Even though is about Ottawa, it could very well be about Jake Oettinger, and the paradox of playing the net well (or not well) in front of a good defense.

Updated Dallas Stars prospect pool ranking along with comments about Emil Hemming, Cameron Schmidt, and their pipeline ranking. dcastillo.substack.com/p/scott-whee...

Jamie Benn and the gang lead the way in Dallas' most dominant win of the season over Edmonton. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stray-obse...

Matt Duchene sticking a fork in Edmonton with the most style and sauce possible.

Dave Jackson ALMOST taking a stance on the Trent Frederic roughing penalty tells you everything you need to know.

lol "roughing"

I really love the Discord.

Wyatt Johnston moves to 8th among PP goal leaders in a season since 2007 with 22, above Alex Ovechkin's 08-09 and 18-19 seasons.

Edmonton's decision making is just wretched, and Dallas punishes them each and every time.

DJ Steel: elite.

Shots attempts 10-0 for Dallas through almost seven. Dallas has given Edmonton zero room to breathe.

Digging deep into Jake Oettinger's season, and his season to date to figure out where we're headed for a goalie we know has more but are still a little in the dark about when it comes to giving us his best. dcastillo.substack.com/p/does-dalla...

Postgame recap of a slog-and-slug-fest between Dallas and Vegas. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stray-obse...

Vegas and Dallas played a super grindy 1st period. Still mind boggling that Mavrik Bourque gets interference on Klapka the other night hitting him a nanosecond after he passed off but McNabb doesn't get called for that hit on Bunting who never even touched the puck.

Totally forgot it was Noche Mexicana.

That breakaway chance starts with Thomas Harley's pokecheck on the zone entry.

These are built to scale, btw.

Rasmus Dahlin is like the Doomsday creature. The more crosschecks he eats the stronger he gets.

Forgot to post my 2026 trade deadline analysis. Winners (Colorado, obviously) and losers (Edmonton...obviously), etc. sticksandsalvos.substack.com/p/the-most-i...

Buffalo and Tampa with one of the most demented games of the season.

While still partially percentage-driven, it's a testament to Neil Graham that Dallas' power play has continued to be successful even without Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz.

Impressed Bourque got that pass through to begin with.

Postgame recap on a (very) wild bout between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. dcastillo.substack.com/p/stay-obser...

Closeup of the Roope Hintz injury. Nathan MacKinnon with what looks like a Judo-type sweep.

Unfortunately no better angles, but it looks like Hintz' legs splay out awkwardly when MacKinnon wrestles him down.

The Roope Hintz injury happened on this play with Nathan MacKinnon.

Roope Hintz is down and it does not look good.

The shootout is on. Necas gets Colorado to within one.

Just total grown man shit from Justin 'Uncle Rico' Hryckowian.

No matter how bad Colorado's power play has been, you can't tempt fate with players of that caliber, nor can you count on ideal officiating.

Dallas opening up a can on Colorado after a poor miscommunication between Blackwood and Toews.

That was definitely Johnston that time.

That looked like Johnston right?

Uncharacteristic retreat on Dallas' PK there to put Colorado up by one.

Some quick thoughts on the Dallas Stars deadline, and moving the needle against the Murder Death Kill division. 🔗 dcastillo.substack.com/p/light-work...

I've never been so relieved to hear those words after seeing what Schenn, McCarron, and Faulk cost.

God I miss the beat.

The Dallas Stars have $2.4M left in deadline space. Some names left if Nill is still looking to add at forward (most would require some form of retention): Bobby McMann Scott Laughton Ilya Mikheyev Gustav Nyqvist Erika Huala

Jarmo Kekäläinen doing everything in his power to win a fired GM the Jim Gregory award. That's: 2026 2nd 2026 4th 2026 6th 2027 2nd Jacob Bryson Isak Rosen (former 1st who is a PPG in the AHL right now) ...for three replacement level players. Just gritpilled all to hell.

My in-the-wild reaction and analysis to Michael Bunting being traded to the Dallas Stars. It's not just a really good deal IMO. It's a deal that helps ignite some of the checking identity Glen Gulutzan has been slowly trying to build. 🔗 dcastillo.substack.com/p/pucks-piss...

I still have no idea how a serious league values Warren Foegele and Michael McCarron higher than Michael Bunting.

One of the things I discussed in the Michael Bunting writeup, and something that tends to get underdiscussed when looking at player value, is Bunting draws penalties at a very high rate. If Bunting were nothing else, that alone given Dallas' elite power play, would be an upgrade.

Already wrote about him in February. Yes, Michael Bunting is a solid fit for the Dallas Stars. He's not perfect. But he solid. dcastillo.substack.com/p/lets-yap-a...

Not bad. Michael Bunting to Dallas for a third rounder? While McCarron gets a second? Really not bad.

I once walked a San Antonio sidewalk and got hit by a car going full speed and walked away without a scratch action movie style.

Hockey insiders right now.

Mixed feelings on the Buffalo trade. Yea, I get it. Parayko is the player you hope Mrtka turns into. I dig the swagger of trading like an all-in team. Just not sure swagger is preferable to prudence. Calm down my dudes. Your window is not these next two years.

An in-the-wild, deep dive on the Dallas Stars trade for Tyler Myers, why I don't like it, why I kind of do, why I still don't trust Dallas with right-shot defenders, and why it may not matter. dcastillo.substack.com/p/into-the-w...

I'll dig into this more at the stomping grounds, but I tend to be a little cagey with any trade. Does trading for Player X make you better? If they do, then you can justify it. If they do not, then it's hard to justify giving up any asset, however big or small.

Myers certainly has the capacity to look better in Dallas. And I think he will. The real question is to what degree. His decision-making still scares me though.