Dallas Stars’ Problems This Season Continue To Grow

It just has not been their season. The Dallas Stars have fallen far from where they once were, and it’s all because of the problem after problem that they face.

Every team goes through times of success and times of failure, it is inevitable. The Dallas Stars, however, have been lacking in the success department for the vast majority of this season.

They have had small victories, such as Jamie Benn scoring his 500th NHL point, but overall the season has been a bust.

While there are many opinions floating around attempting to answer the questions surrounding Dallas’ underwhelming season, it may be more simple than people are giving it credit for.

Confidence Issue is Pre-existing

The NHL is not for the faint of heart. It is a rather cutthroat league, sometimes literally, and it requires thick skin to come out the other side unharmed.

In order for that to happen, teams need players with confidence. Not everyday average Joe confidence either, it needs to border on cockiness. This may seem extreme, but it is understandable when dealing with the best of the best.

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Dallas, however, does not have this level of confidence in their framework right now, nor has it been there since their elimination last season. Despite the Central Division Title banner the Stars so proudly display at American Airlines Center, their confidence issues have been around for quite some time.

This explains a lot when thinking about the team itself. They were good enough to win the Western Conference in the regular season last year, but suffered a rather abysmal loss on home ice in a do-or-die Game 7 versus the St. Louis Blues. How their effort levels and production were so insufficient goes to show their lack of confidence in their abilities.

But it is more than that. Losing games is part of hockey too, but Dallas has found a new low in that regard this year. They are surrendering far too early and have less than half of the team at best playing to their fullest extent.

When players are checking out, it is more than just a confidence problem. Although that is certainly part of the problem it is not the umbrella under which all of Dallas’ issues fall.

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Leadership

The problem with leadership lies in the execution of veteran players. Although Dallas’ veterans are great to have around simply because of their experience, it is hard to learn a significant amount from a player with marginal success on the ice.

It is certainly a challenge to have young guns in the organization learn and grow when the men with more seasons under their belt seem dazed and confused. That confusion leads to the Stars’ young players going rogue and testing the waters instead of seeing how it should be done.

That is not, however, to say that all of Dallas’ veterans are the reason to blame. They have just played their part in the struggles the Stars have faced this season.

Fixing the Issues

The thing about the Stars’ obstacles is that they are not cut and dry. It is not feasible to assume that one day Dallas will find confidence and just simply be better on the ice. They will not merely have veteran players playing the way they are capable of in tonight’s game versus the Minnesota Wild.

It simply will not happen. These are issues that need to be resolved within each player on their own. They need to put in the effort to be confident in their game in order to help encourage their teammates to do the same.

Dallas will need their veterans to step up and play like seasoned professionals, not just say the canned responses to the same questions like they have been doing all season. They will require more than just acknowledging that their issues this season are contained to just this year.

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That, unfortunately, is not the case at all. Until the Stars realize this and make the changes necessary to fix it, they will remain bottom feeders in the NHL despite their rather incredible roster.