Henrik Lundqvist to the Dallas Stars?

Despite the fact that one hockey writer admits his theory is probably crazy. and rather unlikely, he has proposed a trade involving goaltender Henrik Lundqvist that he believes makes sense for both parties.

Matt Larkin of The Hockey News has proposed that the Rangers, who have consistently mortgaged their future, trade ther superstar goalie to the Dallas Stars, for a large return that would help the Rangers in the long-term moving forward. Larkin has suggested a trade of the Stars first round draft choice this year, 21 year old defenseman Esa Lindell and one of their current goaltenders, Khari Lehtonen or Antti Niemi. could get the deal done.

The benefit for the Stars here is obvious, they get the best player in the deal in Lundqvist, and they patch up their biggest weakness, making them a much more dangerous playoff contender for the next several years.

For New York it would give them their highest pick in the draft dating all the way back to 2011, a move that would go a long way to bring some talent to a barren development system after a series of deadline trades intended to push for a Cup. It would also go a long way to shoring up a blue line that is expected to lose Dan Boyle, and that has been hit hard by a drop in performance from Dan Girardi. Not to mention there is the possibility that the Rangers could lose players like Keith Yandle to free agency. While they would inarguably end up with a weaker goaltender, they stand to save as much as $4 million in cap space for the next two seasons, and $8.5 million for the three after that with Lundqvist contract lasting through the 2020-2021 season.

The biggest flaw in Larkin's proposition is the no-trade, and limited no-trade clauses involved in these contracts, but it is certainly an interesting idea, and given that the deal is cross-conference, it's not impossible.

[pub]