Struggling NHL team could deal as many as 5 of their veteran players.

The Dallas Stars have stumbled their way through this season, and now most expect they will miss the playoffs entirely, forcing general manager Jim Nill to sell off assets prior to the trade deadline.

Thankfully Nill has plenty of assets to deal and the deadline including a number of veterans on expiring contracts, some with Stanley Cups on their resume. NHL reporter Dan Rosen believes that as many as five such players could be on the market for Dallas.

From NHL.com:

It's becoming clearer each day that Nill has to make the Stars a deadline seller. His phone should be ringing because he has potential rental players contending teams should want.

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Forwards Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, Patrick Eaves and Lauri Korpikoski, and defenseman Johnny Oduya can each become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Both Sharp and Eaves have been mentioned in connection to the Chicago Blackhawks in recent weeks but we expect the Stars will get calls from several teams especially if they fall even further out of contention for the playoffs.