Dallas Stars Offseason Moves Heating Seat Up For Lindy Ruff

Another triumphant offseason is officially in the books for Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill.

After joining the team in late April of 2013, it is clear to see the impact Nill has made on the organization as a whole. Nill has brought some of the league’s best talent to the south and has the Dallas Stars stacked after working his offseason magic year after year for the past three years.

Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, Antti Niemi, Patrick Sharp, and Johnny Oduya later, Nill looks to have officially completed his “dream team.” The 2014-2015 season had a lot of positives for the Dallas Stars, including a look at the young, promising defensive corps and the offense pushing to become the second best in the NHL. But they sadly hit the ultimate negative as well and missed a playoff berth by seven points in the standings. Now hungry for a spot and more powerful than ever, the Stars will look to pull off a high-caliber season and punch their ticket for a potentially deep postseason run.

This all begins with the plan of head coach Lindy Ruff. One of Jim Nill’s first moves when he stepped up as GM was looking for a new coach. After the short-lived Glen Gulutzan era ended in two years without playoff qualification, Nill cleaned house and searched for a new bench boss.

Ruff had recently been let go by the struggling Buffalo Sabres, who have ended the past two seasons now as the NHL’s worst team. Ruff had been the head coach of the Sabres since the 1997-1998 season, but the team had ultimately decided to go a different way. Two years later, it’s obvious the coaching was not the problem, but that is a different story altogether.

So Lindy Ruff embarked on a 2013-2014 with a lot of questions behind him. After the Stars were knocked out of the first round of their first playoff appearance in six years, it looked as though all the lingering questions had been answered.

2014-2015 brought on excitement and enthusiasm for the Dallas Stars. After another successful offseason of adding quality depth to the team, the expectations were set sky-high. But instead, the Stars never truly seemed to start their season until early December. As a result, the Stars missed the playoffs, leaving everyone to question the true position of the team.

But the 2015 offseason reaffirmed the high-quality condition of the club. Jim Nill added a proven veteran to every side of the puck (Sharp on offense, Oduya on defense, and Niemi in goal). Each of these players have a proven career trailing them, along with at least one Stanley Cup.

After all of these moves, the Stars seem to have a “completed” team. With an already high-powered offense adding an exclusive forward, good mixture of young talent and veteran force on the blue line, and a consistent starter presence in the crease, they have certainly covered all of their bases.

Now the assumption is that the pressure is on Lindy Ruff. There should be no more excuses with a roster like this, and it’s up to him to make something out of them. Nill has done his job, now it is time for Ruff to do his.

On exit interview day multiple Dallas Stars, including Lindy Ruff himself, attributed the Stars lack of success this past season to their poor start. “It’s hard. I think the realization is that you have to put together a good and consistent year,” Ruff said. “You have to go on real good runs and you have to eliminate that one real bad one. We had that one real tough stretch where we didn’t win in seven, and that’s probably the run that did us in. We got into December and we were pretty consistent from that point on.”

So, a fast start is necessary for the Stars to succeed. It is Ruff’s job to make sure that happens, and he is more than capable of succeeding.

“It’s really important for us to take that next step. These guys have been winners and know how to win. They should help us get there. Ownership has really stepped up and said we can make this team better. It’s been tremendous.” -Lindy Ruff

Ruff has shown over his tenure that he knows the keys to winning. Though his team sits back sometimes and goes on a dry spell, Ruff knows how to get them into shape. It may take a game or two, but eventually they reach the surface again.

In addition to that, Jim Nill has shown nothing but satisfaction with Ruff’s style of coaching. He is a patient GM, but can take control of a situation when ultimately necessary.

So Lindy Ruff definitely has a heater on his seat. But if and when that heater turns on is all up to him. With an experienced roster now resting behind him, that seat may end up staying cold for the next few years. But it’s only a matter of time before he is able to step into action. Just 59 days remain between the Stars and opening night, and before the Dallas Stars can officially show off their new scheme.

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