The Dallas Cowboys stumbled across a stroke of genius in 2016 that ended up paying off big time. The Dallas Stars need to find something similar to solve their own problems, specifically in the crease.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has not seen much success in the sports world over the past year.
The Texas Rangers suffered a sweep in the first round of the MLB playoffs in October 2016 and are currently 5-10 and cannot seem to get going in their 2017 season slate.
The Dallas Mavericks put together their worst season since the late ’90’s. After starting the season on an ugly 7-21 run, they somewhat rallied to end the season with a 33-49 record, which still pinned them well outside the playoff picture.
And we all know what happened to the Dallas Stars. Following an incredible 50-23-9 record and respectable playoff run in 2015-16, the Stars took a 30-point dip to finish the 2016-17 season with 79 points, their second worst finish in franchise history. They missed the playoffs by a sizable 15 points.
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But there was one bright spot in the metroplex in terms of sports, and that was the Dallas Cowboys and their stellar 2016 run.
2015 was an unkind year to the Cowboys, if you can remember. Veteran quarterback Tony Romo went down in week two with an injury that basically sidelined him for the remainder of the season, and that spelled trouble for a Cowboys team that was significantly thin at the position. Dallas finished the year on a 4-12 note just one year after winning their division and advancing to the NFC Divisional Round.
Then 2016 came along, and it looked as though things were going to be just as bad as the year prior. During the preseason, Romo was injured again on an awkward tackle.
With their starter sidelined for six to ten weeks and backup QB Kellen Moore already out with a broken ankle, the Cowboys had nowhere else to turn but their third stringer: rookie QB Dak Prescott out of Mississippi State.
As a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, not much was expected of him. He was regarded as a workshop QB that might have a shot as a starter a few years down the road. But at the time, a fourth-round pick was not expected to be able to lead a team back to their former glory in one short year.
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Five months following the season opener, Dak Prescott was awarded the NFL Rookie of the Year Award. But how, you might ask? Simply put, Prescott had a rookie season for the ages.
Prescott went from a fourth-round, third string QB to a legit starter, quickly dethroning Romo in the process. But Romo remained a strong presence on the bench during the year, coaching Prescott whenever possible and providing moral support while always being ready to step back in.
With Dak under center, the Cowboys rallied to go 13-3 and win the NFC regular season title. Talk about a quick turnaround.
And right now, the Dallas Stars are a lot like the 2015 Dallas Cowboys. Following a stellar showing the season before, they could not live up to their expectations and crashed violently. A large part of that had to do with injury.
The only difference between the two teams is that the Dallas Cowboys rebounded and went up (’14), down (’15), and back up (’16). The Dallas Stars have yet to have that opportunity in proving themselves and it won’t come around until October 2017. They did go down (14-15), up (15-16), and back down (16-17). So if patterns tell us anything, it’s that the Stars are bound to go up again next year.
But we cannot know anything until next season kicks off. Before that happens, though, the Stars have some tweaks and adjustments that need to be made to their roster. After a 34-37-11 season, it’s clear that injuries were not the only thing holding this team down.
Besides the atrocious defensive setup, there is one other outlier that needs fixing in the Stars’ scheme: the crease.
For the past two seasons, the Dallas Stars have run with the two-goalie tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Both are veteran goalies and both have been established starters for years.
It has not worked out well. While it has been a step up from the Stars’ former goalie woes from 2010-2015, it is not a definite fix.
The 2016-17 season was an ugly one in the Dallas crease. Lehtonen finished the year with a .902 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average while Niemi turned in a .892 SV% and a 3.30 GAA. They both either reached career lows or were very close to them.
Lehtonen definitely had to bear the bigger load, though. He started 52 of the 82 games and had to play reliever in seven of them. It wasn’t perfect, but you could tell that the veteran gave it his all behind a young and shaky defensive group. He put it all out on the line.
And that’s why Kari Lehtonen is the Dallas Stars’ Tony Romo (before he switched to commentating, of course). He has been with the franchise for the long haul and is always giving his all, even when he’s taking a good amount of heat for his play.
Dallas Stars
But Lehtonen is no Dak Prescott. He’s an old, weathered veteran who is much closer to the finish line than the start line.
So if the Dallas Stars are really going to right the ship over one offseason, it’s crucial that they find their own Dak.
Noting the differences in the NFL Draft and NHL Draft, the Stars will not be finding their Dak Prescott in the fourth round of the 2017 Entry Draft. They probably wouldn’t even find him in the first round.
Assuming that the Stars buy out or try and trade Niemi, they will be in need for a new goalie. That’s where Prescott fits in this whole glorious mess.
The Dallas Stars need to find a young, competent goaltender who is capable of surprising. They need a new goalie that will become the new leader of the franchise for years to come. He needs to be confident, battle-tested, and prepared.
Meanwhile, Lehtonen needs to transition to the Romo role, sitting back and providing expert analysis along with lending a hand here and there when needed. He’s still a skilled goaltender and can be beneficial to the Stars for a few more years.
But the problems in goal have gone on long enough. If the Dallas Stars are truly looking to take the next step in their development, they have to get a new crease manager.
The 2017 Expansion Draft is granting the Stars with a beautiful opportunity in this venture. Every team can only protect a maximum of one goaltender and have to leave their others open to potentially be drafted. That means that all of the teams that already have two established starting goalies could lose one of their solid goalies for nothing in return.
That being said, why wouldn’t they trade one away and at least get something in return before the draft?
This is where the Stars come in. Teams like the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Washington Capitals all have established two-goalie systems that could be broken up this summer. Darcy Kuemper, Antti Raanta, Scott Darling, and Philipp Grubauer could all be the next Dak Prescott for the Stars. All are young, proven, and capable of doing great things.
It’s time for the Dallas Stars to find their own Dak Prescott for the crease. They need to find a long-term solution that will be here for years to come instead of constantly juggling two aging starters. They need to find their Dak.
The Cowboys saw the benefits of taking a risk and putting fresh blood out on the line while keeping their seasoned veteran on the sidelines. The system clearly worked and helped them get out a slump in one short year. The Stars have an opportunity to do the exact same thing with their goaltending system.
Getting a young and prepared goaltender and keeping Kari Lehtonen in the picture as the experienced backup will not only help the Dallas Stars in goals against and save percentage immediately, but will also have them set up for the foreseeable future.
Next: Stars Must Find A New Goaltender Soon
But first, they have to obtain their Prescott. They have a golden opportunity to do so in this offseason with the expansion draft. The real question will be how they go about doing it.