Dallas Stars: Five Questions Facing The Team In 2019 Offseason
By Josh Clark
1. Have Honka, Ritchie Played Their Last Games With The Stars?
When comparing it to past summers, the Stars’ restricted free agent class in the summer of 2019 is much less extensive. With that being said, though, the decisions that this year’s class will involve make it all the more difficult.
Those decisions revolve around two RFAs in particular, being defenseman Julius Honka and forward Brett Ritchie.
When you think about the Dallas Stars and their 2018-19 campaign, a lot probably comes to mind. Battling adversity, the success of a brand new coaching staff, a disappointing offensive effort countered by a strong defensive game, a career year in the crease for Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin, and fighting to be one of the final six teams standing in the league are probably chief among those thoughts.
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One thing that cannot be forgotten, though, is the emergence and development of their young talent. Rookies and young players like Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Jason Dickinson, and Esa Lindell took significant steps forward in their production and became reliable NHL options for the Stars. And in injury-plagued times, rookies like Gavin Bayreuther, Dillon Heatherington, Denis Gurianov, and Joel L’Esperance proved that they are worthy of competing for NHL time.
And while those young faces thrived and earned considerable ice time down the stretch and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, both Honka and Ritchie watched from the press box.
Let’s lay out the two situations really quick.
Honka is a 23-year-old defenseman and was the Stars’ first-round pick in 2014. After working his way through the AHL for a few seasons, he made his NHL debut in Nov. 2016 and looked to be a critical piece of the Stars’ future on the blue line. In the past two seasons, however, he has played in a combined 71 games and has tallied one goal, eight points, and a -3 rating in an average of 13:18 on the ice per game. To top it all off, the last time he played in a game was Jan. 15, 2019, meaning that he spent the final four months of the season as a healthy scratch and practice body.
Ritchie is 25 and will be 26 on the first day of free agency. After putting together a breakout season in his first full year in the league (2016-17) with 16 goals, 24 points, and a +11 rating in 78 games, he earned a two-year bridge deal with the team before the 2017-18 season began.
But after a seven-goal, 14-point effort in 71 games during the 2017-18 campaign and a four-goal, six-point performance this past year, Ritchie looks more like a healthy scratch that can only play in certain situations. He didn’t win a full-time starting spot during the 2018-19 season and was limited to just 53 games, while also playing in the Stars’ final playoff contest of the year.
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In the 2018-19 season, a few things were made relevant. For one, Honka could not gain the trust of a third consecutive coaching staff in Dallas. On the other hand, he fell as far as he possibly could on the depth chart without actually being reassigned to the Texas Stars. In Ritchie’s case, the forward couldn’t consistently crack the lineup, was passed up by younger players coming up from the AHL, and averaged 9:36 on the ice per game while once again posting small numbers in the offensive zone.
With both players becoming restricted free agents in the 2019 offseason, the question must be asked: does either have a long-term future in Dallas? Prospects are coming up from the farm system and earning playing time as they become NHL regulars, leaving many to wonder whether it’s time to move past the former Dallas draft picks.
There’s a chance that both could still have respectable NHL careers, but they may have to be in new cities. Ritchie is a big body that combines his physicality and an impressive wrist shot to become a dominant power forward in all three zones. Honka, while a bit undersized at 5-11, 180 lb., is a solid offensive defenseman that can move the puck well and quarterback an offensive rush from the blue line.
Both players can contribute at the NHL level, but neither seems to be fitting in well with the new era that the Dallas Stars are building towards.
With that being said, will Nill sign them to new deals and hope they work out? Or will he trade one or both away and bring about a fresh start for both sides?