Dallas Stars’ Fan-Favorite Issues Should Be Approached Gently

As Dallas Stars fans, we all have those hot-button topics we get into it over. But sometimes enough is enough.

Sometimes in life, you take risks. Sometimes they are calculated, and other times not so much. And still in different circumstances, you have to know when to sit down and shut up.

For fans of a hockey team from the Southwest, it’s not surprising that this line can come across a little blurry to us at times. I mean, if there’s an argument to be had, why not have it? And as of late, as we watch an environment that is being constantly changed and molded into something new, it’s been hard for Dallas Stars fans to feel certain about a lot of different topics.

The Stars have had their fair share of problems long enough that there seems no for sure way of fixing them, and certainly no good way to express your opinion of how to fix it without offending someone else.

Because really, the Dallas Stars fandom- like many other fan bases- is more like a large, extended, straight-out-of-a-soap-opera family. We pull together when it’s hard and we fight like cats and dogs when it’s harder, but at the end of the day, it’s all coming from a passion for the same team.

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But raise your hand if you agree with me. Here lately, some of these topics have gotten so touchy, it can be like inviting a firing squad to open up on you every time you open your mouth (or tweet).

If you’ve experienced something like this, you’re nodding your head with me. If you haven’t, you’re thinking my gosh- this girl is pretty bitter. But, quite the contrary.

Although I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty passionate exchanges of opinion, I’ve more often been an onlooker. And there are several recurring themes that seem to crop up and signal the start of a Stars-inspired knock down drag out.

First of all, let’s get it out of the way up front: Valeri Nichushkin. Like him or not, want him back or couldn’t care less if he ever plays for the Stars again, you know that it’s in your best interests to tread carefully whenever his name comes up within fanbase Twitter-brawls.

You all know my current opinion about him as a player (and if not, just mosey on over and read this as a refresher), but my evaluations are open to change based on his actions in the future. For many fans, it seems a snap judgment on either side of the spectrum (Val-haters or Val-lovers), defended to the death, is the trend.

The main arguments are these: he is young, so it’s stupid to think the Stars don’t need him or that he can’t be their asset anymore; or conversely, he left the Stars so he’s a quitter and he can’t ever have a place on this team again.

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Let me just say, a little moderation never killed anybody. Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s prevented at least a few murders and/or heated online exchanges throughout the course of history. So if you’re going to approach this topic (or really any of these hot-button subjects) with someone, just realize that there are multiple (valid) angles to see things from and as far as I’m concerned, no one has a monopoly on correctness here.

Another player who has inspired a bit of internet anger in the past has been good ol’ Jordie Benn, who fans could never quite make a collective heads or tails of. Although he became one of the Stars’ more consistent defensemen before he went to Montreal and after that was a valuable asset to his team, Benn did seem to sometimes just have a touch of wrong-place-wrong-time syndrome.

This was enough to drive some fans crazy to the point that many were calling heatedly for his removal seasons before it finally did happen. Some argued (causing many a younger-Benn eye roll, I’m sure) that Jamie just played better with his brother on the team, and/or probably strong armed the management into keeping him.

Somewhere in between these two extremes, you had fans just generally lamenting his bad luck but not wanting to give him the boot for it because there were a lot of other extenuating variables.

And once again, the middle-ground position seemed to be the most reasonable one. And when it comes to individual players, whose heads we can’t get inside and whose motivations and lives we can’t possibly diagnose, this is a safer and more logical place to be.

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Another touchy Dallas Stars subject comes in the way of scoring droughts. Benn’s, Seguin’s, Sharp’s, Spezza’s, Eakin’s- if somebody was having a hard time scoring, all of Twitter was going to hear about it. And really, that’s expected. When the Stars have a season like they did, scoring droughts can feel like such a problem that is heavy and at the same time very hard to put a finger on.

So we all had opinions about what was causing them and what could break them. Excessive line juggling a la Lindy Ruff (who at times was a touchy subject all to himself), injuries, lack of mental toughness- the list could go on.

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At the end of the day, we all were probably telling a small sliver of the truth. And there have been so many other topics that Stars fans have passionately beat to death- with good intentions and pure hearts, mind you: the mighty turnover, pet issues within the goaltending, whether Benn and Seguin should play on the same line all the time, neutral ice snafus (insert your own hot-button issue here).

I guess you don’t get into arguments with complete strangers on the internet about stuff like this if you’re not passionate, right? When someone else is arguing vehemently for a position in direct opposition to ours, it makes our blood absolutely boil- a key characteristic of a hockey fan.

But’s that the real point here, I suppose. We’re all passionate because we love this team and we hate to see it struggle. And when things are rough for all of us, we turn that same devotion to commiserate with other fans as they struggle, too.

So here I am, preaching to the choir. I’m making a conscious decision to look for all sides of the story before I share my own and make sure that when it all comes down to it, I see all the other fans out there who disagree with me as just that- people I really have more in common with (as it pertains to hockey, anyway) than not.

If that’s something that resonates with you, then take a shot at my resolution, too. If you’re already there, then thank you for helping keep the peace. Exchanging conflicting opinions- especially if done politely- can be a very educational and exhilarating part of being a Dallas Stars fan.

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Above all, thank you guys- all of you- for making loving this team and this sport a fun and riotous experience in the best way possible.