Dallas Stars Defense: Strengths and Weaknesses

The Dallas Stars blue line is one of the biggest question marks about the team at the moment, and not for the reasons you may think. Dallas currently has eight defensemen under contract that played consistently in the NHL last season, as well as another handful that could make the team come training camp.

With that said, they could either be the greatest group of defenders in Dallas since the Sergei Zubov era years ago, or the most disappointing group since the Stars had guys to the likes of Adam Pardy. For that reason it is imperative to look at both the strengths and weaknesses of the current Dallas Stars blue line.

Strengths

#1: Jim Nill

As strange as it is to have a non-player as the greatest strength of a defensive group as opposed to a skill, Jim Nill’s transformation of the Stars earns him the spot. He has been working tirelessly to bring the best blue liners to the Stars and he’s managed to find a number of them over the last year or so.

At the beginning of last season he acquired Jason Demers from the San Jose Sharks, then earlier this month he traded Trevor Daley, but got prospect Stephen Johns in return. Most recently, he brought Johnny Oduya to the line-up for less money and a shorter deal than the offers of other teams.

Needless to say, the Stars defense would look nothing like it does now without the work of Nill, which makes him the biggest asset.

#2 Offense

Dallas has been a more offensive than defensive team for the last handful of years and it hasn’t given them the results they desire. That, however, doesn’t make offense irrelevant. The new blue line has a number of players with strong point shots, as well as the ability to start plays from the defensive zone. As long as they can make smart decisions with the puck, Dallas will certainly benefit from the blue line’s offensive skills.

#3 Youth and Speed

With the team’s average age of skaters being 27.8 years and the core talent of the team being even younger than that, Dallas can make their youth a strength for sure. Along with that youth often comes speed, which is the case for Dallas. The forwards are some of the quickest in the league and the new defenders as well as the existing Stars can hold their own.

When you’re in the Western Conference facing off against teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Anaheim Ducks, it’s crucial to be able to skate with them in order to win. The Dallas Stars defense has the capability to do just that.

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Weaknesses

#1 Too Many Men

One of the only things that is for sure at the moment is that Dallas is overloaded at defense, which could mean a few different things. First, they could play seven defensemen for some games during the season and scratch extra blue liners if they were unnecessary. Second, they could trade one or two defenders in hopes of acquiring draft picks or other assets. Third, they don’t make any plans or moves until the end of training camp and then they look at their defensive situation.

Any and all of the three options has its own pro and con list, but general manager Jim Nill has to be careful in his decision making process. A wrong move could mean a Duncan Keith-like player would leave the Stars before he even reached his prime.

#2 Size

While Dallas has players like Jamie Oleksiak who come in at 6’ 7” tall, not every defender has his size. Out of the current seven players listed on the Stars roster, Jyrki Jokipakka and Patrik Nemeth are the largest listed at 6’ 3”, 210lbs. and 6’ 3”, 230lbs. respectively. The veteran d-man Alex Goligoski is only 5’ 11”, 190lbs. and the breakout defender of last season, John Klingberg, is 6’ 2”, 180lbs.

Although size isn’t everything and their measurements could most certainly have changed during the off-season, not having any roster blue liners with immense size is a weakness of this otherwise strong defense.

#3 Adjustment Period

When the six or seven defenders are chosen to be a part of the 2015-2016 Dallas Stars roster they’ll be a good group, but they’ll also have a lot of work ahead of them. With the addition of Oduya and the loss of Daley, Dallas will be forced to rebrand their defense at least a little.

It’s likely that the pairings from last season won’t be present come October and that will surely make it more difficult for the Stars to find success early on. New players don’t always mean the Stars won’t be successful, it’s just another obstacle they have to overcome in order to get to that place.

There you have it! Those are the top three strengths and weaknesses of the newly edited Dallas Stars defense.

What do you think the greatest strength and weakness is of the Stars’ blue line? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading!