Dallas Stars: Need For Top-Six Forward Becoming Increasingly Apparent
With Monday’s trade deadline looming, the Dallas Stars need to pull the trigger and acquire a top-six presence, especially after Saturday’s struggles.
The Dallas Stars tried, at least. Head coach Ken Hitchcock attempted to shuffle his forward lines to balance out some offensive production, putting Jamie Benn at center, sandwiched in between Devin Shore on the left and Alexander Radulov on the right.
The first line was followed by Tyler Seguin centering Remi Elie and Mattias Janmark on line two, while the third and fourth lines remained mostly unchanged: Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Tyler Pitlick, Gemel Smith – Jason Spezza – Brett Ritchie.
Sometime in the second period of Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the visiting Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center, Hitchcock had had enough, pinning Benn, Seguin, and Radulov back together to try and spark a comeback effort (it worked to a degree, as Seguin and Radulov each later scored).
They tried. Ken Hitchcock tried. The Dallas Stars’ role players tried. They just don’t have enough to work with in the first place.
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When your team is getting consistent offensive production from just three forwards, you have a problem. With just 20 games left to play, there is only one solution: acquiring a proven top-six piece for balance in a lineup with little of it.
As literally anybody who has watched the Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent years will tell you, perhaps the biggest key to success in the postseason is depth at forward and production from all 12 of such on the box score. It’s this that propelled the Stars to Western Conference regular season champs back in 2015-16.
That season, Dallas had 12 players score 10 or more goals. The 2017-18 campaign has seen that number sliced in half, with just Seguin, Radulov, Benn, Janmark, Faksa, and Pitlick totalling 10 or more. Two of those players are checking-line forwards that rarely see ice time when down a goal.
This is a problem. Hitchcock’s defense-first coaching style might deflate those numbers slightly, but the Stars and general manager Jim Nill need to take that stat at face value; Dallas needs a goal-scorer or two to play in the top six.
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As they wait around, it’s starting to become too late. Rick Nash was sent packing in a trade involving the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, while the Columbus Blue Jackets nailed power play catalyst Mark Letestu for scraps.
Jim Nill needs to flip the script on what failed the Dallas Stars in the past – the evaluation of team weaknesses – and act accordingly. Max Pacioretty, Mike Hoffman, Evander Kane, Mats Zuccarello, and other reliable options wait patiently for a call. Let’s do the thing.
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Dallas has exhausted all options for experimental top-six success. The 2:00 p.m. Central deadline on February 26 will essentially decide this team’s postseason hopes.
The Stars will not be able to rely on their one solid line to qualify for the postseason. If they get there, they surely are toast without picking up a scoring forward. The ball is in your court, Mr. Nill, acquire a proven goal-producing, top-six NHLer and worry about the future later.