There’s a phenomenon in economics and business known as the sunk-cost fallacy. In short, organizations tend to over-value their own assets and hold on to them for far too long because of previous investments, economic and emotional. This prevents them from being able to make the best objective decision and ends up being costly in the long run.
How does this apply to hockey, and particularly this frustrating incarnation of the Dallas Stars? It’s actually pretty straight forward. Players, especially those who have been internally developed, are often held on to far too long or overvalued internally, because of the amount of resources already poured in and the emotional attachment to what they might be or were supposed to have been.