Dallas Stars Overstocking On Forwards Could Be Hazardous

The Dallas Stars may not have qualified for the NHL postseason in 2014-2015, but one thing is for sure: their offense is aggressive and almost unbeatable.

While their defense lacked the necessary skills to make a playoff push for the majority of the year, their offense remained consistent and only increased in its lethality as the year progressed. By the end of the year, the Dallas Stars had the second best offense in the league, and the best offense in the Western Conference.

Since Jim Nill began his tenure in Dallas in April 2013, it’s seemed that his main goal has been to build the offense into one of the most threatening forces in the NHL. In just two years, it seems that he has already surpassed any and all long-term goals he may have set for himself.

He added Tyler Seguin to the mix in July of 2013, and brought Jason Spezza in one year later. Both of these trades were finalized with Dallas paying what most would consider today as next to nothing. Through just two separate offseason opportunities, Nill managed to bring in two of the best offensive talents in the NHL for almost nothing in return.

This offense molded together during the 2014-2015 regular season, which could have been a factor towards the Stars missing the playoffs. Along with the inexperienced defense and shaky goaltending, the offense needed time to become a single force and understand each and every member. This finally didn’t take very long, but it became consistent towards the end of the season, which should only make people more excited for next season.

Except this may be presenting the Dallas Stars with a problem instead of a solution.

The problem is that they may have overstocked their offensive department, and may have to cut ties with people that don’t necessarily need to leave.

The Dallas Stars have plenty of talent in their locker room on the offensive side of the puck, enough so that they can mix and match a few forwards here and there along the four lines and still have a decent lineup. But as the 2015 offseason begins to rise, the Stars are faced with a difficult situation due to their eagerness to continually try out offensive talent.

If a team finds a combination that works, the last thing they want to do is change it and jeopardize their success.

The Stars ended the season with their offense looking like this:

Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves

Valeri Nichushkin – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky

Antoine Roussel – Vernon Fiddler – Ryan Garbutt

Travis Moen – Shawn Horcoff – Colton Sceviour

16 players completes an offensive setup. But the Dallas Stars have plenty more than 16.

The extra offensive names that did not compete in the final game include Tyler Seguin, Brett Ritchie, Curtis McKenzie, and Rich Peverley, among others in the AHL and so on.

So, 20 names off to start things. Some could make the argument that Peverley may never come back to the NHL (though it has already been made public he is restarting his search). Some may say that Ritchie and McKenzie are not ready yet (though they both came up for an extended amount of time and more than proved themselves). Some may point out that Horcoff, Eaves, and Peverley are all becoming unrestricted free agents this offseason and that we shouldn’t sign any of them (though all three have proven to be of great value for the Stars).

However you look at it, the conclusion is rather simple. Something will need to be done. Jim Nill has proven that he can work some wondrous deeds, so we’ll just have to wait and see what he does with this overstock of offensive talent.

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