Dallas Stars: Analyzing Potential Defensive Pairings For 2019-20 Season
With the 2019 offseason sinking into the “dog days” phase as training camp draws near, it’s time for the Dallas Stars to look ahead to the new year. And after spending the summer restocking and revitalizing their roster, how might their new lineup pan out?
Training camp sits exactly six weeks down the road for the Dallas Stars. And while that may seem like a significant gap of time, think about this: the Free Agency signing period opened nearly five weeks ago. Seems like just yesterday, doesn’t it?
With the 2019 offseason over halfway done and the 2019-20 NHL season rapidly approaching, now is a good chance to step back and assess all that has happened over the past few months. And yes, there’s a lot to take in from the Stars’ perspective.
When Dallas was officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 7, 2019 after a Game 7 bout with the St. Louis Blues that required two overtimes, the offseason quickly came into focus. And while the Stars had some holes in their roster that had plagued them throughout the season and had a handful of free agents that needed new contracts, it was more the perspective that accompanied their exit from the postseason.
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That perspective, of course, was that “they were this close.” The Stars had some inefficiencies, but were able to combat them throughout the season and end up within one goal of a trip to the Western Conference Finals. With that knowledge, it didn’t seem as though the team was far off from contending for the Stanley Cup and that one solid offseason of retooling the roster might do the trick.
And so, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill got to work. After a busy pre-summer schedule that included re-signing Esa Lindell, Roman Polak, and Mattias Janmark, Nill dug in as the Free Agency signing period drew near and began making some tougher decisions.
He traded Tyler Pitlick to the Philadelphia Flyers for pending RFA Ryan Hartman, then passed on qualifying the newly-acquired forward. He also bought out the final two years of Valeri Nichushkin‘s contract to create more cap space.
Finally, after spending over a month trying to negotiate an extension with pending UFA Mats Zuccarello but coming up without a deal, Nill surveyed the market and began making other plans.
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Pucks and Pitchforks
That led him to eventually put together a busy and action-packed July 1. The Stars signed forward Joe Pavelski to a sizable three-year contract and followed it up by inking forward Corey Perry and defenseman Andrej Sekera, both of whom were bought out by their previous teams in the month of June.
Now, the Stars look poised to take the next step. The NHL analysts are saying all of the right things, pointing out that Dallas checked off the boxes on their to-do list and look like a better and more prepared team on paper.
The offense that put the puck in the back of the net the fourth-least number of times in 2018-19 should be much improved. The defense should be deeper and more experienced in the year ahead. And if Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin can even come close to replicating their combined showing from last season, the Dallas Stars should be a player for the 2020 Stanley Cup.
And while the positive comments and the sharp rise in odds to win the Cup are motivators, nothing is proven. Nothing can be proven until the team takes the ice on Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins. Until then, it’s nothing but dreams on paper.
That’s where Jim Montgomery comes up to bat. He’s waited in the on-deck circle while Nill has been in the batter’s box looking to put the second-year head coach in the best position to succeed.
Nill did his job and got on base. Now it’s up to Montgomery to bring him and his efforts home.
As mentioned above, Montgomery won’t have his first chance to do so until the regular season begins. But while we navigate the quietest part of the NHL summer and await the beginning of training camp, now is as good of a time as any to start examining how the Stars could line up on opening night and into the regular season.
Last week, we dug into how the forward lines could potentially pan out and what combinations might work best on offense. Today, we’ll take an in-depth look at the defense.
Let’s look at a few disclaimers before we dive in. First, these pairings are based on a combination of skill sets, past history, and a little bit of speculation. Montgomery, like some of his predecessors on the Dallas bench, is known for switching his lines on the fly in a constant search for finding a combination that clicks. There’s always a chance that the lines he is using at puck drop aren’t the ones he will be using when the final buzzer sounds on a given game night.
On top of that, there isn’t a right or wrong answer in these projections and there are a multitude of ways that Montgomery could go with his lineup. He’s been set up nicely with a handful of superstar players as well as a few complimentary pieces, so there are plenty of potential combinations.
With that being said, let’s take a look at how the defensive pairings could take shape in time for opening night.
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen – Stephen Johns
Andrej Sekera – Roman Polak
Extras: Jamie Oleksiak
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
When the 2016-17 regular season began, the Dallas Stars had a bit of a defensive crisis on their hands. After winning the Western Conference regular season title in the season prior and falling one win short of the Western Conference Finals, the Stars spent the summer parting ways with a good chunk of their blue line.
Alex Goligoski was a pending UFA and couldn’t come to terms on a new deal in Dallas, so the team traded the rights to the veteran alternate captain to the Arizona Coyotes. Jason Demers signed with the Florida Panthers on July 2, and Kris Russell signed with the Edmonton Oilers just before the regular season began.
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Editor In Leaf
That left Dallas without half of the starting defense that they had used to end the 2015-16 season. John Klingberg became a No. 1 defenseman, Johnny Oduya was entering the final year of his contract, and the Stars had a crop of young defenders that were expected to step up in the season ahead.
And while the Stars would finish the 2016-17 campaign with the second most allowed goals in the NHL and with one of their worst records since moving to Dallas, the season provided a valuable lesson for the young defense. That included rookie Esa Lindell.
Lindell took a significant step forward in his development during the 2016-17 season and eventually earned a spot on the top pairing alongside Klingberg. Since then, it’s been hard to separate the two, regardless of which coach is behind the bench.
The thing about Lindell and Klingberg is that they provide a good balance with each other. Lindell, 25, has grown into a reliable two-way defender that can eat up heavy minutes (he averaged 24:20 during the 2018-19 season), provide a physical edge, play on the power play and penalty kill, and contribute an offensive touch to the game.
Klingberg, 26, has been in Dallas for five seasons now and has proven himself to be one of the more reliable and offense-savvy defenders in the NHL. While also playing heavy minutes (he’s averaged over 24 minutes in each of the past two seasons), he can quarterback a power play, set up offensive rushes, contribute 60+ points per season when healthy, and has a knack for reading the game well.
The duo has been tough to split up in years past because they have a knack for working well together and limiting potential danger and damage while also contributing in the offensive zone. And with Lindell signing a six-year extension in May and Klingberg still boasting three years on his current deal, the two will likely stay together and frontline the Dallas defense.
Now, there may be times where Miro Heiskanen steps into Lindell’s spot (specifically on offensive zone draws) after creating an impressive pairing with Klingberg in various stints throughout the 2018-19 season. It will all depend on what the on-ice situation calls for.
But as of right now, it’s hard not to envision no. 23 and no. 3 on the top pairing come Oct. 3.
Miro Heiskanen – Stephen Johns
This is where things could get interesting.
As of right now, here’s what we know: Miro Heiskanen exceeded expectations in his rookie season, grabbed the attention of the NHL world, and wowed opponents with an incredible balance of speed, offensive prowess, defensive focus, puck-handling mastery, and overall reliability. No task seemed too tall for the 19-year-old and he earned himself a full-time spot in the top three on the Dallas blue line.
But while Heiskanen’s spot is locked up, the defender being put next to him could be a mystery altogether. A lot of it depends on the health and status of Stephen Johns.
After being diagnosed with post-traumatic headaches during the 2018 preseason following a concussion injury that ended his 2017-18 campaign, Johns missed the entirety of the 2018-19 season. And while the Dallas Stars could have used the young and developing defenseman, they still found a way to succeed and put up some of the best defensive numbers in the NHL.
Adding him back into the fold would only make them that much more dangerous.
On paper, Johns seems to be an ideal partner for Heiskanen. When you combine Heiskanen’s speed and well-rounded attributes with the size and shutdown ability of Johns, the two seem as though they would balance out rather well.
“Yes, because of his length, because of his lateral movement, and his ability to skate and take away time and space and Miro’s ability to read off someone. If you look at all of the different partners Miro had, it seemed like he could assimilate to any new partner within half a period.” –Jim Montgomery on if Heiskanen and Johns would pair well together
But that all depends on if Johns is ready for in-game action by the time Oct. 3 rolls around. He’s been training throughout the summer and practiced with the Stars’ prospects for a good chunk of the 2019 development camp sessions. And while he didn’t directly talk to the media, Montgomery confirmed that he felt good after the on-ice sessions and that there were positive signs.
Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill has pointed out that they expect and hope that Johns will be ready for opening night.
If he is, it would make the Dallas defense deeper and give the blue line a new element, especially when you consider Johns’ breakout campaign in 2017-18.
“He’s long, he has length, he can skate, he’s big, he’s physical, he can handle people down low, he can score goals with a bomb of a shot,” Montgomery pointed out at development camp. “There’s a lot of elements of his game that are going to make the Dallas Stars better.”
We’ll have to wait and see on that decision. But if Johns is ready, expect him to slot back into the top four and help round out an already dominant group.
Andrej Sekera – Roman Polak
Rounding out the Dallas defense could be even trickier. After re-signing Roman Polak to a one-year extension in June and adding Andrej Sekera on July 1, the Stars now have a wealth of veteran defenders to fill the bottom of the lineup.
Polak was a bit of a surprise addition by the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2018 when he signed a one-year contract worth $1.3 million. It didn’t seem as though they needed another veteran defender at the time, but Polak quickly proved his value in the unexpected absence of Stephen Johns and played 77 games in 2018-19.
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Stars and Sticks
He spent most of those games on the second pairing alongside Miro Heiskanen. And while the pairing wasn’t the most dynamic and Polak struggled at times, he made it work and helped round out a young defense by adding some grittiness and certain physical elements.
And when the Stars re-signed him, it was under the premise that he would play the 2019-20 season in a more limited role to better fit his own skill set and maximize his potential.
As a result, it seems like the third pairing is the best spot for the 33-year-old moving forward. Adding Sekera to his left should only further benefit him.
While Sekera might play on the second pairing alongside Heiskanen (considering Johns is still a question mark), putting him on the bottom pairing alongside Polak should create a solid third unit for the Stars.
Sekera is a puck-moving defenseman and has served as a top-four defender for much of his 13-year NHL career. He can be relied upon to play big shifts and contribute on both sides of the puck (he’s two years removed from an eight-goal, 35-point campaign in Edmonton). After suffering a knee injury in 2017-18 and an Achilles injury in 2018-19, the Oilers decided to buy him out just before July 1 in order to free up more cap space.
But at the age of 33, there still seems to be plenty of mileage left for the veteran defender to use in Dallas.
“What we like is his ability to move pucks and his ability that he has been a top-two and a top-four his whole career in the NHL,” Montgomery said of Sekera on July 1. “That’s something to know how to play those minutes in the NHL, manage your ice time, and excel. He was Edmonton’s number one defenseman for a couple of years and was so in Carolina before they had those young guys come in that are there currently. This is a guy that has been leaned upon by a lot of coaches. It’s really healthy for us.”
Combining his ability to move pucks and read different defensive and offensive situations with Polak’s physical, stay-at-home nature should round out the Dallas blue line in an effective and diverse way.
Extras
Finally, we have Jamie Oleksiak to fit into the picture.
The Stars reacquired Oleksiak in January after a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins that came less than 14 months after Dallas initially shipped him to Pittsburgh. He played in a seventh man role for Dallas for most of the season, skating in 21 games and playing in four playoff games before suffering a knee injury that ultimately ended his year.
He’ll likely play in a similar role this season, occasionally rotating into the lineup for Polak depending on the matchup or the usage of Polak at the time. He’s a big-bodied, left-handed defenseman that uses his size, reach, and physicality in a shutdown role whenever he’s in the lineup.
Having the 26-year-old on the roster will give Montgomery a chance to further balance out the playing time of Dallas defenders while also allowing him to maximize Polak’s abilities without the fear of overusing him.
With that being said, the Dallas Stars defense will be fun to watch as training camp gets underway. There will be position battles, young players trying to secure a spot on the roster, and plenty of different combinations to further access the skills and abilities of each member.
Next. Opposites Attract: Why Perry Is A Sizable Add For Stars. dark
That’s a pretty good problem to have.