Dallas Stars: Mike McKenna Making An Interesting Case With Texas Stars

The Texas Stars advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night. A large factor in their victory was the stellar play of goaltender Mike McKenna. This hot streak makes his potential future with the Dallas Stars organization even more intriguing.

The Dallas Stars brought in a mass of new talent on July 1, 2017.

As part in their “offseason of change” after missing the playoffs due to a horrific 2016-17 run, Dallas focused all of their efforts on the offseason. GM Jim Nill spent his time finding a new head coach, starting goaltender, and defenseman before the free agency market even opened.

But once it did open, Nill was one of the first GMs to hop into the mix. He signed a good mixture of big name players as well as players that were considered “under the radar” pickups. Each one served a purpose in Nill’s overall plan, though, and looked like a great signing for the Dallas Stars organization.

One of those players that wasn’t necessarily the most well-known was goaltender Mike McKenna. The veteran was initially signed to give the Stars depth in the crease in their organization, specifically in the AHL. It wasn’t a landmark move by any means and was simply Dallas filling a hole.

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Now that the 2017-18 regular season is over, it’s clear that the hiring was more than just a filler. McKenna not only played an essential role for Texas as backup this season, but also helped the Dallas Stars out in their late-season jam when Ben Bishop went out with a knee injury. He even played in two games with Dallas, winning one in comeback fashion and losing the next.

It was his first time playing in an NHL game since February 2015 and he picked up his first NHL win since December 2013. It served as a tremendous comeback story for the veteran goalie who has spent a large majority of his career as an AHL goaltender.

After the Dallas Stars’ season ended on Saturday, April 7, McKenna returned to Cedar Park to prepare for an impending playoff run with Texas. The Stars won the Calder Cup Final in 2014 but missed the playoffs like Dallas in 2017. This year, however, they secured the no. 2 seed in their division and prepared to make a run.

And through the first round, there was no shortage of excitement and thrill. The Texas Stars and Ontario Reign battled it out using four games in the best-of-five series, with Texas coming out on top, 3-2. The series victory didn’t come easy, though. The Stars had to grind out two of their three wins in overtime and were even outshot and outscored throughout the four-game span.

And yet, they still found a way to come out on top and advance to round two. How is that? One of the primary factors was definitely the goaltending of McKenna.

The 35-year-old played in all four games in the first round, picking up the decision in each (3-1-0). After an overtime victory in game one, McKenna sacrificed four goals in an eventual 5-1 loss and gave up the crease to Landon Bow.

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That didn’t last long, though. With Texas down 4-3 midway through game three after Bow gave up a fourth goal on 22 shots, Texas head coach Derek Laxdal turned back to McKenna. The rest is history.

McKenna ended up playing 68:19 in a game he entered halfway through as the Stars and Reign went to double overtime. He also was a key factor in the Stars’ rally as Texas bounced back from a 4-3 deficit to win 5-4 in double overtime. No. 29 stopped all 44 shots that he faced and gave Texas the 2-1 edge in the series.

But it gets better. On Tuesday night, the Stars were in Ontario yet again for game four as they looked to close out the series. The game’s first goal wasn’t scored until the third period, but it turned out to be the game winner. Denis Gurianov helped get Texas on the board with 13:06 to go in the game, and McKenna followed it up with an incredible 47-save shutout, earning him first star honors and giving Texas the green light to advance to the second round. They are the first team to do so and now await their opponent, who is yet to be determined.

Through the first round of the playoffs, McKenna owns a .957 save percentage and 1.68 goals against average. Those numbers are borderline unbelievable, and if he can keep them up, the Stars could ultimately go far.

And if he does, that will only raise more questions about the veteran’s free agent status in the upcoming offseason. McKenna only signed a one-year deal with Dallas last summer and will be a UFA come July 1, 2018. But if he can help lead/carry your AHL team to a second round berth or potentially even further, wouldn’t he be worth a second look? Could he even be a viable solution to serve as the Dallas Stars new backup if Kari Lehtonen goes another direction? He would be a relatively cheap option (his NHL cap hit was $650K this year) and could pay off in the long run.

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This first-round performance wasn’t just stellar in and of itself. It also opened a lot of potential doors regarding McKenna’s future. He may not have many years left at the age of 35, but he is definitely making the most out of each opportunity.

With that being said, let’s see what he has left in the tank.

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