Dallas Stars: Five 2018 Offseason Priorities For Team

After missing the playoffs yet again, the Dallas Stars have some things to fix in the 2018 offseason. A few of these things, however, are priorities that must be addressed. Let’s take a look at some of them.

In April of 2017, the Dallas Stars were in a deep hole. They were missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh time in nine years and had just turned in one of the worst seasons in franchise history. But that wasn’t why they were in a hole.

Instead, it was due to all of the things that the Stars would have to accomplish in the offseason. At the end of the regular season, Dallas compiled a massive checklist of offseason priorities. It was the most intricate and detailed offseason list of general manager Jim Nill‘s time with the Stars.

A new head coach and coaching staff, an elite starting goaltender, veteran help on defense, a top-line right winger, and more forward depth all helped comprise the list. That’s a lot to cover in one offseason, but Dallas needed every bit of it if they wanted to get back to contending in the packed Western Conference.

Jim Nill followed through with yet another offseason for the history books. Within the first month of the offseason, Nill had secured a proven winner in Ken Hitchcock as the Stars’ new coach and traded for veteran starting goaltender Ben Bishop. Two months later, he had acquired defenseman Marc Methot and signed Alexander Radulov, Tyler Pitlick, and Martin Hanzal.

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The Dallas Stars looked replenished, revitalized, and more powerful than ever. The team entered the 2017-18 season with cautious excitement and plenty of potential.

And though they capitalized on that potential for 60 games or so, they missed out on the 82-game season. While the Stars collapsed in the month of March, the rest of the NHL passed them up and left them outside the playoff picture yet again.

Here they are in May 2018 with another failed season still weighing on their shoulders. And while eight teams continue their strife to the Stanley Cup Final, the Stars are looking for a way to regroup and get back into the postseason… again.

Will they be able to do it? After all, the Central Division is growing deeper and stronger with each passing season and the Stars will have to find a way to outlast at least two or three of their divisional rivals.

It can be done, but it will depend on how the Stars approach the 2018 offseason.

Just like in 2017, Dallas has a lot of priorities on their to-do list. Nill will need to find a way to capitalize and fulfill many of these items if they want to successfully pull off a turnaround in the 2018-19 season. But what are the biggest priorities for the franchise?

Let’s take a look at a few of them.

5. Draft The Perfect Prospect At No. 13

This may seem like an obvious priority simply because it should always be one regardless of the year or situation. Using draft picks to their utmost advantage is always a necessity because it helps breed internal competition and strength.

When you look around the league, the best teams are not built on free agency endeavors. Drafting solid prospects with high upsides is the key to success in today’s league and building around youth as much as possible is the best recipe for long-term success.

Puck Prose

This is one explanation as to why the Dallas Stars have missed the playoffs in eight of the past ten years. After a horrific stretch of drafting under GM Joe Nieuwendyk that included Scott Glennie, Jack Campbell, and Jamie Oleksiak as first round picks, Nill came in and tried to stop the bleeding.

And while the Stars have done well drafting in rounds 2-7 in recent years, their first round picks haven’t been at the top of the production chain. Valeri Nichushkin has been playing in Russia for the past two seasons, Jason Dickinson has 38 NHL games under his belt since being drafted in 2013, Julius Honka was underused and left in the press box in what was supposed to be a breakout year for the defender, and Denis Gurianov is still trying to take the next step in the AHL.

Miro Heiskanen broke the trend last year by being drafted at no. 3. He’s a franchise defender that could break the mediocre streak of first round picks in Dallas.

But this year’s pick could further reinforce that, and the Stars need to make sure it does.

At the recent NHL Draft Lottery, the Dallas Stars received the 13th pick in the 2018 Draft. While that’s not necessarily the luxury they received last year, it still gives them a chance to draft a quality prospect that could make a splash soon.

And that’s what they need. Dallas could very well find a young talent at no. 13 that could slot into the lineup within the next year or two depending on if they make the right choice. They could still use depth on offense and need to consider all available options at their pick as well as which ones fit the organization best.

No. 13 gives the Stars an opportunity that is reserved for non-playoff teams to build on their future. And after a few years of rocky drafts, this year needs to be surefire.

4. Who Will Be The Backup Next Season?

Kari Lehtonen started his 2017-18 season with the Dallas Stars on an incredibly high note. By late February, he owned an 11-5-1 record with a .923 save percentage and 2.14 goals against average. He was the ideal backup goaltender for Dallas and solved a problem that had plagued the franchise for years.

But when Ben Bishop went down with a season-ending injury in March, all of that promise disappeared. Lehtonen wasn’t able to carry the load down the stretch and contributed to the Stars’ downfall. Not to say that it was completely his fault, but the 34-year-old played a part.

That cannot happen in 2018-19. With the 31-year-old Bishop holding onto the starting role for the next few seasons, the Stars are in need of a confident and reliable backup goalie. If Bishop were to hit another injury snag in the upcoming season, Dallas needs to have insurance on the bench so they can continue pushing forward.

Lehtonen’s contract expires on July 1 and the rumors circling around are that he is as good as gone. If the Stars do neglect to re-sign him, who will they go after?

This will be a tricky decision. Not only does Dallas need a goaltender that can play no. 1 goalie minutes at a moment’s notice, but they also need one that is affordable. Their cap space isn’t absolutely ideal and they have some free agency moves to make this summer as well.

In addition to that, they have a pair of young goaltenders in Colton Point and Jake Oettinger that could be ready for professional play sooner rather than later. Both are in college at the moment but could be playing for the organization within the next few years.

With that being said, there is no real need for the Stars to go out and secure a young backup on a long term deal. They simply need someone to fill the void when Bishop is missing and serve as a reliable safety net.

That could be harder to find than it may seem, so Nill definitely has his work cut out for him in the crease. But one thing is for sure: the Dallas Stars still need a backup goaltender.

3. Depth Scoring Is A Necessity

There were plenty of reasons why the Dallas Stars hit the wall in March and fell out of the playoff picture as a result. Lack of trade deadline activity, injuries, inconsistent goaltending, and an overall lack in effort were all contributors to the Stars’ downfall.

Another big factor was their lack of depth scoring. After being practically nonexistent through the first 20 games of the season, the Stars’ bottom nine forwards contributed respectably through the middle portion of the year. But when the final push started, they were once again nowhere to be found.

Every successful offense fronts four skilled lines. Each one may have a different role when on the ice, but they all four conform together to make a deep and dangerous offensive group.

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When the Stars needed help in the offensive zone from players outside of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov, the help was nowhere to be found. Players like Devin Shore, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, and Jason Spezza could not give the Dallas offense the backup it needed and the production fell through as a result. Part of that may have been due to improper usage by the coaching staff, but it is still something to take into account.

At the trade deadline, the Stars’ need for a second line forward to help bolster the offense seemed to be obvious. But Nill ended up doing nothing and the team paid for it dearly.

This offseason, that void needs to be filled, specifically on the second line. The Dallas Stars have the proper tools already on their roster to build a successful bottom-six, but the second line needs work.

Whether it comes through trade or free agency, the Stars could greatly benefit from adding a player to help complete a one-two punch on offense.

Depth scoring is a must in today’s NHL. The Dallas Stars learned that lesson firsthand at the tail end of the 2017-18 season and it proved to be one of their biggest flaws. That being said, this offseason is the ideal time to fix it.

1. Get Tyler Seguin’s Extension Done ASAP

The Dallas Stars may have some issues that need to fixed in the coming offseason. But there is one priority that trumps all others this offseason, and it has nothing to do with bringing in new talent. Instead, it has to do with securing current talent for the future.

Tyler Seguin turned 26 this past January. In his fifth season with the Dallas Stars, he once again found a way to exceed expectations and put on a brilliant performance.

Blackhawk Up

Seguin hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career and posted his second-highest points total with 78. But it wasn’t the stat sheet that made Seguin’s year so impressive. It was everything he did on the ice to further evolve his already dominant playing style.

Under the leadership of Hitchcock, Seguin became a more efficient and reliable defender, played heavy minutes on the power play and penalty kill, and turned into a more effective leader. The fact that he was able to add all of that into his game and still keep his offensive production at a high rate is nothing short of impressive.

And on July 1, 2018, the Dallas Stars can finally begin talking to him about a contract extension. Seguin is set to become a free agent in July 2019 and would likely be the no. 1 target on the free agency market if he makes it there.

That’s why Nill needs to act quickly and get something done this offseason. Seguin is a valuable piece of the Stars’ current lineup and won’t even be in his prime by the time he’s a free agent.

Nill will need to be careful in negotiations, though, and make sure to not underpay or overpay him. Seguin is one of the most valuable centers in the league right now and could easily swing offers of $10 million or more per year.

Give him the keys to the city if you must, but making sure that he signs a long-term extension is the no. 1 priority this offseason. It will seal the Stars’ future and give the team and Seguin much less to worry about as the 2018-19 season begins.

Next: Comparing Each Of Jim Nill's Five Stars Squads

There are plenty of other necessities that Dallas needs to address this offseason, but these are five important areas that must be given the proper time and attention. Let’s see what Jim Nill has in store this time around.