Do The Dallas Stars Have Too Much Talent?
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars offseason, as we say time and time again, was one full of happiness and beauty, so long as you were and still are a Stars fan.
Bringing in big names like Ales Hemsky, Anders Lindback, Patrick Eaves and Jussi Rynnas through the free agent pool and snagging Jason Spezza in the blockbuster trade of the offseason that only added more brownie points to Jim Nill’s short-timed legacy so far in Dallas, the Stars are already being considered likely contenders in this year’s upcoming race for the Stanley Cup.
With all these pick-ups though, the question has arisen from a few concerned fans: Do the Dallas Stars have TOO MUCH talent?
This is a quick and simple answer, and that answer is no, No, NO. But it is a valid and respectable question and deserves to be looked at.
Take the Miami Heat as a quick example:
This team, at least before the 2014 offseason, was THE powerhouse of the NBA and was looked at as a given to make the NBA Finals each year. They attended the Finals four seasons in a row throughout 2011-2014, winning it all the middle two years in 2012 and 2013.
Throughout these four years, South Beach enjoyed the luxury of “The Big Three”: this consisted of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. This “terrific trio” dominated in their years together and wreaked havoc on the NBA as a whole. They first joined together at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season and made their way to the Finals the exact same season, where they would eventually lose to the Dallas Mavericks (Go Mavs!).
But the fact that they meshed together in such a short amount of time and pushed all the way to become the “second best” team in the National Basketball Association in their first year is only good news for Dallas Stars fans.
Of course, the Dallas Stars have closer to a “Ginormous Twelve” in their arsenal, not just a “Big Three”. The Stars have pulled in a superstar squad, almost one that you would see at the All-Star Game, and are ready to see how it performs on the ice. Led by a sniping superstars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, who single-handedly contributed a majority of the effort the Stars used to qualify for the postseason last year, they will look to start out right where they left off at the end of last year, winning games and putting the NHL in check as they do so.
Their lineup is full of depth and that could be a bad thing, but it won’t be. Rarely will you see a team chock-full of talent not go anywhere. The only time this would be able to happen is when two players do not get along and the entire team somehow gets involved. All these guys now have experience and dedication, and are bred as team-first players. The needs of the team and getting to the Cup outweigh the needs of one player trying to make sure he succeeds and not caring about the rest of his group. Most of these guys got their first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year and are hungry for more, along with the veterans who still lack the raising of a Cup.
Now, it may take a little while. With their top two lines being made up of well-known names, including Benn, Seguin, Nichushkin, Cole, Spezza, and Hemsky, they may have to figure each other’s strengths and weaknesses out before they are ready to fire on all cylinders.
The first line knows each other from extensive play together last year, while Spezza and Hemsky only spent a short time together in Ottawa before being shipped to Dallas, will have to trade information with Erik Cole before they are ready to form a unit. The third line of Ryan Garbutt, Cody Eakin and Antoine Roussel, already know each other well enough on and off the ice, that they may start out the season as the Stars’ most successful line. The fourth line is still a complete mystery but looks as though it will turn out as Shawn Horcoff, Vernon Fiddler and Colton Sceviour, and these three know each other well enough that they look as though they are in the same position as the first line.
But nonetheless, this team is ready to show that they mean business. Their new arsenal of talent will be top-notch and ready for action. This team is already feared and can only do more.
Do you think the Stars have too much talent and have bitten off more than they can chew? Or have they formed their team rather spectacularly and are ready to strike once again?
Comments and questions below and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.
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