From ESPN's Pierre LeBrun:
The Dallas Stars suffered another loss on Tuesday night and moved one step closer to forcing general manager Jim Nill to become a seller on March 1. Now seven points back of a playoff spot with exactly three weeks to go until the trade deadline, the Stars must a go on a serious roll. Starting now.
"Our focus is trying to get into the playoffs here,'' Nill said as his team skated on Tuesday morning at Air Canada Centre before a 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs. "We're still there. We're taking it game by game.''
And that's not a cliche. The Stars' trade deadline strategy is hanging by the moment. Either the team rips off a massive run here or Nill will have no choice but to start auctioning off some of his pending unrestricted free agents.
Topping the list would be cagey veteran Patrick Sharp, whose Stanley Cup experience and creative hands could help any contender.
"Who knows what's going to happen?" said Sharp, who'll be a a UFA on July 1. "I'm in the same boat as Jim. I'm focused on Dallas and trying to string together a few wins. You look at our conference. There's a lot of teams saying the same thing, that they feel they're in striking distance of the playoffs and good things can still happen. That's where my focus is now. But obviously I've been around a while. I know what lies ahead if that doesn't happen. But I'm not too worried about it either way.''
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