Why Chris Tanev is a perfect fit for the Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars acquired one of the NHL’s top Trade Deadline targets on Wednesday, getting defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a second-round pick, prospect Artem Grushnikov and a conditional 2026 third-round pick.

The New Jersey Devils are also involved with the deal, retaining some of Tanev’s $4.5 million cap hit. They will receive a fourth-round pick.

The 34-year-old Tanev has been the subject of trade rumours for most of the 2023-24 season and was widely expected to be moved ahead of the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss their reason for why Tanev is a perfect fit for a Stars lineup that’s trying to win its first Stanley Cup championship since 1999.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Over the last couple of weeks whenever we would talk about the Stars, I would talk about how good that forward group is, and yes the blue line was good, but we were thinking if they could just add one more piece to their defensive core. Tanev is that guy. When you’re talking about matches made in Heaven, Tanev and the Stars is exactly that.

Frank Seravalli: I love it from a purely stylistic standpoint. As I’ve mentioned a few times, the Stars have a style of play that translates to the playoffs, which is why I picked them to win the Stanley Cup. I think they’ve got just as good a chance as any. When you talk about translating to the post-season, their defense can play any style you want: they can skate like the wind and are efficient at moving the puck, but they didn’t have anyone on their backend that eats pucks. They had no big shot blocker.

That’s what Chris Tanev is. He’s second in the league at blocking shots, and the Stars were 22nd. That number will go up. As for him as an overall player, he isn’t fast or moves the puck incredibly well, but he makes simple, little plays that gets the puck to forwards that can be really beneficial.

This is a perfect fit for Dallas.

Click below to watch the full segment and the rest of the episode…