Langenbrunner Traded To Stars

Added on Jan 07, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

Dallas Stars acquired veteran winger Jamie Langenbrunner from the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Devils will receive a conditional third-round 2011 draft pick in return. The 35 year old is earning $2.8 million this season. He’s an unrestricted free agent July 1, and with the season at about the midway point, the Stars will be responsible for about $1.4 million of his salary.

Langenbrunner didn’t play on Thursday night against the Flyers as New Jersey was finalizing the contract, and Jamie must have approved since he had a no trade clause. He said he was headed to Texas on Friday, but he won’t be there in time to play the Rangers. He said of the trade “I am excited to come to back. Dallas gave me my start in the NHL and I have a lot of great memories of playing for that organization and in that city. I am excited about where that team is headed and excited to come be a part of it.”

Langenbrunner said the year has been rough, but he is going to really miss playing with the Devils. He said “We had high expectations coming into this season, like we do every year, and obviously we have not lived up to that. It’s been a very difficult few months for all of us. It’s been home seven, eight years now for me. The organization has been great to me and given me lots of opportunities. I won a Stanley Cup with these guys here and I have a lot of great friends here, so it’s going to be hard leaving that.”

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said that the deal took place on Thursday night, but the league needed to approve the deal because of the current owners situation in Dallas. The league has been helping to run the Stars while Tom Hicks looks for a buyer. He said of the deal “When it’s a quality person like Jamie has been, it’s difficult. Unfortunately in the position we’re in, and decisions have to be made. Right now we have to all become part of the solution and not be part of the problem.” He is speaking of the Devils current situation, as they have a disappointing 22 points and are last place in the Atlantic division. When he was asked if they could be making more moves he said they needed to rebuild and noted “There could be more, yes.”

Basically, If the Stars win their first-round playoff series, the pick becomes a second-rounder. If the Stars re-sign Langenbrunner before July 1, the pick becomes a second-rounder. If the Stars sign Langenbrunner after July 1, then the Devils give the Stars a third-round pick and get a second-round pick in return.

Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk said the league has been helpful, and they are happy they are working with them. He mentioned “Lenders and the league realize our situation, they know the situation we’re facing. They’ve given us the go-ahead to do what we think is right for the hockey club.” He was also very excited to be welcoming back Jamie, “I know the character of Jamie and I know he’s going to be a terrific fit for us in the locker room. He’s familiar with our organization, familiar with a couple of our players. It helps for where we are currently to have a guy that is the type of leader he is.” He also felt there were a number places in which he could help improve the stars, “I think there’s a number of fronts where he fits in well with our group. We haven’t had a right shots for quite some time. We’ve been missing a right shot, power-play presence. From a performance standpoint he’s really going to help us.”

Nieuwendyk concluded “All of our fans got to see first-hand what kind of a player Jamie is when he broke into the league in the ’90s and was part of our Stanley Cup team in 1999. We are thrilled to be able to bring him back to Dallas.”