Stars Sign Brad Winchester, Toby Petersen and Trevor Byrne

[VodkaFish]

FRISCO, Tex. – Dallas Stars General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that the club has signed three players to one-year contracts for the 2007-08 season. The club agreed to terms with left wing Brad Winchester on a one-year contract worth $475,000, while center Toby Petersen and defenseman Trevor Byrne received two-way contracts for 2007-08.

“Brad Winchester has gained some valuable NHL experience with Edmonton the last couple years and we think he adds depth to our forward group,” said Armstrong. “Toby Petersen has shown offensive capabilities while playing for our affiliate in Des Moines as well as at the NHL level, and Trevor Byrne adds some size to our defensive corps in Iowa.”

Winchester, 26, has skated in 78 career NHL games, all with Edmonton, posting four goals and six assists for 10 points with 107 penalty minutes. He also appeared in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games for Edmonton during their run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, recording a goal and two assists.

Originally drafted by Edmonton in the second round (No. 35 overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Winchester appeared in 59 games for the Oilers in 2006-07 and posted four goals and five assists for nine points with 86 penalty minutes. The native of Madison, Wis., played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin from 1999-2003, collecting 84 points (40 goals, 44 assists) and 224 penalty minutes in 150 games for the Badgers.

The 6-5, 215-pound left wing spent two seasons in the United States Development Program (1997-99), skating for the U.S. National Under-18 Team, and then appeared for Team USA at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Sweden.

Petersen, 28, split the 2006-07 season between the Edmonton Oilers and the AHL Iowa Stars. In 64 games with the Oilers last season, Peterson recorded six goals and nine assists for 15 points with four penalty minutes, while he posted eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in seven games with Iowa. Most recently, Petersen notched two goals and an assist for Team USA at the 2007 World Championships in Moscow.

The Minneapolis native skated in 86 games with the Iowa Stars the last two seasons, recording 28 goals and 53 assists for 81 points and earning Most Valuable Player honors in the club’s inaugural season. Petersen has skated in 155 career NHL games split between Pittsburgh and Edmonton, notching 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points to go with 12 penalty minutes.

Originally drafted by Pittsburgh in the ninth round (No. 244 overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Petersen had a stellar career at Colorado College from 1996-2000 that saw him collect 128 points (59 goals, 69 assists) and 62 penalty minutes in 138 games.

Byrne, 27, skated for the Hershey Bears and Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League during the 2006-07 season, registering a combined 14 points (1 goal, 13 assists) and 52 penalty minutes in 44 games. He added six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 15 AHL playoff games for Chicago last season.

The native of Hingham, Mass., was originally drafted by St. Louis in the fifth round (No. 143 overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. In 130 games over four collegiate seasons at Dartmouth from 1999-2003, the 6-4, 207-pound defenseman collected 21 goals and 62 assists for 83 points with 158 penalty minutes.

[nyislesfan45]

Winchester is definetly a good addition to the stars, would've enjoyed seeing him on the island.

[Orr=God]

looks like the stars will go without a heavyweight once again. i guess they thing that barch, winchester, and ott (if hes still with them) can carry the load.

[Jensen]

Originally Posted by Orr=God

looks like the stars will go without a heavyweight once again. i guess they thing that barch, winchester, and ott (if hes still with them) can carry the load.

That's more than a lot of teams have.

[JKidd]

Damn, Wincy will get 4 games a year to show his stuff to the Oil for letting him go. Should be enjoyable to watch.

Good pickup for the Stars.

[Thrillhouse]

So long Winny

Good luck in big D!

[the4thline]

That probably means Barch won't make the team.

[Isles4life]

I like Ott, I like Winchester, but I love Barch. I have a feeling he's going to be forced down on the depth chart now though.

[DaveBrown69]

Maybe Barch won't be out!

[nyislesfan45]

Eh, i think barch will stay up, even better for dallas.

[yatyas]

Great signing for Dallas!!! I agree with the other poster's though knowing the trend that's been going on, I don't see Barch up to many games. With Lundqvuist and Stefan still on the team they will probably see more ice time than Barch.

I would love this line though pretty interesting:

LW - Winchester
C - Ott
RW - Barch

I'm getting hard thinking about it!!!

[Snipes19]

Not a bad signing.
The Stars are still without a heavyweight, but they have a nice package of a light heavy, middle, and a light weight with Barch, Winchester, and Ott. If all three of them play every game on the 4th line, the Stars will at least have some toughness that will provide their fans with entertainment.

[O-Gnimh]

Good on the Stars for signing Winchester. Surprised the Oil let him go.

[Podollan]

The Oilers were silly to let Winchester go... he showed a lot of heart in the few games he played. And he has some skills too.
Him and Barch won't be heavys but will enforce the team better than a guy like Chris Simon.

[Isles4life]

Originally Posted by Podollan

Him and Barch won't be heavys but will enforce the team better than a guy like Chris Simon.

That means they could stick up for a teammate once, and already be ahead of him.