Dallas Stars’ Gold Star Awards: Offensive Player Of The Year Poll

I thought I’d throw something in here amidst all the report card and future poll garbage (and yes I’m calling my own work garbage).

This will be a series of polls that I will do on various traits of the Stars’ players. This first one is a look at the key offensive threats on the Stars team this past year:

Jamie Benn:

This is an obvious choice for the candidates list. Jamie Benn broke the bank on his records this past season with new totals of 34 goals and 45 assists in 81 games for the regular season along with 4 goals and 1 assist in all 6 games of the Stars’ postseason, as well as being the first 6 games of his playoff career. Not bad for a guy drafted 129th overall playing in his 5th season overall AND earning the honors of Captain all at the age of 24, huh? Benn’s presence on the ice in green this season helped the offense more than words can express and made sure that the Stars’ offense was always clicking and delivering.

Tyler Seguin:

Again, why would Tyler Seguin NOT qualify for this list as well? Seguin set his own new records as well in his first season in Big D, netting 37 goals and bagging 47 assists in 80 regular season games. His playoff numbers were sort of dumbed down, but still helpful nonetheless, scoring 1 goal and tallying 2 assists in his 4th playoff appearance. Seguin came to the Stars’ in a trade for long-time Star Loui Eriksson, setting up a bitterness between the fans and Seguin for taking away their Lou. But that died away about 10 minutes into the first preseason game. Seguin helped make the Stars offense the fast-paced offense it is known as today (I’ve come to nickname him “Wheels”) and has single-handedly put many a defense on their butts looking around and wondering what happened. Oh, did I mention the three hat tricks?

Erik Cole:

Erik Cole had himself, though not as monumental as Seguin and Benn, a hearty and impressive season as well. After being traded from the Montreal Canadiens back during the lockout season, Cole made a name for himself on the Stars’ offense and helped bear the load during the lockout season that eventually turned out to mean nothing. But he came back with similar intentions this past season. The 35 year old found the back of the net 16 times this past season and found a teammate’s tape 13 times while skating 75 games on the freeze before going down with a lower body injury that benched him for the remainder of the regular season. His playoff numbers did not necessarily show up, with no goals or assists in 3 of a possible 6 games, though the injury could have been a major part of this absence. Cole is a major help on the offensive side, especially screening in front of a goalie’s eyes, as well as using his physicality to get the puck to the net.

Cody Eakin:

Cody Eakin had an impressive third season in the NHL. The 23 year old was swapped for Mike Ribeiro the summer before the lockout season. In my opinion, it was a steal. Eakin ended up playing 81 games in the regular season in his second year as a member of the Dallas Stars and pulled off record numbers, scoring 16 goals and recording 19 assists in the regular season. He didn’t stop there, though. In the postseason, he skated in all 6 games and found 2 goals, including a GWG, and 3 assists in his playoff debut. With his chemistry he has acquired between Ryan Garbutt and Antoine Roussel (THE THREE MUSKETEERS), their line can always be counted on to move the puck down the ice and pop it in the back of the net. Eakin is a center on his way up in the league, and his ability to move the puck is stunning.

So, with the reports here, imagine me standing at the podium in a suit and holding the envelope which has your votes on them.

VOTE here on who you think deserves the Gold Star for Offensive Player Of The Year: (and if you say other, comment on who you think and why!)