Dallas Stars Need An Enforcer To Step Up For 2018-19 Season

Finding an enforcer for a hockey team can be difficult in today’s game. But for the Dallas Stars, their need is prevalent and finding one could pay dividends for them going forward.

When the Dallas Stars parted ways with forward Antoine Roussel on July 1, 2018, they parted ways with a few different elements of their franchise.

For one, they got rid of one of their pricier forward contracts in terms of cap space with his $2 million AAV. They also parted ways with a forward that hadn’t scored a goal in his final 42 starts of the 2017-18 season. And to top it all off, he holds the fourth-place spot in Dallas Stars history for penalty minutes with the team with 806.

But while losing Roussel was probably a good move for the offense and the future of the cap, the Dallas Stars truly lost one crucial element from their game with his departure. When Roussel left, the Stars lost their grit.

And that grit did not solely entail being a hard worker. That was the grit that kept the Dallas Stars alive and energized. That was the grit that played heavy in the corners, dug in during each shift, and wasn’t afraid to go up against the biggest and baddest in the NHL. If there was a need for a fight, whether out of spite, revenge, or simply a need for energy, Roussel was there to make it happen.

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He was the ultimate workhorse on the third line during his six-year stretch with Dallas. His presence may not have been a significant offensive strength, but it was one that is needed in the game of hockey. And for six years, Roussel filled that role perfectly.

But when he left, there was more than just a void on the third line.

Without Roussel, there was and still is a need for a player to step up and be the aggressor. The Stars need one of their current players to step up and fill that role.

In today’s NHL, speed and skill is relied on more heavily than ever before. The days of relying on brute force and bone-crushing hits are all but gone with the focus now centering on structure, strategy, and pure skill.

But there is still a need for an enforcer. It may be more shadowed than it was in the days of Derian Hatcher (the guy who initially helped sell hockey in Texas using his brutal style, as told by Sean Shapiro in his new book 100 Things Stars Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die), but the role is still present.

If a superstar player gets rocked at the blue line, there needs to be someone to step in as a defense. If there’s a scrum going on in the corner, there needs to be a player getting in the middle of it and winning the battle. And if there’s a lack of energy spreading throughout the lineup, there needs to be a player ready to ramp it back up with his own brand.

It’s not so much a defense tactic as much as it is an energy booster and “ultimate teammate” role.

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So, who could step up for the Dallas Stars this season?

The obvious choice seems to be Brett Ritchie.

After a breakout 16-goal, 24-point season in 2016-17, Ritchie’s offensive production has dropped significantly. Over the past 74 games combining last season and this season, he has seven goals and 14 points along with a +1 rating. He also owns a dreadful 24.4 percent Corsi rating.

But the 25-year-old is finding other ways to contribute while skating in a fourth-line capacity.

At 6-4, 220 pounds, Ritchie is the Stars’ biggest forward. With that size comes a certain brand of physicality that can be useful in an NHL lineup.

In 2016-17, Ritchie logged 153 hits in 78 games. Last season, he upped his total to 172 hits in 71 games. He’s already got seven through three games this year. In addition, he also has six career NHL fights.

Ritchie’s energy and grit were put on full display on Saturday night when the Stars squared off with the Winnipeg Jets. Following an unnecessary and dangerous check by Dustin Byfuglien on Dallas defenseman Connor Carrick, Ritchie picked a fight with Adam Lowry at the following face-off. Lowry is no small opponent, either, checking in at 6-5, 210 pounds.

The fight came in the dying seconds of the first period, giving the Stars an extra sense of momentum going into the locker room with a 2-0 lead. Dallas ended up winning the game 5-1, and many players as well as head coach Jim Montgomery praised Ritchie for dropping the gloves in that moment.

“That was big time in the game. I liked how even though it wasn’t (Byfuglien), our team is sticking up for each other,” Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn told Sean Shapiro of The Athletic following the game. “And I thought Ritchie did a hell of a job. You get mad respect from your teammates any time you drop the mitts. So I thought it was a big part of the game.”

“Stuff like that brings the team up,” added defenseman Marc Methot to Shapiro. “It’s character and it shows that guys are sticking together. And full marks to Ritchie. I got to tell you guys, doing that in front of 18-some-odd thousand people, is not an easy thing to do. Brett’s always there to stand up for his teammates, so full marks to him.”

“Can’t say enough about what Brett Ritchie did,” head coach Jim Montgomery said in his postgame press conference. “He’s playing a great role, but to go out there after we have momentum and to keep building emotion for us. It’s a big part of building team. And that was an important part for our team. What he did, the value of it you can’t underestimate it.”

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The impact that an enforcer has on a team can be entirely invaluable at times. Dallas had that guaranteed impact over the past six seasons with the presence of Antoine Roussel.

But in his absence, someone has to step up. Ritchie does a good job at filling the void.

He’s not the only one that can make an impact, though. In a particularly scrappy bout with the Florida Panthers last season, a combined total of 138 penalty minutes were handed out to the two teams. A large chunk of those minutes came from the six different fights that occurred.

Ritchie was at the center of one of them. But Stephen Johns got into his own brawl. So did defenseman Dillon Heatherington, who is currently in the AHL while trying to work his way into a full-time NHL role. Even Radek Faksa got himself into not one, but two different bouts throughout the game.

Like Methot said, it takes some serious guts to take off your gloves and go up against an opposing player that might be bigger and/or stronger than you. But the players that can do it serve in a critical role. The Dallas Stars have a handful of these players that can turn into enforcers at any moment, and that’s a good thing.

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They will need all hands on deck as they continue to embark on another long season against a deep schedule.

Every once in a while, brawn must take precedence over brain. We’ll see how that goes for Dallas this year.