Dallas Stars: Last Year’s Grade, Next Year’s Guess: Blake Comeau

The Dallas Stars player grades bonus week is moving into the free agent signings, and first up is Blake Comeau.

Comeau spent the last three seasons with the Avalanche before signing as a free agent with the Dallas Stars.

Last Season

Blake Comeau’s 2017-18 Grade: B

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Comeau had 34 points last season while putting in minutes on the Avalanche’s grinder line. For the position he was in, his numbers were decent, but there’s certainly room for improvement moving forward.

Where Comeau stood out most was on the penalty kill. He led the team’s forwards in penalty kill time on ice and he was playing high-quality minutes. He was a big difference maker for the Avs penalty kill, helping them to find success.

His numbers last year were some of the best of his career, and a marked improvement over his 2016-17 season. He’s not a superstar player and he’s not going to produce at that level, but he’s also not getting paid at that level.

A little more offensive production would’ve been nice from him for his cost, but his importance on the penalty kill makes his contract much easier for a team to swallow.

Next Season

The Stars are hoping to get that same level of success on the penalty kill with Comeau. They improved on their shorthanded play last season, but they still have a long way to go. On the flip side, the Avs had one of the best PKs in the league and Comeau was a big part of the reason they were good.

Comeau’s going to be stepping into a new system with new coaches and different teammates, so it’s probably going to take a little bit to get it sorted out, but he should help the Stars’ shorthanded game significantly this season.

He probably won’t do a lot to fix the depth scoring himself, but the rest of the forwards can work on that if he can lead the way on the penalty kill. He should be able to notch double-digit goals though, and that’s better than a lot of the players last season.

It’s disappointing for many fans to see Antoine Roussel go, but Comeau should be a good replacement for him with slightly better numbers next season.

How do you feel Comeau did last season? Feel free to share your personal grades and thoughts in the comments.