Dallas Stars’ Revolving Door of Defensemen is Major Issue

The Dallas Stars’ defense is working on finding both consistent players and consistent pairings as they struggle to find some consistency in their season.

The Dallas Stars have not been known as a defensive strong house in nearly two decades. They are an offensive team through and through, but after a rough start to this season they re-evaluated.

That led them to developing a more holistic approach to defense, featuring a number of their highly talented young prospects on the blue line. Unfortunately for the Stars, though, there are only six maybe seven roster spots on a nightly basis for defensemen, which has caused a revolving door of young players this season.

As the season progresses, it is becoming more and more evident that Dallas’ choices in regards to young d-men has been detrimental to their success.

Lack of Routine

Not only does this method prevent these young, talented defenders from fully developing, they also struggle to establish any kind of routine. Hockey players are some of the more superstitious professional athletes in the world and routines are vital to their game.

However, being uncertain in many regards to what the line-up will look like until the day of a game is harmful. Players are discouraged to find out they will not find themselves on the ice because another young player has been given the opportunity.

There is no rhyme or reason to the madness that is Dallas Stars defensive line-ups this season. It has to be frustrating to see others get the chance to grow in the NHL while you find yourself sitting in the press box. Not to mention that having some notably talented and promising players not suit up is certainly hurting their shot at really succeeding at this level of hockey.

Readjusting is Difficult

This is most noticeable with Patrik Nemeth. The 24-year-old defenseman has been limited in games played this season and finds himself doing one-game stints every so often. That prevents him from getting comfortable in the line-up with the team because there are so many nuances to the NHL.

The speed is probably the most difficult part about getting back into the line-up and it requires a few games to get the legs going again. However, with Dallas’ line-up approach those chances just are not happening.

More from Editorials

• Dallas Stars hockey is about to be the main attraction in Dallas this year
• Age Before Beauty: The impact of Benn’s new role on his Dallas legacy
• Dallas Stars hockey is the light at the end of the tunnel
• Dallas Stars coverage is lacking and it’s very concerning to be honest
• Sit back, relax and watch Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars draft scouts cook

If the team wins, whichever young defender is usually in the line-up the following game. If they lose, though, he might as well choose a comfortable suit to wear for the next match-up. This is a flawed method because it does not give any sort of confidence to players and puts even more pressure on them than they already feel.

Playing in the NHL as a young defenseman is challenging. You are facing the toughest competitors in the world with years and years of experience under their belt, while also trying to blend in seamlessly with a team. The pressure has to be unbelievable and that in addition to questioning if you are good enough to play in the next game has to be down right exhausting.

What is the Solution?

This is where things get tricky for Dallas. If they elect to not play young defensemen, they cannot get any better. If they opt to play the young blue liners, they have to either go with seven defenders or sit out an older, more experienced and higher paid defenseman.

The latter is not an option on most nights because, despite wanting to encourage development, teams have to put their best players on the ice every night. They have to give themselves the best shot at a victory and simply putting developing players on the ice so they can grow is not part of that equation.

Honestly, there is not a clear-cut answer to what the Stars need to do. Obviously trading away one of their elite prospects could have a negative aftermath, but from a human standpoint making them not play is a disservice to everything they have worked so hard for.

Next: Stars' Season Summed Up in 4-3 Loss to Blues

However, Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, Esa Lindell and Johnny Oduya all have expiring contracts at the end of this season. That could require a less than desirable move on Nill’s part simply to get a return on investment. Or if Oduya proves too high of a cost, it could lead to less stress on the Stars’ blue line combinations.

If the right trade comes along it would make sense to see Nemeth hang up his Dallas Stars skates, but the key word is right. Jim Nill will refuse anything that does not benefit this club moving forward, which likely means this revolving door issue will continue.