Blackout Dallas
Fansided

Dallas Stars’ Current Roster’s Greatest Strength and Weakness

By Allison Scott

Dec 23, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg (3) and center Radek Faksa (12) and defenseman Esa Lindell (23) and left wing Curtis McKenzie (11) celebrate a goal by Faksa against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Kings 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg (3) and center Radek Faksa (12) and defenseman Esa Lindell (23) and left wing Curtis McKenzie (11) celebrate a goal by Faksa against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Kings 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The 2017-18 Dallas Stars will hopefully look significantly different than the 2016-17 Dallas Stars. But at the current moment, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this Stars’ team?

The Dallas Stars and NHL in general are due for some intense changes over the next few months. With the expansion draft, entry draft and free agency who knows what could happen. However, if the 2017-18 campaign were to start today, these would be their greatest strength and weakness.

Strength

Youth

Dallas’ roster is full of up-and-coming players with a lot of potential. They have already proven to be talented on the ice thus far and will only continue to improve as time passes.

The average age of the 2016-17 roster was just over 27, which put Dallas in the middle range of the NHL. Considering the Stars have not had a high number of first round draft picks transition immediately into the NHL, that makes them pretty young.

More from Blackout Dallas

Players like Julius Honka and Esa Lindell will continue to improve upon what they have learned in their experiences with Dallas thus far, while Jason Dickinson and Gemel Smith will learn the ropes on the offensive side of things.

Ultimately, the Stars’ youth gives them an edge over their competition because it truly feeds their system. Whether or not that will change with the addition of Ken Hitchcock as the new bench boss, however, remains unknown.

More from Editorials

Weakness

Defense

It used to be that when someone thought of the Dallas Stars defensive strength was top-of-mind. As time as progressed, though, that association is essentially nonexistent. Dallas has transitioned into an offense first mindset over the last few years and, given their roster, it makes sense.

Unfortunately, putting offense above all else puts defense on the back burner. Dallas has a lot of talent on their blue line in John Klingberg and company, but their talent simply cannot compare to the opposition’s offense most nights. That coupled with Dallas’ confusing goaltending situation makes for a rather large weakness.

Of course the addition of Ben Bishop to the roster fortifies the Stars’ back end, but they still have been unclear about their plans for Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. Not knowing where they will go or which teams the Stars are talking with is concerning. Ideally they would get something in return for whichever goaltender they choose to part with via trade, but the real question is whether that would even be possible with their large contracts.

All in All

There are still many questions about Dallas’ future moving forward and some will not be answered for months. The changes that are on the horizon will impact how this team functions on a nightly basis, but hopefully will not degrade their youthful nature.

Next: Which Stars Forwards Should Be Protected From Expansion?

As far as defense goes, it really depends upon Hitchcock’s system and how Bishop meshes with the rest of the roster. That can only be determined after the Stars are in the thick of the new season.

Home/Editorials