The Dallas Stars are hoping that a change of scenery breaks Erik Cole out of his season-long slump. "Yes, definitely," Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk said. "He's a top-six forward who had 35 goals last season, and we expect him to play at that level." Cole has just three goals and six points in 19 games. It remains to be seen exactly where Cole will fit into the Stars' lineup, but it's a good bet that he'll end up on one of Dallas' top two lines. If Cole's been dumped in your league, now is a good time to grab him on the chance that he gets hot in Dallas.

The Montreal Canadiens traded Erik Cole to the Dallas Stars for Michael Ryder. Cole has struggled in Montreal this season, with just three goals and six points in 19 games after last season's 61-point campaign. Ryder, meanwhile, has been a solid weapon for the Stars with six goals and 14 points in 19 games. Ryder returns to the city where he played his first four NHL seasons, while Cole will play for his fourth team since 2009.

The return of Brendan Gallagher to the lineup will mean that Erik Cole will drop down a line and skate alongside Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk. Hopefully this will get Cole going. He has not produced much this season (two goals) and the Habs' coaching staff may be getting a little impatient with him. "We expect more," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said of Cole. "I'm not going to hide it and I'm sure he expects more. He's an important player for us. We expect him to bounce back."

Erik Cole was limited to just 11:09 minutes on Saturday. Cole has been cold this season and it might end up temporarily costing him his spot on the Canadiens' top line. He has just two goals and four points in 11 games in 2013.

Erik Cole backtracked on his thoughts of early retirement slightly when asked to clarify his past statement on Tuesday. "It's just after the season we had last year and then being injured all summer and then having the lockout, it just kind of took my heart out of it a little bit," he said. "But being back here with the guys is obviously gets you excited again about playing." He added that winning games this season would also go a long way to making him want to continue playing. Cole will join David Deshernais and Max Paciorrety on Montreal's top line again this year.

Erik Cole hasn't ruled out the possibility of retiring after the shortened season. Cole is still under contract with the Montreal Canadiens through 2014-15 and he's still an effective player. However, he's unhappy with the new CBA and enjoyed spending time with his family during the lockout. "I want to have a conversation with the (players association) about some of the escrow stuff and some of the fearsome things in the new CBA," Cole said. "Family-wise it's a transition year with my daughter in school next year and I think it's something to be considered and everybody should consider this when they look at the new CBA, not just the way it affects the group but how it affects you individually."

Erik Cole still harbors some ill feelings about the lockout. "Personally, it was disappointing," Cole said. "And it just [infuriated] so many people, made everyone so upset, made them grow sick of the entire process. It just did so much more damage to the game than anyone would have wanted or thought would have happened. It's something where you're glad it's over but you're still pretty bitter that it ever happened in the first place." Cole is realistic about assessing the lockout's damage, saying it could be a few years to see what the real result was.

Erik Cole is healthy and ready for the season to start following the resolution of the labor dispute between the league and its players. He didn't play in Europe for several reasons, but rehabbing a lower-body injury may be the one that most fantasy fans should be interested about. The ailment lingered and required treatment from late April through mid-October, so it's good that the lockout helped him recover. Cole was a bright spot on the team last season in what was a horrible year for the Canadiens. He led the club with 35 goals and finished second with 61 points in 82 games. New coach Michel Therrien won't have long at training camp to implement his system and team philosophy, but Cole is confident that the players can get through it.

Erik Cole was angry with Roman Hamrlik's comments on Wednesday that pointed blame at NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr for the lockout lasting as long as it has. "For him to come out and say this, it's the most selfish thing I've heard during the lockout." said Cole. "Without a doubt. It's just disappointing. You'd think the veteran guys are the guys who'd take more pride in what other veteran guys sacrificed in the last lockout, how we all benefited from that as a group. Some guys never played again." Cole has been among those who are frustrated with the league during negotiations and Wednesday's NHL rejection of the union's latest proposal didn't surprise him at all.

Erik Cole didn't approve of the league's recent decision to give owners and GMs a 48-hour to talk to their players without the NHLPA's knowledge. The owners and GMs were given that window so that they could discuss the NHL's recent offer with their players. "Had they phoned me, I'd have declined to take their call," Cole said. "They could have left a message and maybe I'd have gotten back to them. I see this as the league trying to undermine our union and (executive director) Don Fehr." Meanwhile, the two sides don't have any meetings scheduled, so it looks like we won't have an 82-game season.