My latest: the New Jersey Devils, Luke Hughes, front office drama, lack of depth at wing, and whether or not New Jersey is toast. open.substack.com/pub/sticksan...

Postgame recap for a Stars game that played all of its worst hits against the Mammoth. open.substack.com/pub/dcastill...

Dallas' saving grace is that Utah is "top" 10 in losses after leading.

The way this game is going, that feels like the dagger.

Much better period for Dallas. Still lacking volume, not to mention cohesion between the forwards and the d, but they were more aggressive, and kept pace. Baby steps.

Really good wall battle between Lane Hutson and Josh Doan. Hutson with the short king split decision win.

Yep. Buffalo won that trade.

I was hoping to Salinger my way through this hockey writing gig but Mike had other ideas. Like a mailbag part 2, we ran through the gamut: more Jason Robertson snub outrage, trade outes, and which Dallas Star would make for the best UFC fighter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smdl...

Today's mailbag went through every Dallas Stars thing on the menu: from their struggles to trade targets to trade philosophies to lots of Al Pacino references. dcastillo.substack.com/p/mailbag-ya...

Brutal first period for Dallas. Anaheim with all the space. Dallas relying on bounces to come to them. Casey DeSmith with netminding sorcery is the only reason they're not down by two.

Great stuff from Louis as always, and of course, has a few necessary choice words for the Jason Robertson Team USA snub.

Last year’s breakout star is this year’s big slumper. How fast he rights the ship will determine where the Stars go from here. @davidcastillo.bsky.social

Want to know what the Stars are doing at the trade deadline? First, let’s start with another question: when is Thomas Harley snapping out of his funk? Because the answer to that will shape a lot of what happens. Here’s the great @davidcastillo.bsky.social www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...

My latest: Thomas Harley statistically had a Norris run in him last season. This season, he's statistically next to Ilya Lyubushkin. Are things finally looking up for the Olympic defender? www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...

What a bizarre end to that Buffalo Florida game. Lindy Ruff had at least three opportunities to pull the goalie with four, three, and two minutes reaming. Naturally, he pulls the trigger with less clock and less possession, 4-2 Panthers.

Sweet little midair takeaway by Zach Benson.

This is the Dallas Stars net PIM over the course of the season with majors, misconducts, and end of game penalties removed. The red line is when Mikko got his embellishment fine. There is definitely an effect. Credit to @ladyotreesyrup.bsky.social for all the hard work!

A few brief words about the lack of dominating Dallas Stars forward lines. dcastillo.substack.com/p/light-work...

Total fucking sorcery.

Posted a mailbag at the stomping grounds! Don't hesitate to participate. Hockey or non-hockey related. substack.com/chat/1006878...

Postgame recap of a Dallas Stars game that revealed some of the underlying problems they've had all year while displaying a new one: a penalty kill in a very bad patch. More at the stomping grounds. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stray-obse...

Postgame quicktake: Rough night for a lot of reasons. Officiating. Poor play. Random play. But if you're gonna shell, at least don't take penalties, and if you're gonna take penalties, at least prepare your PK.

This game right now.

Dallas' AHL team 2-2 versus San Jose.

Jamie Benn is still out so I'm assuming same lineup. Most interesting thing to watch for - besides Dallas shutting down Macklin Celebrini, which they've been surprisingly good at (so far at least) - is definitely Thomas Harley, who is slowly turning back into Thomas Harley.

Lots of Stars Stuff: previewing Dallas vs. Celebrini, Thomas Harley's struggles, and the ideal trade deadline fit in a market that will have very few. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stars-stuf...

BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!

Lots of Stars Stuff: previewing Dallas vs. Celebrini, Thomas Harley's struggles, and the ideal trade deadline fit in a market that will have very few. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stars-stuf...

A few (just a few) words on Macklin Celebrini and the road ahead for San Jose. sticksandsalvos.substack.com/p/macklin-ce...

Macklin Celebrini with his 24th of the year. Great keep. Insane movement. Clean finish. Through traffic no less.

Postgame recap of Dallas' most complete performance of the year in their 4-1 win over Washington. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stray-obse...

I'm not gonna say Thomas Harley is back. But he looks like he's back.

Ryan Leonard gets tripped up running into Mikko Rantanen and then slashes him. Nothing crazy but not sure why that's not worth calling.

The first period alone should buy Kyle Capobianco the next 20 games. Dude has been an impact presence on both sides of the puck.

Dimitri made it a long time ago, but this is Wesley Snipes taking the role of Blade levels. Super cool and I can't wait for this.

Justin Hryckowian just signed to a two-year, one-way contract extension running through the 2027-2028 season. $1.9 million, $950,000 AAV. Hryckowian has become a solid little college hockey find: underrated playmaking, and a dash of truculence. What's not to love?

Interesting stuff looking through Corey's tracked games. Dallas has 16 shots stemming from different forms of neutral zone play (regroups, reloads, and turnovers). Jason Robertson is responsible for 37 percent of Dallas' neutral zone offense.

This Flyers-Ducks "rivalry" started mostly as a one-sided thing on the part of Philadelphia fans. After this one? I think these two teams might actually, sincerely hate each other. Too bad they're in different conferences.

Very brief postgame recap of Dallas' no show versus Carolina. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stray-obse...

One of the most checked out games of the season.

Logan Stankoven makes it 3-1. Nope. Still not gonna say a bad word about the endless forward.

Brandon Bussi right now.

Props to the lung capacity of Carolina's audience. They were able to boo Mikko Rantanen the ENTIRE shift. No smokers in Raleigh I guess.

A brief rant on the Team USA snubs, with a focus on Jason Robertson and Adam Fox, but also a few others. sticksandsalvos.substack.com/p/breakfast-...

Lots of Dallas Stars thoughts on the five-game losing streak, Jason Robertson rising above the noise, and oh yea - what has happened to our fancy stats?!? dcastillo.substack.com/p/stars-stuf...

Damn. Slick attempt by Emil Hemming, but only nets the double ping on that shootout attempt.

No idea what Finland's PP is trying to do. Why they have Emil Hemming trapped in amber on the left dot is beyond me.

Postgame quicktake: I didn't think this game was that bad. Felt like a competitive game with an unfortunate outcome rather than a bad game with an unfortunate outcome. (Duchene's movement in overtime on the other hand...)

One of the most unhinged periods of hockey all season.