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Stars’ president Lites explains trades in letter to fans

NHL Board of Governors Meeting

NEW YORK - APRIL 20: James R. Lites, President of the Dallas Stars, speaks with reporters following the National Hockey League Board of Governors meeting at the Westin New York Hotel on April 20, 2005 in New York City. Representatives from all 30 NHL teams met in New York for the second time in seven weeks. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Brenden Morrow began the season a member of the Dallas Stars. He’s now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins following a recent trade.

Same for Jaromir Jagr, who was traded to Boston, and Derek Roy, dealt to the Vancouver Canucks.

Three big names gone in the days leading up to Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline. The Stars, as of Wednesday night, currently sit 13th in the Western Conference but only three points out of the final playoff spot.

Following the deadline, Stars’ president James R. Lites wrote a letter to the fans on the team’s website, explaining the recent trades.

Here’s an excerpt:

Dear Dallas Stars Fans,

We are sure everyone is spinning with the trades the franchise made this week. Tom Gaglardi, Joe Nieuwendyk, and I want to give you our insight into the process we’ve just come through and what it means to the near and long term prospects of our franchise.

First, one of the most difficult things hockey teams have to do at this time of the year is weigh their chances of competing for the Stanley Cup against the existing market place for veteran players, particularly veteran unrestricted free agents. In our case, Brenden Morrow, Jaromir Jagr, and Derek Roy were all unrestricted free agents after this season. That meant that we may only have been able to keep them for 12 or so more regular season games. Faced with that prospect, over the course of the last week, each player was purchased from us for solid, young prospects and/or draft picks. Believe me, we did our best to maximize the value for each player and did the best we could for the future of the Dallas Stars.