Adding Cogliano may be one step in Stars' push for playoff run

The Stars have been through a lot the past month, so when GM Jim Nill acquired veteran Andrew Cogliano from the Anaheim Ducks Monday for Devin Shore, the timing seemed more than just coincidental.
"Nothing is coincidental," center Jason Spezza said. "Obviously, they felt that we needed a change, so they bring in a veteran guy."
Cogliano is 31. Shore is 24. Cogliano has 64 playoff games under his belt. Shore has none. Both offer great dynamics, and the Stars are giving up a lot in Shore. But the message of the trade is clear:
This team needs to get better right now.

"Our league now is as balanced and as open as it has ever been. There's an opportunity here, the door is open, and we don't want the door to close behind us," Nill said. "That's expectations, and that's a good thing. It's about trying to get better every day we come to work, and if there's an opportunity for me to add a piece that helps us, great."
By adding Cogliano, the Stars get a speedy forward who might be able to open up a little ice and create stretch passes from the defense. While Shore was a solid possession player, Cogliano will hopefully better fit the description of a natural second-line player. Both are similar in what they can do, but the Stars are hoping to find a different element with Cogliano.

"I think it's going to really add to us," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "We're going to be more dynamic and faster."
And it might be just the first change for this team.
Dallas sits 23-19-4 and in third place in the Central Division. The Stars have a small cushion in the battle for a playoff spot with 36 games remaining, and that's even when they are coming off two disappointing losses and have a bit of a crisis on their hands. Montgomery said Saturday he was frustrated trying to change the team's "culture of mediocrity."
Those are strong words, but Nill said the team was embracing the challenge of gaining consistency and was working as a group to solve the problems.
"We've got to get better," Nill said. "We've been inconsistent. We've gone one- or two-game stretches where we've been really good, and one or two where we're off. And coach is demanding -- he wants that consistency, and that's what we have to get to."
A big part of establishing that consistency is finding an identity. Adding Cogliano's speed helps push the Stars in a direction where maybe they can be a team that creates more offense to go along with the good goaltending.
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"My biggest thing is what is our identity? Are we a going to be a heavy team to play against? Are we going to be a fast team to play against? What's our identity, I think that's what we have to find right now," Nill said.
"We've seen it in different spurts. We've seen we can be fast, we can be a high shot team. We've seen we can be a heavy, hard team. We made that trip to Western Canada, and we were a tough team to play against. We were heavy and hard. Are we that or are we a mix of that? That's what we have to find out right now."
If they do, then maybe Nill will be making more moves.
The Stars currently have three players on injured reserve in Martin Hanzal (back), Marc Methot (knee) and Stephen Johns (neck/headaches). Any one of the three could return at some point or any one of the three could be put on long-term IR, which could help facilitate a trade by creating a situation where the Stars can go over the salary cap.
Nill said he's going to be patient before the Feb. 25 trade deadline, and is hoping any or all of the three can recover and play.
"We've got five or six more weeks to see where we're at, and right now there's no time frame," he said of the injuries.

But clearly, there is a time frame for this team. It has missed the playoffs for two seasons straight and it wants to change that this year.
The players and coaches on Monday had a meeting where they exchanged ideas on what needed to be done. The practice on the ice included music to create some positive vibes. The goal is to be more consistent in their performance. Too often, the team has not been able to maintain itself through good times, and has needed a heavy hand to create motivation during bad times.
"You've got to keep level-headed emotions," Nill said. "Right now, I think we're too high when we win and we're too low when we lose, and I think there's something inbetween we've got to find."
To become a team that can move forward in the playoffs, there's a lot of work to be done. One, the coaching staff needs to create an identity. Two, the players have to find consistency. And three, maybe the GM will add something more to the mix.
"Everybody is trying to make their team better," Spezza said of the expectation for the next two months. "There's 20 teams that are all in the middle, and everyone is trying to be the team that pulls away from the pack. You're trying to be one of the teams that's adding towards the end."
The trade Monday is possibly the first part of that add.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.