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Dallas Stars Offense: A Look At Who’s In And Who’s Out

By Josh Clark

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Everyone knows the Dallas Stars 2014-2015 campaign wasn’t as enjoyable as Stars fans were expecting.

With a seemingly lackadaisical defense and goaltending for the majority of the year, the Stars were victims of their own preseason arrogance and ended the year seven points short of a playoff spot.

Though their defense and goaltending were obscure for a majority of the year and never really found the necessary consistency, they were clear on one side of the puck. That side of the puck was the offensive side.

The Dallas stars ended the season with the second best offense in the NHL in terms of goals scored. They had the best in the Western Conference, and fell just one goal short of tying the Tampa Bay Lightning for most goals.

With that in mind, the Stars can go into the 2015 offseason focused on a more defense-minded approach, knowing that their offense is fine. The only problem with this theory is that the Stars have an overstocking of forwards. In addition to a few forwards with contracts expiring, there are actually a lot of questions encircling the Stars offense.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Stars offense from the past season and come out with a clear picture of an offense that would succeed the best based on who the Stars already have. No speculation on free agents will be added into this article.

First, let’s take a look at the Dallas Stars offensive lines for the last game of the 2014-2015 season:

Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves

Valeri Nichushkin – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky

Antoine Roussel – Vernon Fiddler – Ryan Garbutt

Travis Moen – Shawn Horcoff – Colton Sceviour

Next: Dallas Stars Quickly Becoming Best Offense In The NHL

Now surely, the Stars were without superstar Tyler Seguin in this game due to a late scratch. Along with that, center Rich Peverley was missing from the lineup after taking the year off to recover from a severe heart attack he experienced last season. Brett Ritchie and Curtis McKenzie were sent back down after the Stars playoff hopes were extinguished so they could assist the Texas Stars of the AHL.

Then, you have to take a look at the free agents and factor in their possibility of staying and playing. Shawn Horcoff, Rich Peverley, Curtis McKenzie, and Patrick Eaves will be some free agents this year, and each has a unique reason to stay and to be let go. Some have more pros than cons, some the opposite.

If the Stars were to stay completely silent in regards to picking up forwards come July 1st, here would be a likely scenario for the Stars offensive lineup on opening night:

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Eaves

Valeri Nichushkin – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky

Antoine Roussel – Vernon Fiddler – Ryan Garbutt

Curtis McKenzie – Cody Eakin – Brett Ritchie

Scratches: Travis Moen, Shawn Horcoff

The Stars have an interesting situation when it comes to centers. Shawn Horcoff had some excellent chemistry with McKenzie and Ritchie. But when you take a look at the fact that his contract is expired and the Stars overwhelming number of forwards, he may not be able to fit into the puzzle, at least not on a nightly basis.

The good news is the Dallas Stars have many options with their offense entering this offseason. The bad news is, one small misstep and the Stars offense could be put in serious jeopardy. It’ll be interesting to see how Jim Nill acts with each piece and asset.

Next: How Should The Dallas Stars Handle UFA Patrick Eaves? VOTE

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