The Dallas Stars have one regular season game remaining and will start the road to the Stanley Cup next week. While they have a lot to be proud of and can appreciate what team they have, the injuries they’ve faced have been rather intense and the decisions they’ll make moving forward will be anything but easy.
Building Momentum
The final stretch of the regular season is a time to really prepare a team for the postseason and the Stars had the distinct advantage of clinching a playoff position in late March, so they had the opportunity to do so.
It, however, wasn’t easy. The Stars lost a number of key players before securing one of the eight postseason spots in the Western Conference who are just now returning to the line-up.
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That may seem like great news, but it’s not as black and white as it may appear. Dallas has had a lot of success lately with young players in the line-up and messing with that could bruise their confidence moving forward.
On the same token, though, not playing seasoned veterans that have been working to rehab for weeks and are working to earn new contracts is risky as well because they’ve been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Defensive Options
Two of the Stars’ six regular defenders have been sideline with injuries and both happen to be fighting for the possibility of new contracts in Dallas.
Kris Russell became a Star at the trade deadline this year when Jim Nill sent Jyrki Jokipakka and a draft pick to Calgary for him. He’s played in ten games for Dallas since the trade, but has sat out the last seven with a foot injury.
The Stars got no. 2 back into the line-up in Thursday night’s 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche and should keep playing him to determine whether or not they’ll offer him an extension.
In his time wearing victory green, no. 4 has developed into a staple on the blue line. He’s capable of playing with nearly any partner and he, for the most part, makes intelligent defensive decisions.
The final game of the regular season and the playoffs will certainly see both Russell and Demers in action, but they have to maintain a high-level of play if they wish to continue suiting up.
Young Guns Make for Tough Decision
Recently the Stars have become rather stacked at the defense position. The number of high quality prospects playing for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League is impressive and it makes the decision on defensemen that much more difficult moving forward.
If the team can utilize less expensive, younger, faster players, they’ll have more cap space to work with for other positions. However, the likelihood of Dallas releasing all of their seasoned defensemen is extremely low.
Blue line staple Alex Goligoski will also become an unrestricted free agent come July 1st, making Nill’s job all that much harder.
Final Thoughts
All in all the defensive problem of the Stars isn’t really a problem at all. They have a lot of options for the six or seven spots on the roster and if history repeats itself, Nill will find a way to make it all work out.
Who do you think Nill will re-sign and how much does their play in the playoffs influence that decision? Leave your thoughts in the comments and, as always, thanks for reading!