Dallas Stars Player Power Rankings For Month of March
By Tom Dorsa
15. player. 119. . Forward. Previously: 15th. Jason Spezza
Seeing Jason Spezza, whose salary is still $7.5 million this season, at 15th two months straight shouldn’t be met with an “Oh, Spezza, I almost forgot.” The former NHL All-Star and 90-point scorer was paid to be the second-line center that makes plays and scores goals in all situations, instead he has eight goals in 2017-18 and one in March (just two points all month).
Spezza is old and gassed, and might be done being the world class player he has produced as for 15 seasons. I’m just gonna write this and leave because I’m tired.
Sason Jpezza
player. 119. . Forward. Previously: 22nd. Antoine Roussel. 14
Antoine Roussel did Antoine Roussel things in March, tallying two assists and a team-leading 25 penalty minutes during the month. He actually totaled more minutes in the sin bin than shots on goal (19) and very few sentences are more Antoine Roussel than that one.
However, with just three games left on the season, they might be the final appearances for the physical winger in a Dallas uniform as Roussel is an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
119. . Defenseman. Previously: 13th. Greg Pateryn. 13. player
Greg Pateryn did not score a goal, added just two assists to a depleted Stars offense, and finished -4 in the month of March. Despite maybe the worst month of his career as a Star (which has not been a lengthy tenure, but still) he remained one of head coach Hitch’s favorite players.
The right-handed defenseman played 300:14 in March, with just Dan Hamhuis, the top defense pair, and the big three forwards ahead of him. There’s no part of this that’s cool besides… we still won the Jordie Benn trade, and it isn’t close anymore.
Previously: 16th. Brett Ritchie. 12. player. 119. . Forward
Brett Ritchie had three goals in March, which for a guy used as a pure shooter is awful, but decent for Ritchie. The three markers is a season-best for a single month, and he’s doing it alongside lesser players like Elie and Dickinson.
I’m still upset. I bet a friend of mine that Ritchie would score 25 goals this year, and he has seven. Seven.
Previously: 7th. Ben Bishop. 11. player. 119. . Goaltender
In the weirdest way, Ben Bishop showed why he’s so valuable to the Dallas Stars in the month of March, despite only four games played. When he went down with a lower-body injury that all but ended his 2017-18 season, the Stars fell into an abyss with Lehtonen and McKenna trying to backstop an already poor coverage team.
He’s 11th because he played so few games, but Bishop’s true value and importance showed in March. Without him, the Stars lost all ability to win.