The Stanley Cup Finals are well underway, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are back for a second straight year. Next year’s Dallas Stars could look a lot like this current Penguins team.
The Dallas Stars have a long way to go before they are competing in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals like the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins. However, they are working their way toward a comeback season to prove that things of that nature are not as far away as they may appear.
While it is nearly impossible to emulate the Penguin’s roster given the unbelievable talent they have been fortunate enough to acquire, the Stars could see similar results given their line-up.
Jamie Benn as the Focal Point
Injuries have plagued the Stars’ captain over the last few seasons, despite his determination to continue playing. Jamie Benn has undergone a number of surgeries and will hopefully remain healthy throughout the duration of the 2017-18 season.
Like the Penguin’s captain, Sidney Crosby, Benn is a dynamic forward with teams formulating defensive strategies around his play. No. 14 can be a significant game changer and has been the best forward in the NHL in the past, it is just about getting back to that form.
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Also similar to the highly notable No. 87, Benn’s level of dedication to the game of hockey and his team is immense. Benn will stop at nothing and continuously blames himself for Dallas’ shortcomings. That leadership is something the Stars can use moving forward to solidifying themselves as a team to beat in the playoffs.
Supporting Roles
The Penguins have quality players throughout their line-up and the strength in depth positions is arguably a large contributor to their success of late. Of course having Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel on the roster help, but there is no shortage of talent in the third and forth lines either.
In that regard Dallas is set. Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza are fantastic players also looking for a comeback after a disappointing season in 2016-17. If they can work together to improve and return to their previous form the Stars will be that much closer to repeat deep playoff runs.
Another aspect that will help in that feat is improving upon the team’s power play. Last season it was nothing short of abysmal and with a new coach running special teams the Stars should be expecting a new set up.
Hopefully they will ditch the long neutral zone drop pass from John Klingberg to Spezza in favor of something that is not as easy to defend against. Odds are they will have a few zone entry options to make their power play, which is loaded with talent, significantly more lethal.
New Man in the Crease
Amidst controversy and doubt Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury has become a solid net minder with incredible talent when his team needs him the most. That has not been the case in the slightest for the Stars over the last number of years, but will hopefully move in a better direction with the signing of Ben Bishop.
A solid goaltender encourages confidence and success throughout the rest of the line-up and is something the Stars have been lacking. While that is not the sole reason for their disappointing year, it makes sense that the team would be underwhelming given they were never certain the man in the crease could stop even the seemingly simplest shots.
While Bishop will falter at points throughout the season and injuries have plagued his career to this point, the Stars can be confident that he will step up to the plate in times of need. Dallas is a team with a young defensive core that requires a capable goaltender and they seem to have signed that when they inked Bishop.
Dallas Stars Hockey Moving Forward
Of course the Stars want to establish themselves as their own team. While emulating the roster of the Penguins seems to be an intelligent move now given their back-to-back Stanley Cup Final visits, Dallas needs to ensure they have an identity of their own.
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Under the leadership of Benn, support of Seguin and Spezza and goaltending of Bishop, however, that should certainly be well within reach.