Dallas Stars' Offseason Additions Add To Stanley Cup Desire

The 2017 offseason saw a lot of new talent make their way to the Dallas Stars organization. The common thread between them? None of them have won a Stanley Cup. That bodes well for the Stars.

The Dallas Stars have come a long way since April 8, 2017.

After defeating the Colorado Avalanche in the final game of their 2016-17 season, the Stars entered a long and unforgiving offseason. They had just finished the second-worst season in franchise history and needed to generate a quick turnaround. The only problem was that they had a lot to fix.

Luckily, GM Jim Nill got an early start and hit the NHL offseason hard. He had a to-do list to focus on and needed to make a lot of changes before the 2017-18 season began. The Stars were in a hole and had a short timeframe to right the ship.

Nill responded quickly and efficiently, adding a new head coach in Ken Hitchcock in the first week of summer. He followed that move up by securing goaltender Ben Bishop to be the Dallas Stars’ next starter in net.

Dallas Stars

Then the real portion of the offseason came along. Once the Stanley Cup Playoffs ended, Nill continued to put in work. He successfully navigated the expansion draft and brought in defenseman Marc Methot before the free agency market even opened. But July 1 was when things got really fun.

On the first day of the free agency market opening, Nill brought in forward Martin Hanzal. Two days later, he secured the most skilled winger on the market in Alexander Radulov. In addition to these, he also made a series of minor additions that helped increase the Stars’ depth.

In other words, Nill covered all of the bases this summer. He beefed up all of the Dallas Stars’ weak spots and has the team looking not only like a playoff contender, but also a Cup contender.

And despite the variety of players that he acquired this offseason, they all share one common thread: they have never hoisted the Stanley Cup.

During the 2015 offseason, Nill added a hefty amount of talent after the Stars missed the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His additions not only brought increased skill, but also more experience (especially in the playoffs).

Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, and Antti Niemi were the three big additions in that offseason. There were six Stanley Cups between the three of them, giving Dallas some much-needed postseason experience.