Dallas Stars: Expectations For Opening Night

With high hopes for this season, Dallas Stars fans need to strike a good balance between optimism and realism.

It’s finally the day we’ve all been waiting for. Our expectations and visions for what this season could hold have been cultivated all summer, building up and building up to this point. Part of what has fueled these high expectations has been the culmination of all the unknowns.

Scott Burnside published an article on the Stars’ website yesterday highlighting all of the unknowns that we fans have, at times, treated like certainties this offseason.

When posed all in one place, these unkowns really start to pile up and make you question the expectations you’ve been growing all summer long.

[H]ow…will [Marc Methot] help create a defensive identity that will elevate a Stars team that was second-worst in the NHL last season in goals allowed per game [?]…More from EditorialsDallas Stars hockey is about to be the main attraction in Dallas this yearAge Before Beauty: The impact of Benn’s new role on his Dallas legacyDallas Stars hockey is the light at the end of the tunnelDallas Stars coverage is lacking and it’s very concerning to be honestSit back, relax and watch Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars draft scouts cookCan Alexander Radulov bring the jam and emotion that made him a favorite inside and outside the Montreal locker room last season during his return from a four-year absence in the Kontinental Hockey League?…Can Bishop, he of the two Vezina Trophy nominations and sterling playoff record, provide stability in goal where there has been little the past couple of years?…Can Janmark stay healthy and recreate his “Mr. Fixit” role of two years ago before a knee injury ruined all of last season?…Can Hitchcock find enough minutes for Hanzal and Radek Faksa, who will slot into center positions behind Seguin and Jason Spezza?…Is sophomore Devin Shore, a “Mr. Fixit Part Deux,” able to fill gaps up and down the lineup and keep the Stars’ engine humming smoothly?…Is Jamie Oleksiak ready for prime time, playing in the top four after several years of moving in and out of the lineup?

More from Editorials

• Dallas Stars hockey is about to be the main attraction in Dallas this year
• Age Before Beauty: The impact of Benn’s new role on his Dallas legacy
• Dallas Stars hockey is the light at the end of the tunnel
• Dallas Stars coverage is lacking and it’s very concerning to be honest
• Sit back, relax and watch Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars draft scouts cook

See what I mean? We all expect that these things will come together and swing in the Stars’ favor, but, as Burnside’s most pertinent statement from that article reminds us, in the words of Barry Trotz, “You don’t know until you know.”

And while it becomes apparent looking at this list that there is certainly a lot that we don’t know, there are some things that we can know for sure going into tonight’s home opener against the Vegas Golden Knights.

One thing for sure is that the Stars are even more fired up about the new season than we are. Their excitement levels and expectations of themselves are proportionately high, but they also know going into this that expectation alone will not be enough to carry them.

A focus in this offseason has been attitude and mindset. Hitch’s new system, if implemented correctly, will help reinforce the idea that the Stars must be mentally tough enough to leave it all out on the ice, every night, and take it a game at a time.

Just as expectation can be a huge motivator, pressure can work in the opposite direction and we’ve all seen what that poison has done to the Stars in the past. So I think we can bank on the fact that the Stars will at least be cognizant of this and will work hard to maintain a winning mentality, especially on opening night.

I think we can also bet the farm on seeing a lot more of the dynamic Benn & Seguin duo than we did last season. Burn out and injuries and the general downfall of last season definitely kept these Stars from shining as brightly as we’d like to see them, and had gotten use to seeing them in the past.

But again, with Htich’s new intended system, both of these players are being held to standards of accountability and performance that will likely produce results not only for them, but for the whole team.

Next: Dallas Stars Have Proven Ability To Rebound Strongly

So, bottom line, expect to see a top effort from the Dallas Stars on opening night. They have a pent-up expectation of a high-flying season and will hopefully bring the mentality and staying-power to match.