RAMPING UP

Well the ramping up of rosters seems to have begun, and the Stars top rivals in the Pacific have been at the forefront.

Anaheim Ducks
First it was Scott Niedermayer "not retiring" and skating eloquently back into the fold. Then, just two days ago the Finnish Flash returns from car pool lane saying he has a little left to give. Nice eh. A Norris Trophy winning defenseman and a 45 goal scorer just fall out of the sky to aid the Cup defenders.

San Jose Sharks
A lot of nights they look as though their team name should be Sharpays not Sharks (some bark, but little bite) That was addressed with the acquisition of Blue Jacket tough guy Jody Shelley for a 6th round pick.

I don't think it would be too big of a stretch to suggest the moves were made, at least in part, as a way of dealing with our pesky Stars.

The Ducks have struggled on special teams vs Dallas so adding two big bullets to their PP gun helps - a lot.

In their last couple meetings with the Sharks (Both victories) the Stars were able to bully them. Joe Thornton was a target of Ott and Co., and other than Craig Rivet they seemed to have very little push back. That's probably changed.

Is this the start of an arms race in the Pacific?

In the next 27 days we'll find out.