Dallas Stars News: Stars Finish Exit Interview Day, Prepare For Offseason

Exit interview day is a day that no hockey organization or fan ever wants to endure, but it came for the Dallas Stars on Thursday morning. And after some revelations and final thoughts about the 2018-19 campaign, it’s time for the offseason.

Who would have guessed that one of the hot topics on Thursday morning would be the future as the Dallas Stars cleaned out their lockers?

“I think there’s lots of potential in this team,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn.

“It was a pretty good year,” added Stars forward Tyler Seguin. “Obviously, we got back in the playoffs, had a run, and we’re hungry for more.”

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“Everything is going to be easier next year,” pointed out Stars coach Jim Montgomery after his first year as an NHL head coach. “The games aren’t going to be, but our relationships, the language we use [will be easier]. We should start the season a much more consistent team. We’ll have our ups and downs at some point. But I think, the beginning of the year, the first month should be pretty smooth as far as us getting off the ground.”

And in a lot of ways, that was a spot-on message for the Stars’ 2019 exit interview day.

When Pat Maroon scored a game-winning goal in double overtime on Tuesday night to officially knock the Dallas Stars out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, everything seemed to be quickly brought into question.

After four months of positive growth and a 13-game trip through the postseason, the Stars seemed to be in a really good spot. They even got as close as one goal away from punching their ticket to the Western Conference Final.

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But once the tide turned against them, there seemed only time for disbelief and uncertainty. That’s a natural part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

And while Thursday morning still involved a little bit of disbelief and disappointment, there was plenty of hope budding as each interview ended.

“It’s kind of two-fold,” said Stars general manager Jim Nill. “Our goal is always to win the Stanley Cup. So, did we reach our goal? No. But when you look back, only one team is going to win it. But I feel very confident in where we’re heading, I like the path we’re heading on, and I like how we got to where we’re getting. Life is never going to be easy and there’s going to be bumps on the road. What excites me is we fought through all of those things. I’m excited about the future, but disappointed about the end.”

“If you don’t win the Stanley Cup, the season is a loss,” added Seguin. “It still fully hasn’t sunk in that today is the last day of being at the rink with the exit meetings and stuff. But, all in all, [there’s] a lot to build on.”

“Right now, it’s still fresh” said Stars forward Mats Zuccarello. “I think we really had a good chance to go far and compete for a Cup, but we couldn’t get it done this year. It’s still frustrating. When you come to a team and play like this, it plays out in your mind with a different ending.”

And while exit interview day may have been a bit emotional, it also involved plenty of revelations that had not previously been unveiled.

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For instance, the injury list piled up. Roope Hintz played Game 7 against the Blues on a broken foot. Mattias Janmark had broken his foot back in March and it never fully healed throughout the remainder of the regular season or in the playoffs. While the break in Mats Zuccarello’s arm had healed, he continued having issues with his tendons which forced him to get an injection before each game.

Jamie Oleksiak hurt his knee in Game 6 against the Nashville Predators and missed the entire series against the Blues because of it. Joel Hanley had a shoulder injury and only played in one game in the second round.

Marc Methot should be ready to go for next season after knee surgery this past year, but will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and may not be brought back. Martin Hanzal‘s career may be over after seeing more doctors and still being unable to find a solution for his back problems. And the situation of Stephen Johns still remains uncertain.

So yes, hockey players are warriors. And yes, they fought through a mountain of adversity in order to try and help their team at the most important time of the year. It didn’t matter whether it was a break, fracture, or strain; if they could play, they were playing.

And that’s an important characteristic to remember at this time of the year. As this 2018-19 journey comes to a close and the Dallas Stars prepare to endure a five-month break filled with new changes, it’s important to reflect back on this year. The Stars were one of the final six teams standing in the NHL this year. They grew throughout the season and molded themselves into a dangerous contender as the most important time of the year rolled around.

But through it all, they stuck together and battled. They downed adversity, rose above inner turmoil, and took each new challenge head-on. And when new ones arose, they never crumbled.

"“We should be setting our expectations a lot higher now. I’m not sure where our expectations really have been. They haven’t been talked about that much. We’ve had excuses in the past, we’ve had people change, we’ve had coaches change, and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m good with this coach for the next eight years at least. But like I said, a lot of things have changed and we’ve got the foundation, so let’s keep going.” – Tyler Seguin on the expectations going forward"

In the end, they turned into a playoff challenger and one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They did it together and showed that this team can have a bight future. The makeup of the roster seems to be there and it looks like this team believes and could really get something brewing down the road.

“I just told the players that I’ve been in a lot of these year-end meetings and some years, you just kind of knew and you move on and get ready for next year,” said Nill. “This one really stung. For what we went through, where we’re getting to, where players were taking their game… we’re going to sit and watch the final four teams play and say, ‘You know, we were right there.’

But for now, it’s another season of coming up short in the books. The difference? They were much shorter this time around.

Sometimes, that can be the momentum a team needs to take the next big step in the year ahead. We’ll have to wait five months to see if that momentum pays off. For now, though, exit interview day is done and the Dallas Stars look to be in a promising spot for the future.

“I like where we’re heading and we’re not that far off,” said Nill.