Dallas Stars: How Penguins' Victory Affects Stars' Future

Although the Dallas Stars missed playoff action this year, they are not free from possible implications of the final outcome.

When the playoffs began, I decided right out to root for whoever ended up pitted against the Penguins- and I have a feeling some of you were with me. Apart from Trevor Daley, I couldn’t see much reason to want the same team to win two years in a row. I mean come on, give someone else a chance!

But, depending on your position, either hard work and a bit of luck, or a rigged system and less-than-fair refs (take your pick!) has brought us here, to a world where the Pittsburgh Penguins are Stanley Cup Champions. Again.

I’ll divulge something to you. I am a moper. When something goes slightly askew- for all intents and purposes, wrong-I will sit and stew in that wrongness and bemoan the very fact of its existence. Trying to spin positiveness out of a hopeless situation sometimes just takes way too much energy. Anybody with me?

But… sometimes, you just gotta face the facts and sometimes those facts are… still not so positive. But they are at least true. So in the name of being positive while also being true, let’s throw out some ideas about how the Penguin’s victory could affect the Dallas Stars.

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Let’s start with the obvious first: Trevor Daley is a Stanley champ again, and the saying is true: once a Star, always a Star. It’s great to see him succeed. Would it have been greater to see him succeed with another less Penguiny team? Perhaps. But for the sake of being positive, I’ll press on.

At least a Pittsburgh win keeps the Cup out of the Central Division- at least it’s not close enough to home to really hurt. But, at the same time, when the Cup comes to rest with a Central Division team, it seems the Stars do better.

It could be that it makes a Stars win that much more tangible for the players and coaches, or it could be that having Cup champions in the division just makes everyone else around step up their game. But whatever it is, there’s no denying that the Stars react positively to division-mates bringing home the gold- I mean, silver. You know what I mean.

Prime example: the Blackhawks took home the Cup in 2015. I was just as excited about that turn of events as I am about these. But, after a 14-15 run that saw the Stars mediocre at best and missing out on playoffs, they came back in 15-16 to put together a season that fans look back on now and wish for again.

With a 50-23-9 record, they not only qualified for playoffs, but made it through one round. I guess we can’t get too greedy too fast.

That was also the season that the Dallas Stars finished first in the Central Division. Now of course there were other factors pushing them to greatness. But I don’t believe the Blackhawk’s Stanley victory the summer before had nothing to do with it. Seeing hated rivals receive that greatest honor in the sport can light a fire under you, I’d imagine.

But with the defeat of the Predators, that impetus won’t be making a return this season. If we expect a repeat performance now of the last Stars season immediately following a Penguins’ Cup win, well, that’s definitely a good excuse to ditch your optimism.

However, as we all know, hockey is this crazy and complicated thing influenced from all angles, much like pretty much everything else in life. Although the Dallas Stars theoretically might have been better off in the case of a Nashville Stanley Cup victory, the Stars have tons of changes coming up that could prove to be much more valuable than some indirect motivation.

Next: Stars' Biggest Strength And Weakness Right Now

But for now, the biggest thing to highlight is that the great hockey hibernation is now upon us. Although there’s absolutely nothing to watch right now, with the draft and free agency coming up, things won’t be boring for long.

Until then, I’ve got a bit of time to sit and mope about this Penguins’ win. Let me know what your thoughts on the final series and victory are in the comments below.

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