Dallas Stars Projected To Go A Long Way Next Year
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars are poised to make another impressive run this year. According to The Hockey News, they just might be one of the last two teams standing at the end of the year.
The Dallas Stars are a good hockey team. We know that from last year’s performance. The Stars hit 50 wins and 109 points, claimed the Central Division title, and went down swinging in a seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals.
In other words, it was a good year. It was also one heck of a step up from their 92 point performance in 2014-15.
But then the offseason rolled in, and the winds of change accompanied it’s visit. The Dallas Stars waved goodbye to defensemen Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, and Kris Russell as well as forwards Vernon Fiddler, Colton Sceviour, and Travis Moen. That’s a pretty sizable chunk of the Stars’ starting lineup at the end of the 2015-16 season.
They did however throw a few names back into the mix. They extended F Patrick Eaves for another year, D Jordie Benn for three more seasons, and captain F Jamie Benn for another eight years, practically making him a Star for life.
They also added veteran defender Dan Hamhuis to a blue line that will now consist of primarily young, but hungry talent.
The new lineup leaves a lot of questions to be answered for the Stars this season. Will the defense be better, as good as, or worse than it was last season? Can the goaltending tandem ride a hot streak through the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Is the offense going to continue to sit atop the league in terms of scoring? How about special teams?
Though we will have to wait until the season begins to start filling in some of the blanks, that hasn’t stopped The Hockey News from making a bold prediction.
In The Hockey News Yearbook 2016, they project that the Dallas Stars will come out of the Western Conference as the last team standing and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals.
In addition to projecting the Stars to win the Central Division title for a second straight year, they believe that Dallas will stand toe-to-toe with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Finals. The only problem is that THN believes the Stars will fall to the Bolts. That ain’t gonna fly for Big D.
THN projects that the Dallas Stars will finish first in the Central, followed by Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, and Winnipeg.
Here’s a quote from the publication regarding the Stars’ projection to make it to the Final:
“Out West, another one-time Cup winner will rise again in Dallas. The Stars have already proven their regular season chops of late and did make a bit of a run in the playoffs, though goaltending let them down. Dallas is still running with the oddly expensive tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, but keep in mind: if GM Jim Nill needs to pull the trigger and find a new No. 1, this season will be uniquely shaped to do so. The pending Vegas expansion draft could see names such as Marc-Andre Fleury or [Ben] Bishop hit the trade market (and what about Henrik Lundqvist if the Rangers seek a rebuild?), bringing home some return for their teams instead of losing the stars for nothing. Imagine a Cup final where Bishop is in the net for Dallas – facing Tampa Bay.”
The Dallas Stars fan base has not lived down the Ben Bishop rumors since they flared up in the middle of the 2016 NHL entry draft back in late June.
must read: Examining The Stars' Central Division Enemies
In addition to picking the Stars for the Cup Finals, The Hockey News also released their annual Top 50 Players list. This year, three Dallas Stars found their names on the list (and we’re assuming you can guess which three players they are).
Dallas captain Jamie Benn has cracked the top five for the first time in his career, coming in at number four. Sniper forward Tyler Seguin rings in at number 13, and young superstar defender John Klingberg fell in at number 31.
Next: How Does The Stars' Central Division Path Look?
To read more about the 2016 Yearbook, check out Mark Stepneski’s article here.
Overall, it sounds like it’s going to be another strong year for the Dallas Stars. Let’s hope the preseason hype does not grab them by the throat like it did two years ago. Hold on tight, folks. Only 66 more days until NHL regular season hockey returns to the Lone Star State. Can you hold out any longer?