Counting the cards: How Cody Eakin ended up in Vegas

CHICAGO — Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill got the official confirmation around lunch time on Wednesday.

Nill always had an idea that Cody Eakin would be the selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL Expansion Draft. But Nill wasn’t certain and he prefers to work in absolutes rather than hearsay.

So while it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Eakin’s name would be called on Wednesday evening, Nill had accepted that any of his unprotected players could be taken by Vegas when the final list was submitted to the NHL.

But with confirmation from Vegas GM George McPhee, the Stars GM took a break from his prep for the NHL Entry Draft and called Eakin. He informed the center he’d be heading to Vegas and thanked him for his five years of service to the organization.

It was a professional and forced divorce, but a frustrating one nonetheless just two years into a four-year, $15.4 million contract Eakin signed before the 2016-17 season. That contract, which will expire after two seasons in Vegas, was supposed to be a sign that Eakin was part of the Stars core going forward.

And before this season Eakin was part of the long-term plan in Texas. Before training camp the Stars brass had a mock expansion draft, and Eakin was amongst those protected.

“It changed all year,” Nill said. “We did (a mock draft) at our pro meetings in January and it changed a little bit there. And then we ended up doing the final one. And it was always evolving. It always came down to about three or four names.”

While Nill won’t officially confirm it, those other forwards in that conversation are believed to be wingers Antoine Roussel and Brett Ritchie. At face value centers are more valuable in the NHL than wingers, and Roussel and Ritchie didn’t exactly move the needle in national conversation.

Ritchie was a young player entering a show-me season. He already had an all-pro shot, but hadn’t consistently scored in the NHL. He responded with more consistent play and finished fourth in team scoring with 16 goals this season.

Roussel was a fan favorite in Dallas and a pest, but he wasn’t much more than that pesky winger you hated to play against. In just 60 games he had 27 points (he easily would have set career highs if not for a hand injury) and his showing at the IIHF World Championships with France only boosted his value.

At the same time Eakin’s value plummeted.

He was injured on the first day of training camp and never really got comfortable skating with a knee brace when he returned. He eventually found his skating stride, but one of his fastest sprints of the season happened to end with a high-speed collision behind the New York Rangers net that sent Henrik Lundqvist to the locker room (the goalie later returned) and earned Eakin a four-game suspension.

You can make all the excuses in the world, but by the end of the season Eakin finished with just 12 points in 60 games, many of those coming while centering Jamie Benn, who when last healthy was considered one of the best players in the world.

Those close to the Stars maintained Eakin had trade value, and members of the media (particularly in Edmonton) pushed that ideal up until the expansion draft. There were claims Eakin would be a good one-for-one trade return for Jordan Eberle, a deal that the Stars would have happily made if such rumors were true.

“With the expansion draft it worked out well that we got a good idea where are players are within the league,” Nill said. “You talk to people, you learn a bit more about what value actually looks like for certain players.”

Essentially Eakin had lost all value on the open market. Teams looked at his contract and his recent success, and the cost of protecting him over another player in expansion wasn’t worth the risk.

The Stars could have made a deal to protect Eakin if they wanted, and Nill had an open dialogue with McPhee, but the need for such a trade to protect the center never surfaced.

“Part of it that people sometimes don’t understand is that contracts come into play, age of the player comes into play, the salary cap comes into play,” Nill said. “A lot of dynamics come into play.”

Valeri Nichushkin was part of that dynamic. While the Stars first-round pick in 2013 spent this past season in the KHL he still had to be protected, and the Stars view the 22-year-old Russian as a top asset whether he returns to the NHL this season or not.

(On that note, Nill and Nichushkin spoke last week. There is no firm answer at this time which way the player is leaning.)

While Eakin was the odd man out at forward, the Stars went through similar discussions on defense. John Klingberg and Esa Lindell where always going to be protected, but the grouping of Stephen Johns, Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, and Dan Hamhuis all were considered for the third protection spot on the blue line.

In the end it came down to value within the league. Johns, a right-handed shot with loads of potential, would have been an easy choice for Vegas, while the other three defenders were less likely selections.

It was all a juggling act of assigning value and trying to predict the Golden Knights actions. And Eakin ultimately ended up getting left out of the Stars master plan.