Dallas Stars Have No Room For Error While Jason Spezza Still Excels
By Tom Dorsa
The Dallas Stars have won just one Stanley Cup Playoff series with second-line center Jason Spezza. That obviously is not enough.
While the main core of the Dallas Stars, including familiar names like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, are young and entering their primes, you can’t say the same of a few Stars teammates.
With a few grizzly veterans like Dan Hamhuis and Ales Hemsky on the squad, you have players exiting their prime years of contributing to a National Hockey League club, if they haven’t already.
Most notably in that regard is former League All-Star and 90-point scorer Jason Spezza, who at 33, could be playing in his final season as a primary option for an NHL team. With his time running out as a fiery offensive center, the Dallas Stars are tasking with accomplishing something prior to his retirement, absence in free agency, or trade.
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Obviously, the ultimate goal for each of the 31 teams in the NHL is to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup at season’s end – although it remains to be seen if the Dallas Stars can shoot for that after missing the postseason last year, but I digress.
The Stars will not have a better shot than they do now, plain and simple. While the forward depth behind Seguin and Benn will continue on for years, you’re not getting another Jason Spezza, who finished third in scoring for the Stars for the third straight year.
To think that Spezza, acquired in 2014 from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a package that featured Alex Chiasson, has seen action in the Playoffs just once with Dallas is cringe-worthy. One of the preeminent offensive centers of his era with over 860 career points, Spezza deserves more.
And more, he will get, hopefully. With a Ken Hitchcock system in place, and a new, proven goaltender in the crease, Spezza has never had a better team, on paper, in his four seasons with the Stars. Spezza will also see the return of trusted linemate Mattias Janmark, with whom he combined for bountiful offensive production.
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With all being said, the Dallas Stars have perhaps just one opportunity to win with Spezza at the helm of the second line. It’s do or die time, go Stars.