Jason Demers: A Year in Review

Throughout the offseason, Blackout Dallas will be doing season reviews on individual players and how their season played out. So far we have reviewed Jamie Benn, Jordie Benn and Trevor Daley. Next up is Jason Demers, the steady defenseman who joined the Dallas Stars in November after a trade from the San Jose Sharks.

Impact of Jason Demers

Not only was Jason Demers a solid defenseman for Dallas this season, he had an excellent impact on the entire roster. Before his arrival on November 21st, the Stars defense was in disarray. They had called up John Klingberg, who became the only right-handed defenseman on the team. They constantly had players who were playing their off-side and it was having an impact on defensive coverage. Enter right-handed Jason Demers. His arrival had an immediate impact on the Dallas Stars defense corps (and Jarret Stoll). Let’s look at some team stats for the Stars before and after Jason Demers came to town.

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While the goals against were trimmed slightly, the Stars became one of the best possession and scoring chance team in the league after adding Jason Demers. Yes there are plenty of factors that play into that, but Demers had a calming effect on the entire defense. Demers was generally paired with Jordie Benn, who saw huge improvements in his game after Demers entered the lineup. What I noticed most about Demers was how quickly he made decisions in his own zone. His outlet passes were swift and effortless. He brought a lot of physicality to the defense as he led them in hits this season. The entire group of defensemen seemed to get better and more physical when Jason Demers entered the picture.

Driving Possession

We already highlighted the big changes in scoring chances and corsi from an entire team standpoint, but what about the individual success of Demers? After arriving in Dallas, he posted the highest corsi-for-% out of everyone on the team who played at least 10 games. He tied his career high in goals with five and two of them were game winners. Lindy Ruff had a lot of faith in his defending, as he was a regular on the penalty kill and had more defensive zone starts than offensive zone starts. Let’s look how he compares to the rest of the Stars defensemen after his arrival on November 21st.

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As you can see, Demers along with his regular partner Jordie Benn were excellent at driving possession while they were on the ice. A huge part of that comes from Demers and his ability to exit his own zone without committing a lot of turnovers. That calm demeanor with the puck seemed to echo throughout the Stars defense corps as the season went on.

Final Thoughts on Jason Demers

The trade that sent Brenden Dillon to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jason Demers made a lot of sense. Dillon is going to require another contract this offseason while Demers will be around for at least another year. Dillon was just another left-handed defenseman who jumped into the offense a lot, something the Stars had a wealth of (and still do). They needed a physical, steady defender and Demers has brought them that and so much more. There are times that you don’t notice Demers on the ice and for a defenseman that is an excellent thing. I am looking forward to see what Demers can do after having a full Stars training camp this fall.

Next: Trevor Daley: A Year in Review

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