Dallas Stars: Five Things To Get Excited About In 2018-19 Season

It seems as though the Dallas Stars are in for another interesting season in 2018-19. There’s no guarantee as to how things will go, but here are five things to get excited about as we inch closer to opening night.

As another month kicks off and hockey season draws all the more closer, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Dallas Stars. And when considering their recent past, that’s bound to happen.

The Stars have been one of hockey’s most perplexing (and frustrating) teams since Jim Nill was hired as general manager in April 2013. The interesting thing about the team is that you never really know what to think of them. And when you do, you realize that no bet is a safe one.

The past six summers have been good to Dallas. They’ve brought in some of the top names in the league and consistently built up their legitimacy as a high-caliber threat. Names like Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, and Alexander Radulov have made their way to Big D over the past few years and helped cement a lasting image for the team.

In addition to that, Nill has done a decent job at finding young talent through trades (such as Mattias Janmark) and developing in-house talent into everyday NHL assets (like John Klingberg and Esa Lindell).

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The Stars are a predominantly young and well-rounded group with talent in all three areas. All of the pieces seem to be there.

And yet, they’ve only qualified for the postseason in two of the past ten seasons overall. They’ve only been once in the past three years, and that was in 2015-16 when they won the Central Division. Times change.

But one playoff series victory and an inability to make it past the second round isn’t a promising trend, especially when they consistently “win” the offseason and boast talented rosters.

That’s exactly what makes them unique. Going into the season, they almost always look like a talented group with a chance at making a run. But there’s no real middle ground when estimating how they will finish. One year they might own the best record in the West (2015-16). Another year, they might take a steep drop-off and miss the postseason by 15 points (2016-17).

These inconsistent finishes have come with plenty of change, including plenty over the past three months. The Stars have hired a new head coach in Jim Montgomery, acquired a handful of new players while parting ways with some, and look ready to brace for impact in an airtight Central Division race.

Things could turn out well, or they could hit the gutter. There’s never really any telling where the Dallas Stars will go with a given season anymore.

But there are plenty of things to be excited about as this season gets underway, regardless of what the results may look like. There are plenty of high points to watch out for.

Here are five things that you should be excited about as a Stars fan in regards to the season ahead.

1. The Choo Choo Train Is Back At The Station

In September of 2016, the Dallas Stars were dealt a tough hand when Valeri Nichushkin, their first-round pick in 2013, decided to return to his home country of Russia to play in the KHL after being unable to come to terms with the Stars on a new contract.

But it wasn’t necessarily a tough hand because of Nichushkin’s production. Sure, he had put together an impressive rookie year with 14 goals and 34 points and bounced back in his third year with nine goals and 20 assists after missing the majority of his second season due to hip surgery.

Instead, it was the Stars’ lack of “hits” with their recent first-round selections. With Nichushkin’s absence, Dallas began the 2016-17 season with only two of their former first-round picks in the lineup. Radek Faksa (2012) had just broken into the NHL the season before and Jamie Oleksiak (2011) had yet to cement himself as a full-time starter.

Mile High Sticking

Nichushkin was supposed to be a “golden ticket” of sorts and had plenty of hype surrounding him when the Stars selected him at tenth overall. So, losing him back to Russia for two years came with a bit of a disgruntled feeling.

But that’s all in the past now, and 2018-19 is going to be a different season because of it. Valeri Nichushkin will make his return to the Dallas Stars this season after signing a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2.95 million.

As the team entered the offseason, there was plenty of talk about negotiations with Nichushkin. Those talks were silenced on July 1 when the negotiations were made final.

And honestly, he might turn into the Stars’ biggest “acquisition” of the 2018 offseason.

His first three years at the NHL level came with a bit of a learning curve. But it wasn’t just in regards to moving from Russia to North America. It also had to do with his play on the ice.

At times, there were visible gaps in Nichushkin’s game that needed mending. Puck possession and physicality were among those skills that needed smoothing out. And though he showed signs of progress in his first few years, the move back to Russia cut it off.

But in the past two seasons, he’s played in the top league in Russia and had a chance to further his skills. He skated in 86 regular season games over two years with CSKA Moscow, tallying 27 goals and 51 points. Nichushkin was one of the top forwards for CSKA and supposedly added new elements to his game in the process.

And now that he’s back, Dallas will need him to step in and make an immediate impact.

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One of the Stars’ biggest hindrances in 2017-18 was their lack of depth scoring. Assuming that Nichushkin is put on the second line alongside Mattias Janmark and Jason Spezza (where he played towards the tail end of the 2015-16 season and postseason), he’ll be expected to play a big role.

If Nichushkin can show a new side and element in his game and use his size and strength to his advantage, the Stars could be in for something good. This is a second chance for the 23-year-old to prove himself to management as well as a new coaching staff.

The talent is there. All Nichushkin has to do is find a way to combine it all together and use it to add an extra punch to the Stars’ offense and possibly even power play. If he can do that, Dallas will not only have successfully added scoring depth to their lineup, but will also be back on track in terms of first-round developmental success.

Big Val is back and that’s good news.

2. The Defense Looks Really Good

A few years ago, the Dallas Stars defense was arguably the team’s weakest area.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Stars were regularly starting six left-handed defenders on their blue line. And of that mixture, none were necessarily considered “elite, franchise-altering” players. On top of that, many of them were aging and one-dimensional, meaning they were only particularly good in one area or another.

But those times seem to be gone, at least for now.

The fact of the matter is that the Dallas Stars defense underwent a serious culture shock in the 2017-18 season. This culture shock had to do with the defensive mindset and how the group should function on the ice.

App Trigger

The results? A jump from 29th to seventh overall in goals against per games played throughout the NHL, one of the better penalty kills in the league, and an overall cutting down of high-danger chances in the defensive zone mixed with plenty of offensive involvement.

In short, the Dallas Stars defense looked to be in top form for much of last season. The interesting part is that their mean age sat at 27, which is relatively low.

But there’s a catch. The catch is that their defensive core isn’t done getting younger.

After parting ways with 35-year-old Dan Hamhuis and 27-year-old Greg Pateryn and bringing in 19-year-old Miro Heiskanen and 32-year-old Roman Polak (though he’s on a one-year deal), the Stars defense is certainly building for the future.

The best part about this build is that the Stars defense is already in good shape in terms of talent.

John Klingberg has already proven his ability as a franchise defender and Norris candidate. He’ll turn 26 in two weeks. Esa Lindell, 23, is a solid two-way defender that can play top-line minutes and help out Klingberg. Stephen Johns, 26, hit a new stride in the 2017-18 season and earned a three-year contract as a result. He’s an ideal option for depth and can use his size to his advantage. The same can be said about 32-year-old Marc Methot. Julius Honka will get his first real shot at a full-time role this season after two years of inconsistency, but he’s only 22. And then there’s Miro Heiskanen, who is expected to be the next elite, franchise defender for Dallas at the age of 19.

That’s a lot of youthful talent with plenty of upside. Each player learned new skills last season and took on new roles, and that should translate over to make an even better 2018-19 campaign.

The group is young, they are lined up terrifically with the cap, and there is an intriguing balance between the players that you can’t find in many lineups. Jim Montgomery is inheriting a great setup and should have no trouble in making the group even better.

Defense looks to be a strong suit for the Dallas Stars now and for years to come. The 2018-19 season should be another step in the right direction.

3. Another New Style Of Play For The Stars

On May 4, 2018, the Dallas Stars made yet another change behind their bench. They hired their third head coach in three years and once again braced for change.

But this hire was different from the previous two. When the Stars hired Lindy Ruff in 2013, they were bringing in a veteran coach with a long history behind an NHL bench. When they hired Ken Hitchcock in 2017, they were bringing in a veteran coach with a long history behind NHL benches.

Upon hiring Jim Montgomery, however, there’s a completely different vibe. That’s because Montgomery has never coached at the NHL level before and is coming from the NCAA ranks after five years with the Denver Pioneers.

There’s a lot to unpack with this hire. For one, Montgomery has a trail of success following him with all of his previous coaching endeavors. He knows how to get the most out of his teams and it shows on the ice and with his overall record. In addition, he also knows how to coach young players.

Causeway Crowd

But on the other hand, he’s never coached at the NHL level before, and there’s a sharp contrast between NHL hockey and college hockey. For example, there are 82 games instead of 40-45 and they span all throughout the week instead of only playing out from Thursday to Sunday.

It’s a change that could take some time. Then again, Montgomery may be able to adjust quickly and get the team off on the right foot. The Stars are counting on that happening.

One thing is for sure, though: it will likely be a blast watching Montgomery’s style played out by the Stars.

When “Monty” was first hired by the team, I studied up on his coaching style and wrote a report on it. You can find that report here.

What stuck out to me most was his quick and aggressive style that thrives on puck possession and overbearing offensive pressure. He uses all five skaters in both zones and gives the team a chance to thrive as a unit.

When Hitchcock stepped in last season, the Stars lost a lot of their speed and offensive swagger that they boasted throughout the Ruff era. That’s because Hitchcock focused on defensive stability.

With Montgomery, the Dallas Stars should get a nice dosage of both. But the offensive firepower should most certainly make a return as Montgomery attempts to translate his system to the NHL level.

And that in and of itself is enough to make a hockey fan smile. Dallas has a lot of potential and talent in their offensive core, but it all runs on speed and aggressiveness which in turn leads to success. They lost that last season.

2018-19 should be a good season for the Stars when it comes to speed and offensive push. So, that’s definitely something to get excited about.

5. Promising Times Could Lie Ahead In Stars Crease

Richard Bachman, Dan Ellis, Tim Thomas, Anders Lindback, Jhonas Enroth, Antti Niemi, and Kari Lehtonen didn’t work as the Dallas Stars backup. Sometimes goaltenders don’t work long-term, and that’s fine. But when you realize that seven goalies all cycled through the backup role in a matter of six seasons, there is definitely a cause for worry.

And that’s why this offseason was such an important one for the Dallas crease. Kari Lehtonen had served as a solid backup to Bishop during the 2017-18 season and the tandem worked well until Bishop went down with an injury and Lehtonen was forced to assume the role of starter.

The plan fell through and Dallas missed the playoffs as a result. And with that being said, the time for change was imminent yet again.

Da Windy City

For that change, Dallas signed 32-year-old Anton Khudobin on July 1. Khudobin spent the last two seasons with the Boston Bruins and posted respectable numbers in 2017-18 with a .913 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average along with a 16-6-7 record.

And though the Stars have been fooled many times before in terms of goalie tandem hype going into the season, it finally seems as though this year holds promise.

Why, you ask? There’s a few different reasons.

Khudobin is a somewhat younger option with a less strenuous past. He’s only been in the NHL for nine years (compared to Lehtonen’s 15) and has never played a full-time starting role in a given season. He’s accustomed to the backup role and has a history of producing well in that area.

But when he is called upon to be the starter in light of an injury or slump by his counterpart, he almost always answers the bell.

“Well Khudobin, I think, really adds to our goaltending depth,” Nill said about the goalie on July 1. “He’s a veteran, been around the league a long time, done a great job in Boston the last couple of years. We think he’s going to be a great addition for our goaltending moving forward.”

“I talked to Alex [Radulov], you know who I’ve talked about,” Khudobin said on the first day of free agency. “When he said, ‘Doby, come here. It’s going to be great,’ …that’s it. And plus, they have a really good chance to win, which is really important for me. I’m not looking for a lot of money or whatever. I’m looking to win.”

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Khudobin brings a veteran mindset and plenty of experience to the Stars crease and already has a connection to the backup role. This will give Dallas a two-headed approach going forward.

If Bishop is rolling on a hot streak, the reins are all his. If he needs a rest or is in a slump, the Stars have a confident and proven Khudobin to fill in. And if Bishop by chance gets injured at any point, Khudobin has proven over his career that he can be a no. 1 guy when asked. How long can he be that guy? We might have to find out during the season.

But for now, this looks to be one of the most solid and confident goaltending tandems for the Stars over the past decade. We’ll have to see whether it pans out, though.

It may seem like there are a lot of questions facing the team as the 2018-19 season approaches, and to a certain extent, there are. But that doesn’t take away from the promising parts of the club and the positives that they could bring to the new year.

Don’t forget to always look for the positives.