Dallas Stars Deserve More Exposure From NHL

As another month turns on the calendar and we enter the final 31 days of 2015, one thing remains clear: the Dallas Stars can do just about anything. As a result, they sit among the highest ranks in the NHL.

With the temperatures beginning to gradually drop and the thick of the NHL season getting underway, the Stars continue to impress whether it’s a three-goal blowout or coming back from an 0-3 deficit in less than one period, they are finding ways to win in even the most severe of cases.

In other words, the Dallas Stars are proving that they are a legitimate hockey team. The days of “hockey will never work in Texas” as an excuse are fading fast and the Stars are gaining a more dominant fan base with each passing day. They are currently averaging an attendance of 18,114 at the American Airlines Center this year. The AAC seats 18,532, meaning the Stars are filling about 97 percent of the arena at each home game.

This puts the Stars at 14th among all NHL teams in terms of average home attendance. Though they are on the borderline, that puts the Stars in the top 50% among all NHL teams. They are averaging higher attendance than teams like the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and San Jose Sharks.

So the Dallas Stars are a successful hockey team with a bright future ahead this season and a proud fan base. Yet they will only be broadcast on national television three times. Not only that, but this is one less time than last season.

The Stars already beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 earlier this year in front of a national audience on NBC Sports. But a game against the Minnesota Wild on February 9th followed by vs. the St. Louis Blues on February 16th is all the Stars have left to look forward to in terms of showing off their 60-minute play on a national scale.

It’s disappointing that this 2015-2016 team has proven so much and they are unable to show their skills off to the world. The Dallas Stars currently own the highest goals scored per game total at 3.50. They have the most wins in the league with a record of 19-5-0 with 38 points. They are one point behind first place but have a game in hand.

Yet, no one seems to notice them. The overused and stale excuses that “Dallas is not a hockey town” or “the Stars don’t have enough history to be considered a legitimate franchise” can only carry the argument for so long. But the Dallas Stars are beginning to outplay those stereotypes and, as a result, are proving that they deserve more attention.

The Stars have not played a game televised on NBC in over five years. Their appearances on NBC Sports each year are slim and rare and NHL fans as a whole rarely get the chance to witness the Stars play.

Now of course most of the past five years have been seasons where no one would want to watch the Stars play. But this season is definitely one of them. The disappointment that littered last season is partially the reason why people did not put much stock into Dallas this year. But low and behold, the Stars are playing their best hockey in years. It would be nice if people outside Texas were able to see that.

By a similar token, how come the Stars are excluded from primetime events in the NHL? The Dallas Stars are never selected to participate in NBC Sports’ Wednesday Night Rivalry, which is a weekly game dedicated to hosting two rivals facing off. Try and name more than three teams in the Western Conference alone that the Dallas Stars don’t have at least some sort of beef with. Exactly.

The Winter Classic is a rather long shot, though it really should not be like that. Instead of picking the same set of teams in a cycle every few years, why not expand the horizons a little bit?

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But even without the Winter Classic, the NHL instilled a new set of events each year called the NHL Stadium Series. This is a series of games (the number of matches each year varies) in which teams play each other outdoors on their respective city’s baseball or football field. Though it does not draw as much hype as the Winter Classic, it is a chance for multiple teams to hit the ice in the outdoor air each year.

Yet the Dallas Stars have not been considered for these either. The Minnesota Wild are hosting their first one this coming February and expressed their desire to play the Dallas Stars when they found out they would be hosting it last season. But of course the NHL decided to pit the Chicago Blackhawks against them instead.

It’s disappointing that the Dallas Stars are forced to reside under a roof all year, spending most of their time on Fox Sports Southwest.

Next: Stars Aiming To Dominate Western Canada Road Trip Yet Again

What is wrong with this picture NHL? You have the best team in the NHL and you are treating them like they are the newest club that still must go through the initiation process of becoming a recognized NHL team. The Dallas Stars have endured their battle scars and are finally up to par. Not only up to par, but excelling past it. All they ask for is a little reward.