Dallas Stars News: Mount Rushmore Picks, NHL 30-in-30

The Dallas Stars seem to be one of the hot topics around the NHL at the moment, and why shouldn’t they be?

After another successful offseason that involved adding a few big names, it is clear that GM Jim Nill is doing everything in his power to build a championship-caliber team as soon as possible. His track record proves that the offseason is when he shines best. Over the past three chances, Nill has brought the Dallas Stars out as a better team every time.

So with all the hype, it’s time to break it all down. With NHL.com doing their annual “30-in-30” event where they recap every team’s offseason moves and make predictions for the future season. They went through the Dallas Stars and dissected every corner of the team.

Here is what they came up with:

Arrival of Sharp, Oduya, Niemi gives Stars optimism (click here)

Honka, Gurianov among Stars’ top five prospects (click here)

Stars trying to upgrade defense to match offense (click here)

Oduya, Niemi among key questions for Stars (click here)

In the video, EJ Hradek and Dan Rosen predict that the Dallas Stars will be turning some heads this coming season and will clench a playoff berth after narrowly missing one last season. Let’s hope it pans out like that.

It may come as a surprise that ESPN put up an article about hockey players. The craziest thing is it isn’t even hockey news, it’s more of a leisurely piece.

But if you’ve heard of John Buccigross, you understand how the article got there. You know when you always do those #bucciovertimechallenge on Twitter? That would be because of him.

Well, he put up an article back in 2009 about every NHL team in regards to Mount Rushmore. He went through the entire franchise of every team and picked the four most influential players that would find their likeness carved into the side of a mountain. Well, he updated the article six years later, and many of the teams have seen a change in their lineup. Here is what he had to say about the Dallas Stars.

2009 team/theory: Neal Broten, Dino Ciccarelli, Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov. This one was tough. Modano is a lock. Broten is a Minnesota icon. No player in Stars history scored more goals per game than Ciccarelli, and he was a great playoff performer. Plus, he deserves at least one major hockey award. You could go a few ways on the fourth head, but I love Zubov’s game. He’s an artist and a multiple-Cup winner.

2015: Dallas has made the playoffs only once since the original list, but the Stars haven’t been terrible. That means their draft picks weren’t single-digit ones, and in the socialist salary-cap system, that can keep a team average for a long time. Luckily, the Stars will be bailed out after being handed Tyler Seguin. A healthy next decade and Seguin will be on the mountain, and he will likely take Jamie Benn up with him. So: Benn, Modano, Seguin, Zubov.

Isn’t it crazy how much can change in a matter of six years? Do you agree with his picks? Or would you substitute out one or two in order to make room for other players who deserve recognition? If you want to read about the other 29 teams and their own mountains, click here.

Just 55 days until the Dallas Stars open up their 2015-2016 campaign at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Next: Dallas Stars Big Money Offseason Still Not Threatening Cap Space

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