Dallas Stars’ Money Fight of 2017-2018

It’s fun to watch people fight each other, but it’s more fun to watch them do it on skates. The Dallas Stars are no strangers to exchanged fisticuffs.

After a pretty monumental event for the boxing world last night, it’s safe to say that watching people try to slug each other makes me, at least, even more antsy for the new hockey season to begin.

Nothing against boxing, but there’s just something more magical about watching a hockey fight, am I right? It has all the same poignancy and weight and gripping nature, but you’ve got to admire someone who can engage in a fight while balancing on skates while both using and dodging bare fists.

The Dallas Stars in particular have earned some fighting chops themselves. According to Hockey Fights, the Stars are the third highest in all-time fighting minutes league-wide, behind only the Ducks and Predators.

But there are multiple factors being introduced for the first time this season that might influence the Stars’ glove-dropping game. The team and the fans have what is probably some of the greatest anticipatory excitement for a new season that the Stars have seen in a while, not to mention the tweaks and changes that the Stars will be playing out come October.

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With a new outlook, new players, a new coach, and a new chance to reach heights they feel within their reach, the Dallas Stars should be more motivated than ever before. And with that kind of motivation and emotions running so high often comes tension between the ideal and the real.

And with tension can come, of course, those scraps and brawls that we all love so much. In the past, the Stars have had their favorites when it comes to fights. The Blues hold the all-time highest fights-against count for the Stars at 84 fights, with the Ducks close behind at 80. These make sense, as the Blues and Ducks have had heated postseason interactions with the Stars in which emotions also ran pretty high (for more takes on the Stars’ rivalries in 17-18, take a look here).

Corporately, they’re a fightin’ bunch, but individually, the Dallas Stars are often out for blood, too. Antoine Roussel is the undeniable current leader for the Stars in terms of fights, with a whopping 46 under his belt. Jamie Benn is the next most frequent glove-dropper, with 19 fights for the Stars. As the captain and the token agitator, these make sense, too.

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What we might have to wait to make some sense of is what the next season will hold for the fighting Stars. The league has a new team out of Las Vegas, which will inevitably looking to establish an identity, a devoted fan base, and a spirited team morale. In a lot of ways, the Stars are on the same path to a lesser extent.

It would make sense for the Stars to pick it up with some of their divisional rivalries, upping fight counts with the Blues and Blackhawks predominately. There’s already some enmity between them and some west coast teams, so those could stand to add more fuel to the fire also.

However, the Stars are also growing in maturity and in leadership skills. There is also a possibility that we see a drop in some of the spontaneous fights picked from irritation or slight. Hitchcock is looking to make a strong leadership core within the Stars, and this could include taking control of team morale when it’s low, but may also necessitate a change in fighting strategy.

Next: Dallas Stars Give Details For 25th Anniversary Celebration

It’s not like the Dallas Stars drop the gloves all the time, but when they do, they seldom disappoint. We’re only a few months out from a great season where we’ll hopefully get to see the Stars go a few good rounds.