top guys if we need him to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 When Linden (or Benning?) was interviewed in Utica recently, he said they're at 48. +1 for that info. It's pretty good that they're going to Utica to watch the games and the farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William_Clarkson Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I would have loved to grab him and put him alongside Weber. He's definitely better defensively than Sbisa. Sbisa's not that great, but come on, Sbisa>Weber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd. Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Sbisa's not that great, but come on, Sbisa>Weber Well at least Weber is putting some decent numbers and he gets third pairing line minutes. Sbisa however, has been poor offensively and defensive game is mediocre to say the least. However, he still has upside to become a top 6 stay at home rugged d-man which I really want him to become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I would have loved to grab him and put him alongside Weber. He's definitely better defensively than Sbisa. He'd be far superior to the Sbisa option. Sbisa makes goofy money too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Its probably surprising only in regards to what type of defensive player he is. Quote / unquote a PMD... Dallas should have its share of these. Goligoski has solid offensive numbers and Trevor Daley appears off to a career year; both with 17 points in 36 games. Rookie John Klingberg has matched any of our D in scoring with 11 points and in just 22 games. Demers is scoring at a decent clip; 7 points in 16 games since coming over. But they are not deep overall on D. So maybe its just another body? And in spite of all their offense, from the back end and front, they are not where they want to be in the standings. Could be some change of makeup coming in big D? And it does not necessarily have to be, or even likely be a subsequent trade of Schlemko. As someone suggested for Kassian??? (Pooo on that BTW. I do not want to trade Kassian as it is, never mind for a waiver player!) Maybe they have trouble in their locker room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryberg Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 could be interesting if Dallas picked up Schlemko as a piece to add in a Kassian trade. A club can't trade a player they claimed off waivers until after the playoffs unless they first offer him on the same terms to any other club who had made a waiver claim on him at the time he was originally made available. So if the canucks wanted schlemko (put a claim in on him yesterday) and dallas tried to trade him then the canucks could have him for free. Then again the canucks already passed on him for free once this year. No chance they traded Kassian for waiver junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Now it gets interesting.Nill and Benning are two of the brightest and best young GM's in the business.Both came to be GM's the hard way-working their way up by scouting and overseeing player development of NHL clubs.Schlemko is a Sherwood Park boy so Benning is all over his skill set.Schlemko also played for his Tigers so WIllie is all over his skill set.With Dallas said to be scouting Kassian we may have a trade for a d man in play.Dallas has a plethora of young d men and Willie coached a few of them in Dallas so he would know what is what and whom is worthy of putting on our blue line for the future.I thought the Canucks would take Schlemko but maybe Benning passed so that Nill can now trade with us by giving up Klingberg.That's been my thoughts since the Dallas rumour got going.No idea why the Stars would give up Klingberg straight up for Kassian but stranger things have happened.h Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Now it gets interesting. Nill and Benning are two of the brightest and best young GM's in the business. Both came to be GM's the hard way-working their way up by scouting and overseeing player development of NHL clubs. Schlemko is a Sherwood Park boy so Benning is all over his skill set. Schlemko also played for his Tigers so WIllie is all over his skill set. With Dallas said to be scouting Kassian we may have a trade for a d man in play. Dallas has a plethora of young d men and Willie coached a few of them in Dallas so he would know what is what and whom is worthy of putting on our blue line for the future. I thought the Canucks would take Schlemko but maybe Benning passed so that Nill can now trade with us by giving up Klingberg. That's been my thoughts since the Dallas rumour got going. No idea why the Stars would give up Klingberg straight up for Kassian but stranger things have happened. h Nill schooled Chia/Benning in the Seguin trade no doubt he will School Benning in a trade for Kassian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Nill schooled Chia/Benning in the Seguin trade no doubt he will School Benning in a trade for Kassian.Supporters of the club may want to wait and see how their GM does before being a dick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryberg Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Schlemko is a Sherwood Park boy so Benning is all over his skill set. Schlemko also played for his Tigers so WIllie is all over his skill set. 2 months ago called. It left a message... Benning and Willie passed on schlemko already. But now they are "all over his skill set" right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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