Dallas Stars: Three Takeaways From The 2017 Preseason

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SAN JOSE, CA – MARCH 12: Jamie Oleksiak /

2. The Defense Is (Still) Confusing

On June 26 of this past summer, the Dallas Stars acquired defenseman Marc Methot from the Vegas Golden Knights. From that point on, the Stars had a perfect problem to deal with. That perfect problem has to deal with the team’s defensive overstocking.

You probably already know about this if you’re a Stars fan. Heck, this has probably been the one storyline you’ve been waiting closely for developments on since it came up in June.

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Instead of going into the long lecture (which you can read about here) yet again, let’s just put it in simple terms. The Dallas Stars have nine NHL-ready defensemen in their system but can only carry a maximum of eight on the team. Eight is still pushing it, but it seems as though it is the way the Stars will be going.

So which eight defenders will make the roster for opening night? That’s a loaded question and you’re bound to get a few different results if you ask a few different people. Everyone had their own clever idea on how the Stars’ defensive lineup would shape out.

Going into training camp, it seemed as though the Dallas Stars had a set defensive group. Methot, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Stephen Johns, Dan Hamhuis, and Julius Honka were the six members of the presumed group. With this in mind, it seemed as though Jamie Oleksiak, Greg Pateryn, and Patrik Nemeth would battle it out for the final spot or two on the blue line.

Now that the Stars are through preseason play, this prediction is all but out the window. New head coach Ken Hitchcock has taken a strong liking to Oleksiak’s play, Lindell is on the top pairing with Klingberg, and Honka might be on his way back to the AHL.

The Stars pulled a complete reversal and proved that nothing is ever set in stone, no matter what the majority of analysts and writers say.

So, in essence, the Dallas Stars exited the preseason more confused about the status of their blue line than they did going into the preseason. Funny how that works.

The coaching staff likely has an idea on where they want the blue line to go and could reveal it as soon as today. But for now, we’re still confused. All we know is that Hitchcock likes Oleksiak and that Hamhuis, Honka, and Pateryn all had stellar preseason performances.

Who will be in the starting lineup on opening night? After the strong showings this preseason from the majority of the defenders, this question is anyone’s guess.

Let’s just hope that they end all of this confusion before October 6. If not, the Stars might be in for another year of defensive uncertainty, which leads to inconsistency more often than not. That’s the last thing this team needs.

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