NHL
Although Dallas Lost Out on John Tavares, They Still Feel They can Battle For a Playoff Spot This Season.
The Dallas Stars went into the offseason after a disappointing fall out of a playoff spot in the last month of the season. Head Coach Ken Hitchcock retired at the end of the season and was replaced by Jim Montgomery. The task this season is to battle for a playoff spot. The Stars did miss out on John Tavares but have added three skaters and a goalie and may be able to turn the ship around from last year’s disappointment. While the Central Division is ultra-competitive, the Stars may be battling Minnesota and Colorado for a Wild Card spot.
Have the Stars Gotten Better?
Here is where I stand on this question: The Stars have gotten better by adding depth that can help take the workload of the top line. This has indeed made the Dallas Stars better, I just do not know how good they will fair against the other six teams of the Central Division. Combined with the new coaching system, this will be a big year for the Stars as they have to work out a contract with star center Tyler Seguin.
Additions
Valeri Nichushkin was re-added by the Dallas Stars this offseason. Nichushkin spent two seasons in the KHL playing for CZSK Moskva. In last season’s 50 games with CZSK Moskva, Nichushkin scored 16 goals and added 11 assists. Nichushkin will add scoring to the second or third line. Blake Comeau enters his 13th season and first as a Star. Last year with Colorado, Comeau tallied 34 points including 21 assists. Comeau will be the right guy to set up Nichushkin.
Roman Polak was added to step into the bottom six pairing and strengthen the Penalty Kill. Polak played 54 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs and assisted 10 times out of his 12 points. Polak is a strong defenseman and knows how to shut down a teams scoring line. Anton Khudobin was signed to fill out the backup goalie situation. During 2017-18, Khudobin played in 31 games and posted a 2.56 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage of 91.2 percent.
Subtractions
Dan Hamhuis is aging and may be going to Nashville in hopes to win a Cup before calling it quits. At 35, Hamhuis played 80 games for Dallas in 2017-18 and scored three times while assisting 21 times. Antoine Roussel was nearly invisible. After posting four straight years of 25 points or more, Roussel sank below the 20-mark and only put up 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 73 games last season. Greg Pateryn played 73 games and scored one goal and totaled 13 points. While Pateryn did put up a career high in points, he did not help out defensively as well as the team needed to maintain a playoff spot.
Where the Dallas Stars Stand
The Dallas Stars stand in a good position… If they were in any other division. However, they are in the Central Division which is most likely the most competitive division this year. Their Net Gain gives a hope as it is at 19 player points but it may be false hope. Due to the Central Division being so competitive I have the Stars sitting in 5th place in the Central Division and just barely squeaking into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
A big question for the Dallas Stars this year involves their starting goalie. Can Ben Bishop stay healthy? He has missed time in each of the past three seasons. To be in the thick of things come February, Ben Bishop needs to stay healthy and fresh day in and day out. This will be a year that will determine where the Stars will sit and if they need to rebuild.
Social Media
Follow Jared on Twitter:@jared_pettus_00
Photo Credit
Photo Courtesy of Extreamist
