Dallas Stars Official Review: Bringing Back A Stars Legend
By Tom Dorsa
Our weekly Official Review series kicks off with a Dallas Stars hypothetical to consider: which Dallas legend would you bring back if at all possible?
The Dallas Stars have loads of talent up and down their lineup, from an Art Ross Trophy winner, to a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist, a Norris Trophy contender, and more. To think they are a player away from becoming a bonafide Stanley Cup favorite isn’t ridiculous, but they clearly have lots of skill at every position.
It should be noted that, right now, the Stars have perhaps too many players. There’s so much talent and value to go around that the lineup looks all too stacked to add any additional contributing factors.
However, as the recent acquisition of superstar Russian winger Alexander Radulov of Montreal Canadiens fame proves, you can never have enough game-changing skill on your squad. Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg and the rest have quite the supporting cast ready to contend for hockey immortality.
As far as the obtaining of skill goes, consider a hypothetical: your team needs a revolutionary, generational talent of sorts to get over the hump, and in a perfect world, it’s possible to grab one player from the history of the franchise – IN THEIR PRIME – to compete for the Dallas Stars.
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Put yourself in the shoes of Jim Nill, the Dallas general manager, and draft one of these four players: Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, Ed Belfour, Sergei Zubov. They’re instantly in their prime, whether it’s Modano’s 50-goal season, one of Lehtinen’s three Selke campaigns Belfour’s Vezina Trophy seasons of 1991 or 1993, even Sergei’s 89-point Cup winning season back in 1993-94.
PROS AND CONS:
Pros for taking Mike Modano: The highest-scoring American-born player in NHL history paved the way for what has since followed in Dallas, as the former Stars captain and NHL 100 member leads Stars players in essentially every meaningful quality for skaters. Modano’s 561 career goals and 1374 total points are both good for 24th in National Hockey League history.
Cons for taking Mike Modano: The Stars don’t need another center, even if Modano is the best player in franchise history. Using this hypothetical Draft on a more suitable player like Zubov or Belfour could pay off far better than an additional playmaking centerman (Seguin, Jason Spezza).
Pros for taking Jere Lehtinen: Perhaps the best two-way winger in the history of hockey, Lehtinen won the Selke Trophy three times (he is one of just five players with three or more and the only true winger to win three such awards). Jere was dynamite on Modano’s wing and could easily transition from zone to zone while playing in all special teams roles, gaining the respect of then head coach Ken Hitchcock, who returns this season.
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Cons for taking Jere Lehtinen: The Dallas Stars signed a top-line right winger just this week, and Lehtinen probably wouldn’t theoretically fit with Jason Spezza on line two. Only 319 of his 514 career points came at even strength, so there’s no telling how effective he’d be in a faster-paced team like the 2017-18 Stars look to be.
Pros for taking Ed Belfour: The Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Calder Trophy winner, and two-time Vezina capturer was arguably the most essential piece in the Stars’ run to two consecutive Cup Finals, being the winner of one such Final. Belfour is the third winningest goaltender in NHL history (484 victories) and would immediately fill perhaps the most glaring void in recent Stars memory in the crease.
Cons for taking Ed Belfour: The Stars traded for a subsequently signed goaltender Ben Bishop to a long-term agreement far too recently to consider goaltending replacements, plus Belfour’s reflexive goaltending style would contrast with that of current NHLers and the fundamentally sound butterfly gameplay. It’s hard to say if Belfour, despite being one of the best to ever play, would fit in today’s League.
Pros for taking Sergei Zubov: Zubov is the greatest defenseman the franchise has ever seen, and perhaps the best it will ever possess. His 549 points (771 all-time) is tops in terms of Dallas Stars blueliners after 12 years as a Star. His unrivaled playmaking and mysterious nature made him a feared asset for Dallas over their many Zubov-led Playoff runs, as his 0.71 playoff points per game was higher than even Nicklas Lidstrom (0.69).
Cons for taking Sergei Zubov: the Stars have two playmaking, right-handed blueliners in John Klingberg and Julius Honka primed to make the NHL roster come 2017-18. While Zubov is one of the best defensemen ever, his deployment as the shoe-in A1 D-man would be huge talents like Honka or Klingberg would play just 12-13 minutes a night.
If you had the opportunity to bring back one of these Dallas Stars legends right now, in their prime, who would you choose? #OfficialReview
— Blackout Dallas (@BlackoutDallas) July 13, 2017
Next: Examining Stars' 2017 Development Camp Standouts
After reviewing our pros and cons for each player, make your way to our Twitter poll that’s running right now over at @BlackoutDallas. Thanks for playing Official Review!