Like a growing number of teams, the Dallas Stars made their splash well before the March 7 trade deadline this season.

Sitting in second place in the Central Division with a 33-17-1 record, the Stars made a deal with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Sharks sent forward Mikael Granlund and defenceman Cody Ceci to the Stars in exchange for a first-round pick in 2025 and a fourth-round pick that becomes a third-round pick if the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
🚨 TRADE ALERT! 🚨
We have acquired Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the <a href="https://twitter.com/SanJoseSharks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sanjosesharks</a> for a 2025 First-Round Pick and 2025 Conditional Third-Round Pick.
Welcome to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TexasHockey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TexasHockey</a>, Mikael and Cody!
📰 MORE: <a href="https://t.co/w1qM9bBeGA">https://t.co/w1qM9bBeGA</a> <a href="https://t.co/OT9aHYnpn2">pic.twitter.com/OT9aHYnpn2</a>
&mdash; Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/1885744964719514007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Granlund led the Sharks in scoring last season with 60 points in 69 games and he&#8217;s again been their most productive player as they trudge through another rebuilding year. The 32-year-old has 15 goals and 45 points through 52 games this season while logging 20:51 per night on average.
Ceci was acquired as a salary cap dump from the Edmonton Oilers during the off-season. The Sharks moved Ty Emberson to the Oilers for Ceci and a third-round pick and the plan for San Jose was always about flipping the veteran defender as a rental to a contending team to net another pick.
The Sharks sit dead last in the league with a 15-33-6 record and trading away Granlund and Ceci will help them bottom out for the rest of the season. With Granlund, the Stars added a much-needed replacement for Tyler Seguin, who had hip surgery in December and likely won&#8217;t return this season. Ceci also gives Dallas some additional veteran depth on a fairly top-heavy blueline.
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I think we can safely say that the 4 Nations Face-Off break has created a second, early trade deadline. Was suspected by NHL execs that might be the case.
&mdash; Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) <a href="https://twitter.com/wyshynski/status/1885481258014187568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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This deal between Dallas and San Jose is yet another trade that was made well before the March 7 deadline.
Last week, the Colorado Avalanche shocked the hockey world when they moved <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/theres-some-belief-they-can-make-that-happen-oilers-signing-mikko-rantanen-isnt-that-far-fetched-of-an-idea">Mikko Rantanen</a> to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal. Before the end of January, the Calgary Flames added <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/flames-swing-trade-with-flyers-nab-two-potential-oilers-targets">Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee</a> from the Philadelphia Flyers and the Vancouver Canucks traded <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/drama-in-vancouver-results-in-canucks-trading-j-t-miller-to-rangers">J.T. Miller</a> to the New York Rangers.
Those are just the trades from January. The Avs also acquired two goaltenders in two separate trades in late November and early December. Well in advance of the J.T. Miller saga landing in New York, the Rangers captain Jacob Trouba agreed to a trade to the Anaheim Ducks, which led to Cam Fowler getting moved to the St. Louis Blues.
As ESPN&#8217;s Greg Wyshynski noted, it&#8217;s been an unusually busy middle of the season when it comes to trades due in part to the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
Teams will be off for over a week while players representing Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States play between Feb 12 and Feb 20 in Montreal and Boston. There could be an advantage in having your playoff lineup locked and loaded for the stretch drive that begins following the tournament.

Like a growing number of teams, the Dallas Stars made their splash well before the March 7 trade deadline this season.



Sitting in second place in the Central Division with a 33-17-1 record, the Stars made a deal with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Sharks sent forward Mikael Granlund and defenceman Cody Ceci to the Stars in exchange for a first-round pick in 2025 and a fourth-round pick that becomes a third-round pick if the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final.

https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/1885744964719514007

Granlund led the Sharks in scoring last season with 60 points in 69 games and he's again been their most productive player as they trudge through another rebuilding year. The 32-year-old has 15 goals and 45 points through 52 games this season while logging 20:51 per night on average.

Ceci was acquired as a salary cap dump from the Edmonton Oilers during the off-season. The Sharks moved Ty Emberson to the Oilers for Ceci and a third-round pick and the plan for San Jose was always about flipping the veteran defender as a rental to a contending team to net another pick.

The Sharks sit dead last in the league with a 15-33-6 record and trading away Granlund and Ceci will help them bottom out for the rest of the season. With Granlund, the Stars added a much-needed replacement for Tyler Seguin, who had hip surgery in December and likely won't return this season. Ceci also gives Dallas some additional veteran depth on a fairly top-heavy blueline.

https://twitter.com/wyshynski/status/1885481258014187568

This deal between Dallas and San Jose is yet another trade that was made well before the March 7 deadline.

Last week, the Colorado Avalanche shocked the hockey world when they moved <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/theres-some-belief-they-can-make-that-happen-oilers-signing-mikko-rantanen-isnt-that-far-fetched-of-an-idea">Mikko Rantanen</a> to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal. Before the end of January, the Calgary Flames added <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/flames-swing-trade-with-flyers-nab-two-potential-oilers-targets">Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee</a> from the Philadelphia Flyers and the Vancouver Canucks traded <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/drama-in-vancouver-results-in-canucks-trading-j-t-miller-to-rangers">J.T. Miller</a> to the New York Rangers.

Those are just the trades from January. The Avs also acquired two goaltenders in two separate trades in late November and early December. Well in advance of the J.T. Miller saga landing in New York, the Rangers captain Jacob Trouba agreed to a trade to the Anaheim Ducks, which led to Cam Fowler getting moved to the St. Louis Blues.

As ESPN's Greg Wyshynski noted, it's been an unusually busy middle of the season when it comes to trades due in part to the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

Teams will be off for over a week while players representing Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States play between Feb 12 and Feb 20 in Montreal and Boston. There could be an advantage in having your playoff lineup locked and loaded for the stretch drive that begins following the tournament.

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