Jim Montgomery commented on the mediocrity of the Dallas Stars after a loss to the St. Louis Blues Saturday stating, “I’m very frustrated that I haven’t been able to gain consistency in our performance and I haven’t been able to change the culture of mediocrity.” With a trade finalized Sunday morning and an announcement from GM Jim Nill, it seems that mediocrity will now not be tolerated in Dallas. Or we can hope this a step in that direction. The Stars will be sending forward Devin Shore to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Andrew Cogliano

Much like the addition of Blake Comeau in the offseason, Cogliano will look to provide another veteran presence in the bottom lines and help bring up lackluster scoring within that depth. With an obvious top-five dominating the scoring for Dallas, it was about time the Stars made a shakeup. Whether it’s a message to the team that they need to pick it up or the veteran can really help bolster the bottom, at least something has been done to make a change.

The first line accounts for roughly 47% of Dallas’ points (154/323), 50% of their goals (61/121), and 46% of their assists (93/202). The only players in my mind that are contributing consistently outside of the top five are Miro Heiskanen and Jason Spezza when it comes to scoring. Include those two and it moves to 60% of Dallas’ points (195/323), 62% of goals (76/121), and 58% of assists (119/202). These seven are contributing at a more consistent basis as well. Meanwhile, the other 13 are spotty, to say the least.

Devin Shore, among others, has been struggling as of late and whether he can pick up his play with the Ducks will be left to be seen. But in Dallas, Shore posted 17 points (five goals and 12 assists) ranking the forward at eighth on the Stars’ roster. Shore has had a fair amount of problems getting things going within the offense over the past couple of months. In fact, the 24-year-old has only five assists in the last 10 games.

This trade is a statement more than anything else. Cogliano also, in my mind, has the chance to work better in Montgomery’s style of offense from the wing.

With an abundance of centers, Shore struggled when taking up a place on the wing. So it makes sense Dallas has grabbed more of a true winger and veteran presence to fix some struggles in the offense and change mentalities come the home stretch.

The stretch heading into the playoffs is going to be key yet again for the Stars as they don’t want a repeat of last season in missing the playoffs amid drowning in inconsistencies.

Andrew Cogliano may be the shakeup needed or maybe it’s just a trade for another bottom liner to get mixed in the shuffle of inconsistent forwards. Nonetheless, you have to stay somewhat optimistic after a trade like this as it shows that the front office is trying and not just throwing words out that they see the problem.

Cogliano has struggled this season, but his track record shows over the past years that he will be healthy all year and provide both goals and assists. Staying healthy is going to be key as over the past years the Stars have been muddled with injuries, especially in recent acquisitions. So if you can keep Cogliano healthy and provide him a line to produce with, maybe with Jason Spezza, this will be a successful trade. Really, depth scoring at this point is very much needed to help bolster the Stars’ offense.

The 31-year-old Cogliano has 11 points on the season (eight assists and three goals). Not the best start to the season, but Cogliano will be able to provide speed out on the wing and stretch the ice. The forward has shown to be a durable two-way player and luckily for the Stars, Cogliano will be able to fit in a lot of different places if things don’t work out right away.

With Dallas picking up the pace in Montgomery’s style of offense, Cogliano could work very well into that, more so than Shore, but only time will tell. And with Jason Spezza giving Cogliano high praises, it might just be a matter of time before we start giving Cogliano those same praises.