Dallas Stars: Blackout Dallas Predicts 2015-2016 Season
Dec 29, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg (3) and right wing Ales Hemsky (83) celebrates with the bench after a goal during the first period against the New York Rangers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Stars Will Meet High Expectations This Season:
by Nick Kucholtz, Staff Writer
Greatest Strength:
Their offensive depth, of course. The Dallas Stars have Jason Spezza as their SECOND line center. There is a possible chance that Patrick Sharp is on the second line, too. Throw in Cody Eakin as a third line center and Patrick Eaves as your fourth line right wing, that is a lethal four-line combo. There are goal scorers and facilitators on all four Dallas Stars lines, and they have one of the best offensive cores in the NHL.
Greatest Downfall:
Look, GM Jim Nill indeed made the Stars defense better during the offseason, but that doesn’t mean everything is fixed. The fact of that matter is, the Dallas Stars let up 3.13 goals per game. Lindy Ruff has a lot of defenseman who can score, but scoring isn’t going to be a problem with this hockey team. The Dallas Stars defense is going to have to play better when they don’t have the puck.
Leading Goal Scorer:
Tyler Seguin is the man I’m going with here. He scored 37 goals in 71 games last year, and I think he scores 40 goals this season. Seguin can score from anywhere in the offensive end, and he has a wonderful line to help him with that. The Stars have plenty of goal scorers, but I think Seguin will lead the pack.
Leader In Points:
I almost hesitated to pick Jamie Benn here, only because of his hip surgeries, but he has shown all Dallas Stars fans that nothing will keep him off the ice. And, as all Stars fans have seen, he is a magician on the ice. Jamie Benn is one of the top captains in all of the NHL, and I think not only will he lead this team off of the ice, but I think he leads the team in points on the ice. I’m going with 83 points for Jamie this season.
Biggest Surprise Player:
This one for me is easy: Cody Eakin. He got his new 4-year contract this offseason for a reason. Last season, he was third on the team in scoring. This season, I think he will be up there in every category for this hockey team.
Whether it be scoring, facilitating, or winning face offs, the ginger can do it all. He will anchor the Stars’ third line throughout the duration of the season. I see him scoring 20 goals and tallying on 28 assists, as well as a 55% face off percentage.
Biggest Bust Player:
Here, I’m going with the newly-acquired Patrick Sharp. Now, I don’t think Sharp will exactly be a “bust,” I just don’t think he will live up to the expectations many Stars fans have of him. Now, the reason for that is because Stars fans’ expectations from him are high. The deal caught Dallas fans everywhere off guard, which built up their excitement.
I believe Sharp is going to play a very important role on this Stars team, but I only see Sharp scoring 20 times ans recording 32 assists. Again, those numbers aren’t bad at all, but many people are expecting a lot from the 33-year-old.
Which Goalie Will Play Better:
This is the hardest one to answer by far. Both goalies had below-standard seasons last year, and truly did not play well in the crease. Jim Nill says he plans to switch off between the two goalies each game, and that very well could work. Regardless if that works for the season, or if plans take a turn, I’m going with Antti Niemi.
Niemi is a more consistent goalie than Kari Lehtonen is, and had almost as many wins as Kari did, despite playing less games and having a team who provided less offensive support. I think Niemi will win more games between the pipes for the Victory Green.
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One UFA That Earns A New Deal:
Alex Goligoski is the first name that pops in my head here. I’m going with Goligoski primarily because he is going to be a leader within the Dallas defensive core this season. He will most likely end up with Klingberg on the first defensive line, and I think that just like he did last year, he will have a lot of assists.
On top of his on-ice skill, he just recently turned 30 years old in July. He has several more years left in him, and plays a huge part on this hockey team.
Final Record:
48-30-4 (100 points)
Final Central Division Standings:
1) St. Louis Blues (110 points)
2) Minnesota Wild (106 points)
3) Dallas Stars (100 points)
4) Nashville Predators (99 points)
5) Chicago Blackhawks (95 points)
6) Winnipeg Jets (93 points)
7) Colorado Avalanche (86 points)
Do They Make Playoffs? If So, How Far?
I think the Dallas Stars will not only return to the playoffs, but I think they win their first playoff series since 2008. From there, I think the Stars have the capability to go even further, but I am going to predict this hockey team loses in the second round.
Again, while the Stars are good enough to compete with any team in the NHL, the second round is where I see this team headed home, but in a series that goes to seven games.
Next: Micaela Hamid: The Keep Calm And Comeback On Season
Apr 3, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) and defenseman Jason Demers (4) take the ice to face the St. Louis Blues at the American Airlines Center. The Blues won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Great Expectations With No More Excuses:
by Josh Clark, Editor
Greatest Strength:
I think it’s pretty clear that the Dallas Stars strongest area last year will have an even bigger effect this year. That area is the offense. Last season, the Stars put up 261 goals on their opponents. This placed them second in the NHL, with Tampa Bay being first with 262.
After a big season, the Stars are now boasting the two of the most powerful lines in hockey and will definitely have an advantage on the offensive side of the puck. With Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin both returning healthy and adding Patrick Sharp to their first wing, expect a lot of goals from this team this year.
Greatest Downfall:
This may be the biggest question mark. Last season, there was a battle going on between the defense and goaltending to see which one was the bigger problem.
While both improved in the most recent offseason, I see the goaltending being more of a potential downfall. The fact that the Stars have over $10 million invested in two starters who are each going to see severe cuts in their regular playing time is a scary thing. Both goalies have struggled throughout the preseason this year, so we’ll have to wait and see how the year progresses and how they challenge each other.
Leading Goal Scorer:
Tyler Seguin is always the most popular opinion to take in regards to goal scoring. I’m going to go ahead and take that same stance.
Last season, Seguin had a strong start, putting up 24 points in 20 games. He put up 14 goals, including a hat trick. A knee injury took him out for three weeks, effectively cutting him from the Rocket Richard and Art Ross Trophy race. If he can stay healthy this year, I see Seguin improving on his total of 37 last year. I’ll take Seguin netting 40 this season.
Leader In Points:
While Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are viable options, I am going to take Jason Spezza on this one.
Last season, he stumbled a little out of the gate in his first year with the Stars because he had to adjust to his new team and surroundings. But once he found his groove, his production shot up. With a finally consistent line on his sides, I expect Spezza to pull off a big year for the Stars. But in the end I think Spezza is second on the team with 77 points. Jamie Benn takes the top spot with 82 and Seguin sits third with 76.
Biggest Surprise Player:
The Stars have many players due for a big year. Whether it was injuries or new surroundings, multiple players ended up dragging through a difficult 2014-2015 season.
But this season is a new year, and I see veteran Patrick Eaves surprising a lot of people. Eaves came to Dallas as a free agent in the 2014 offseason. Last year, he was fluctuated throughout the lineup quite a bit and always found ways to produce. Two long-term injuries caused him to miss 28 games. But every time he climbed back into the lineup, he found ways to produce.
Eaves will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2016 offseason, so a big year could definitely help him earn a new contract. Last season, Eaves had 14 goals and 27 points in 47 games. I’ll take Eaves with 21 goals and 43 points this year.
Biggest Bust Player:
There will probably be one bust player that unfolds over the year, but for now each player looks like they are set up for success.
But if there is one player that may not live up to his expectations, it is probably Johnny Oduya. But he has good reason to potentially fall short. Signing Oduya this offseason gave hope to Stars fans everywhere that he would come in and not only become a force on the blue line, but also lead the young players along.
The only problem is, Oduya has never been in a position where he has to produce and teach. In Chicago, Oduya had three other big name defenders to pair up with. He will enter the Stars defensive scheme and will need time to figure it all out, just like Spezza had to last year. Trying to force two big roles on him during the year is not logical.
I see Oduya starting out slow but eventually getting to where everyone wants him to be. Give him two goals and 13 assists. Remember, Oduya is a stay-at-home defender, so offense is not his strong suit.
Which Goalie Will Play Better:
Considering each goalie has a significant past of starting 60-65 games a year and now will have their starts cut down by almost 40%, it is possible that both goalies will struggle. While they will challenge each other and hopefully make each other better through the process, both will face a big status quo shock.
I say that both goalies have decent years after a few rusty starts, but Kari Lehtonen will probably have the better year. You can blame him however much you want for last season’s tailspin, but the fact is that there were multiple factors that led to their demise. The fact that Niemi is coming into a new environment and learning a new scheme could cause some early season struggles.
Lehtonen has been around the organization and knows it well. With a more confident defense in front of him and having a knack for bounce back years, I see Lehtonen taking the top spot.
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One UFA That Earns A New Deal:
There are plenty of unrestricted free agents for the Stars in the 2016 offseason and they could end up parting ways with all of them. With the young talent on offense and defense in the prospect system, the Stars may not need anymore veterans.
But I see it being a tossup between Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers. Both are experienced defenders and help run the Stars top pairs. With consistency in the coming year, they could both be eligible for a new deal. It will all matter on who comes at the lowest price though. Goligoski just hit 30 and Demers is 27. So Goligoski may be cheaper, but it all depends what happens this year.
Final Record:
48-26-8 (105 points)
Final Central Division Standings:
1) St. Louis Blues (108 points)
2) Dallas Stars (103 points)
3) Minnesota Wild (102 points)
4) Nashville Predators (99 points)
5) Chicago Blackhawks (97 points)
6) Colorado Avalanche (94 points)
7) Winnipeg Jets (90 points)
Do They Make Playoffs? If So, How Far?
If we learned anything from last season, it is that caution is necessary no matter how strong a “paper team” looks. But in this case, I think the Stars have the makeup for a very strong team. They will make the postseason this year, and all a team needs to do is get in. From there, it is a complete crapshoot. You want a bold prediction? The Stars beat the Ducks in game six of the Western Conference semifinals. They lose it in six in the Western Conference Finals.
So, that’s how we feel. With just one week to go, it’s crazy to think about all the ground that has been covered since April 11th. It will be an interesting season ahead, that’s for sure.
Next: Dallas Stars Swept By Blues In Preseason Play
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