"This is just a guess, but hopefully it is an educated guess.

In looking at the potential free agents the Stars could target on July 1, I keep coming back to one name _ Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson.

Yes, getting a high-level defenseman like James Wisniewski or Christian Ehrhoff would be great for the Stars. Heck, adding a veteran like Ed Jovanovski has its merits. But if you look at what Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk did with Alex Goligoski, you wonder if there could be a strategy there that could be repeated.

Most of us looking at potential trade partners last year targeted established, veteran defensemen with the ability to help the power play. Tomas Kaberle comes to mind. But Nieuwendyk and his scouts found something quite different. They discovered a 25-year-old defenseman who had not really been allowed to stretch his legs yet. Goligoski was a complementary defenseman in Pittsburgh, a Darryl Sydor type, but he was young and positioned behind other players.

So the Stars made the trade, gave him five more minutes a game, and watched as he ate up the minutes with seeming ease. Now, they have a player on the upswing with his best years ahead of him.

And you wonder if Nieuwendyk is thinking the same thing again."