The 2016-17 season could be an exciting or depressing one for the Dallas Stars. What are some of their strong and weak points?
The Dallas Stars have a weighty season ahead of them, with a lot of expectation resting squarely on their shoulders.
New seasons are a lot like New Years, minus the streamers and confetti. You look ahead at everything that’s laid out before you, what you hope to accomplish and the person you want to become, and you try and predict all the obstacles that will stand in the way of achieving those goals.
For the Dallas Stars, that goal this year is nothing short of the Stanley Cup- going all the way. They have to be better than the team they were last season, and given the improvements they did make last season, that will be a feat.
But the Stars have primed themselves this summer to grow in leaps and bounds in this new season in the hunt for the Cup. So let’s weigh the pros and cons of the upcoming season in light of the events of the summer.
1. Offense
Well, the Dallas Stars have consistently had one of the best offenses in the NHL, season after season. That begs the question, as it always does, why have the Stars still struggled to get to the top? While the Stars have the best pieces, sometimes utilizing them has gotten a bit tricky.
Pros: The Dallas Stars have an offense that is consistently receiving more and more of the recognition it deserves. All the hard work put in by players at every level is paying off. The Stars can brag about having some of the greatest offensive depth in the league, and also in having had some of its arguably most naturally talented rookies.
Names like Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will be cornerstones of the franchise for a while, and also players like Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, Mattias Janmark, and Antoine Roussel make the Stars a third as well as first line offensive threat.
While the Stars did lose players like Vernon Fiddler and Colton Sceviour this summer, they gained the depth of Jiri Hudler and invested in the overall effectiveness of the team in other areas.
Cons: Like we saw last year, sometimes having all the pieces doesn’t result in a complete puzzle right away. In my opinion, the GQ line never really turned into the weapon of mass destruction that everyone was expecting it to.
The addition of Patrick Sharp to the team was a great move, but I think we can agree that Stephen Johns will probably be the name most talked about in that trade in terms of impact in seasons to come.
Either way, we all know that sometimes great players can hit dry patches when they are trying to grow accustomed to new teammates and a new style of play. The Stars will need to adjust to the loss of some veteran guys and the addition of new ones. This will probably inspire some good ol’ fashioned Ruff line juggling until the Stars find the perfect combo and chemistry.
2. Defense
If you keep up with the Stars at all or like hockey and have a Twitter account, you’ll know that this has been the Dallas Stars’ trademarked weak spot. While they have been carefully making tweaks over the last two summers and last season, sometimes overhauls are slow and the fruit of that labor isn’t ready for picking right away.
Pros: The Dallas Stars (and by Dallas Stars, I mean Jim Nill) seem to have been very intentional about adding players that will help them develop a different, more aggressive style of defensive play. Johnny Oduya, Stephen Johns, and Dan Hamhuis all add to that vision of a larger, more confident defensive corp who can actually pose a threat and make a forward think twice when bringing the puck into their zone.
While the loss of some players (Jason Demers, anyone?) does sting a bit, the whole “no pain no gain” thing is pretty true here.
Cons: In the end, I think it can be argued that defense is still what cost the Stars the big time in the postseason. While such growing pains are expected on the way to a fully functional and rebuilt defense, you still have to question whether the changes will be enough.
Other teams have been playing with physical and aggressive defenses, that even the Stars have devised strategies against offensively. Are the Dallas Stars too late to the party? While only time will answer that question, it’s good to keep in mind that the Stars are still trying to retain the scoring mentality of their defense (a la John Klingberg), and merging these two mindsets which can, at times, be diametrically opposed, could make for slow goings.
3. Goaltending
Pros & Cons: The tandem system. The tandem system. The tandem system.
It’s a pro and a con. While we’ve seen the goaltending situation improve greatly with this system and under new coaches, you have to remember what we’re comparing the success to. Kari Lehtonen‘s breakdown stretch in the 14-15 season (or arguably all of the season) is something we’d like to forget.
The scenario now is much better, but when you compare it to other teams in the NHL, it’s still got a long, long way to go. Grouping it in with defense, goaltending is still a big part of what is holding the Dallas Stars back.
Although the tandem system is supposed to make the crease more secure, it can sometimes present an air of uncertainty and wavering- which goalie will they put in tonight? Which one was better in practice? Constantly choosing back and forth can create a mindset that these two goalies, working together, can give the team the benefits of one starter. And many times, that’s the effect.
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While the system has been a big benefit to Lehtonen, whose playoff performance was light years above last season’s, I personally don’t think the Dallas Stars will be comfortable and confident in the crease until they institute one starter that they have full faith in to start constantly, whether Lehtonen morphs into that player this season, or they have to wheel and deal for one later on.
So, with most things in life, it all comes down to how you see it. I’m choosing to look at this new season like a new year. Season 16-17 will be a great one, we know this already.
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The Dallas Stars have conquered this territory before and are poised to do it again. Like us, they are fully aware of the obstacles that stand in their way. With great leaders at the helm, the Stars will obviously do all they can to overcome everything against them in hopes of this being the season they finally hoist the Cup again.
What do you think is the Dallas Stars’ Achilles heel in their pursuit of the ultimate victory? What is their greatest asset? Let us know below in the comments!