Dallas Stars’ Blue Line New Blood

With players coming and going, the Dallas Stars are working hard to shape up their defensive corp. Will their overhaul prove to be beneficial, or will it backfire?

Sometimes, as a general rule in life,  when something’s not going the way you want, you just have to toss it out and start over. Like when you indulge in a little glue overkill on your latest DIY, or when you realize there’s no way you’re going to pass that class that’s been over your head since day one.

However, sometimes there’s also some validity in not giving up too soon. Example: remember the saying, “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”? I’m not sure what sort of a strange and unfortunate situation inspired that maxim, but whoever came up with it definitely recognized (although maybe perhaps too late) the value of not scrapping an entire effort, but saving bits and pieces of it.

Enter the Dallas Stars, stage right. Let’s take a journey into yesteryear, albeit just a short one. Several seasons ago, the defense was bad. Really bad. Journey over. We’ve come a long ways since then.

The Stars have come out on top of their division and made it to the second round of playoffs. And although it stung not to make it even farther, they’ve set a new personal best. One that they’ll want to add onto instead of lag behind in this upcoming season.

And one way the Dallas Stars seemed poised to continue, well, reaching for the stars, is in the area of defense. The defense has greatly improved, but all it takes is a step back to realize and admit that they still need to improve more if the Stars want to reach new heights.

With several free agent defenseman primed for the offseason, the Stars had a perfect opportunity to either tweak in bits and pieces, or wipe the slate mostly clean.

Join me on the flip side, where we’re getting used to the idea that Alex Goligoski is no longer a Star, and Jordie Benn will be one for the next three years. Jim Nill has made mention that gap-players like Jamie Oleksiak and Patrik Nemeth may become foundation players on defense, and that young talent like Esa Lindell could be integrated into the system as well.

Add to that the efforts of Johnny Oduya, Stephen Johns, and John Klingberg, who have proven their merits as Stars defenders, and remember that the Dallas Stars still have some chips they could play and several  free agents to make decisions about.

In the meantime, consider the good that it did Dallas’ defense to receive some new blood earlier in the season. The addition of Oduya, Johns, and Russell helped turn the defense around and spark a change in mentality and confidence on the blue line.  Perhaps it’s time to let go of some familiar faces in order to keep the ball (or puck, should I say?) rolling.

But there’s also something to be said about the value of leadership. With the departure of Goligoski, the Stars lose one of their most veteran players. In a team that emphasizes leadership and the value of experience, that could hurt the Stars’ defense. However, you’ve always got experienced players like Oduya who can step up to that plate.

Next: Dallas Stars 2016 Fifth and Sixth Round Draft Picks

So the moral of the story is this: things are changing in Dallas, but aren’t they always? They’ve been certainly changing for the better in the last few seasons, and the Stars seem primed to keep heading in that direction.

So which defensive personnel decisions do you think would push the Stars the closest to the perfect defense? If you could play GM for a day, what moves would you make? Let us know in the comments!