First Shift 🏒

The Stars were anticipating a big trade at some point in the second half of the season, and now the timing of said moves is working out well for the lads in Victory Green.

Dallas added Granlund and Ceci on Saturday and quickly slipped them into the lineup in a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. That was hectic. But after a full practice in Frisco on Monday, the team now has a three-game road trip in which the transition will be a little more leisurely. The Stars play at Anaheim on Tuesday, have a golf outing scheduled for Wednesday, a full practice on Thursday and then play at Los Angeles on Friday and at San Jose on Saturday.

The schedule couldn’t be better.

“It’s an important trip for our group,” said captain Benn. “We want to keep this train rolling. It’ll be nice for the new guys to get on the road and have some dinners. It will be good for us to get to know them better and for us to get to know them as well.”

The Stars have won five games in a row and are on a 15-4-1 run that makes them the hottest team in the league over the past six weeks. Dallas has done that while missing players like Seguin (hip surgery), Marchment (facial surgery), Nils Lundkvist (shoulder surgery) and Miro Heiskanen (lower body) from the lineup at various times. Marchment returned to the lineup on Sunday, Seguin is on the trip to partake in the team bonding, but is not expected to play for the remainder of the regular season. Still, the vibe for the team is a lot more positive.

“It’s great to bring new players and then go on the road,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “You’re forced to spend quality time together. This is a great trip. Seguin is coming with us. He hasn’t been around the team much with the surgery, so it’s a good trip for everyone to get to know each other.”

Both Granlund and Ceci are familiar with Dallas. Granlund has logged 872 NHL games, including a long stint in the Central Division while playing for both Minnesota and Nashville. He has played 49 games against the Stars, tied for the most against any opponent in his career. Ceci has spent more of his career in the East, but he also went head-to-head against Dallas in the Western Conference Final last season with Edmonton.

“These are two veteran players who have been through some playoff runs, and that should help us,” Benn said. “Granny has been in the Central for a while. He’s obviously patient with the puck, we saw that last night. He’s another opportunity for us to feel dangerous.”

Granlund has played with Duchene in Nashville and Matt Dumba in Minnesota. Ceci played with Duchene in Ottawa. Granlund and Ceci also were teammates on San Jose this season, so that helps make the transition easier.

“It was kind of nice to come over with Granny,” Ceci said. “We flew together and we had each other today, to get to the rink and whatnot, so that was nice. We both played with Duchene earlier on in our careers, so he was good, and Dumba picked us up for lunch. So, everyone kind of reached out and helped us out today, and it was great.”

But there still is work to be done, and so Monday’s practice was important.

“You get to work a little bit on some situations, some breakouts, some of our coverages, just those concepts,” DeBoer said. “They’re two smart players. There’s not a lot they haven’t seen before, so that’s comforting.”