Well, if you know anything about me, you know I’m passionate about writing about three things: My faith, film and hockey. It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned my favorite pastime in my blog, and as the season is less than a month away, I figured it was high time I expressed my thoughts about my team, the Dallas Stars, and the rest of the league. Full disclosure, this will be very biased toward Dallas.
Deal with it!
I’m half-kidding. I’m a Stars fan first, but there are really only two hockey teams I loathe with everything in me; the LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. If you’re reading this and a fan of them, be forewarned, if I do mention them, it’s likely not going to be in a positive light. You can stop reading now if you prefer, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So yeah, the Dallas Stars…
Here’s the thing, I really thought last year would be the year we returned to the Stanley Cup. (And yeah, I’m going to use “we” when referring to the team, because in my mind the fans are all part of the team…deal with it!…Let’s see how many more times I say that). Instead I had to watch Dallas once again be knocked out by the St Louis Blues. I should hate the Blues for being our Achilles Heel in the playoffs of late, but dang it, they’re just so much like Dallas that I can’t.
Anyway…back to the Stars.
I was wondering what the off-season would look like for Dallas. There was the whole Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin vs Stars ownership saga last season. There were rumors swirling that Benn, the team captain who had an uncharacteristically off season, for him, would be traded after ownership very aggressively called him and Tyler out for their poor performance and lack of leadership by example. Thankfully, that seems to have been nothing more than a rumor spread by the media (The media spreading rumors with no shred of truth? WHAT?!?! Surely not?!).
Even with their two superstars under-performing and no one else really emerging as secondary scoring threats, Dallas won. They kept winning. They won against teams who had previously decimated them. They may have been the 7-seed in the playoffs, but no one told them that. They faced the Nashville Predators who had been a major thorn in Dallas’s side for the last few seasons. But this season Dallas actually held their own against the stacked offense of the Preds. Even more in the playoffs, though as they made short work of Smashville.
Why?
Because Ben Bishop and Dallas’s defense looked like the Dallas Stars of the late 90s through mid-2000s. Those teams were never known for their overpowering offense they won with stellar goal-tending and second to none defense.
John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen, two undersized blue-liners who are supposed to be known for their offense (and they were) lead the way, along with arguably the most intelligent defensive blue-liner in the league, Essa Lindell, in making Dallas’s previously after-thought defense a veritable wall in front of the even bigger wall in 6’7” superstar goalie, Ben Bishop. Where do I even start with Big Ben? The moment Dallas signed him I thought we would return to the contender we once were. That has not immediately been the case, but “Bish” has been far more consistent than the goal-tending we’ve had for most of the last decade.
Factor in “Dobby” (because he has Dobby on his mask) Anton Khudobin, as a far more consistent backup than we’ve been used to, and it’s no wonder Dallas won, even without the offense being their every night. Now, you can add the young kid we drafted in the first round, Jake Ottenger (who shares my birthday…just found that out…thought I’d share), and I think Dallas is going to continue to be very stingy in the goals-allowed category.
The goalies do need a good top 6 defensive unit in front of them though. And they have it.
As previously mentioned, the top three of Klingberg, Lindell and Heiskanen is about as good as it gets by NHL standards. None of the three are big, overpowering defensemen like Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets, but what they lack in mass, they make up for in tenacity, hockey smarts, speed and ability.
So we’re clear, Big Buff has all of that too. Just in case the linebacker on skates ever reads this, I don’t want to be ragdolled around like I’ve seen him do to NHLers far bigger than me. I mean Jamie is not a small guy, but Buff nearly dwarfs him. This picture gives you an idea of just how imposing the 6’5″ 265 pound defenseman is.
Anyway, back to the defense.
Dallas also sports veteran offensive defenseman, Andrej Sekera (newly signed this year), and two big young bruisers in Stephen Johns and Jamie Oleksiak. Johnsy is due for a big season after some injuries that have kept him from being in their consistently. I think the kid has the size, skill and speed to be a Shea Weber-type of defenseman. Big Rig, as most refer to Jamie is 6’7” and 255 pounds, so yeah…when he’s on, he decimates opposing forwards and frees up the line of sight for the Dallas net minders. Problem is we traded him to the Pens two years ago, because he’s as consistent as the Texas weather. That said, playing in Pittsburgh seems to have been a huge benefit to the big man. Soft-spoken and timid off the ice (trust me, I’ve met him a few times), The hope is that the Goliath on skates is ready to really step into his massiveness and be the physical force Dallas drafted him to be. I, for one, think he’s ready. Either Jamie or Roman Polak will be the 7th defenseman on the team. Polak is a veteran, who has been a stalwart defensive presence on a few teams over his career. He’s not a scorer…at all…and that’s okay. His role is simple. Hit people, block shots and do what he does best; defense.
For the first time in a long time, Dallas has everything they need on the blue line the offense is very much there in Klinger and Miro. Klinger is already an elite defenseman.
Miro, who was 19 last year, repeatedly showed the league that he may still be a kid by many standards, but he can hang with the big boys and then some. Essa brings a two-way defender who reminds me of a Philippe Boucher or Darryl Sydor, but with more defensive acumen. Andrej is the veteran leadership the group needs, and I see Miro only getting better with him there to mentor the young Fin. The physicality is finally there with Polak, Johnsy and Big Rig. If the two younger guys can step up this year, Dallas is going to be a defensive powerhouse.
Now that I’ve scratched the surface, let’s go back to the guys who put the butts in the seats; the scorers–the forwards. I mentioned Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin (more on them in a moment), but there’s a lot more than that.
Let’s start with Dallas’s crazy, energetic Russian, Alexander Radulov. Dallas signed Rads two years ago, and he’s been nothing but a big performer for us since. Rads, like Segs was thought to be a locker room cancer by most accounts. The thought was that Dallas was taking a huge risk with both guys. That “huge risk” has yielded huge rewards almost from the start. The high energy extremely talented Russian has been nothing but a great player and teammate since joining the team, much like Tyler Seguin.
This off-season, on day one of free-agency, Dallas made a massive splash in signing two sure-fire future hall-of-famers in Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry. Both of these guys came from long-time rivals of the Stars, so there was definitely a little extra smirk on my face when they were signed. But really only for one of them.
Pavs came from the San Jose Sharks. I think any hockey fan would tell you they would’ve put money on Pavs spending his entire career with the Sharks, but when a veteran nearing the end of his career tells the team that drafted him that he wants a long term contract to finish his career there, and it doesn’t happen, he has to go elsewhere. San Jose’s loss (and it was a huge one) will be Dallas’s gain. Pavs brings superstar ability, incredible veteran leadership and a pension for playing huge in big game moments to the lone star state. The moment I heard this was almost a sure thing, my heart skipped a beat. The last time Dallas had a one-two punch like that of Segs and Pavs at center, they won the Stanley Cup.
Corey Perry came from one of those teams I mentioned loathing before, so you’d think I would be much happier about taking one of their biggest stars. But Corey Perry, for all his immense talent, is easily the most hated man in hockey. There’s a good reason for that, and I am one of those fans who has a deep-seeded hatred for him. Perry is a former league MVP, Stanley Cup champ, Olympic Gold Medalist…you get the point. All that sounds wonderful, right?! But he’s also made a career of getting away with murder on the ice. I’ve never seen the NHL turn a blind eye more for any player in my 25+ years of fandom. I want to be happy about the signing because I keep hearing Perry is a consummate teammate. But it’s going to be difficult to root for a guy who’s injured so many players over his career, and continually gotten away with it. The plus is that Perry will be on the third line now, as he reaches the twilight of his career. That means instead of 15-17 minutes of ice time he’ll probably see more like 10-12 minutes (or less). I don’t see him developing new habits at this point in his career, so here’s hoping he just doesn’t have as many chances to hurt anyone else. 
Side note: I chose this image of Perry and the other number 10 for Dallas, former captain Brendan Morrow because this is him after scoring against Perry and his Ducks. Just makes me happy. Especially since I don’t think Perry should be allowed to wear the same number as a former beloved Dallas Star.
The thought is that Pavs will start on the top line with Benner and Segs, but my real hope is that Rads stays on that line and Pavs becomes the second line center. The reason for that is the young, uber-talented Fin, Roope Hintz. I’ve watched Hintz in Cedar Park for a few years and thought it was only a matter of time before Dallas made room for him. They did that last year, and the kid did not disappoint. From the moment he was called up it was clear Roope wasn’t going to give up his spot on the team. Not only that, but the youngster quickly solidified a spot on the second line. Give Roope a veteran like Pavs to mentor him, and Dallas will quickly have more superstars than they know what to do with.
Rounding out the young talent is Radek Faksa, Jason Dickenson, Mattias Janmark and Ty Dellandrea, among others (these are the four I really think will be a valuable part of the core group). I personally think Faksa has all the same tools as the big, uber-gifted young Russian superstar, Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers. He just hasn’t realized it all yet. Even still, Dallas’s big Czech is the type of guy every team wants; big, powerful, goes at 1000% every shift and can contribute on offense and defense from the forward position. Dickenson is another Texas Stars forward I’ve watched for years and wondered when Dallas would make room for him or trade him for a big name player. Like the before mentioned Hintz, Jason was given a chance last year and did not let go of the position once he got to the big stage. My guess is the third line will consist of Faksa at center, Dickenson on wing and either veteran Blake Comeau, Andrew Cogliano or Corey Perry on the other wing. Janmark has been consistent for Dallas for a few years. By consistent, I mean consistently just above average. That said, he’s a lot tougher than he looks and is just the kind of role player every team needs. He’ll either play on the second line, where hopefully Pavs can also rub off on him, or one of the bottom two lines. Dellandrea is the biggest question mark for me. He’s yet to play a game at the AHL level, let alone the NHL level. That said, the big guy (6’6”, 230) is expected to bring plenty of skill and physicality to the game. Time will tell for him.
Now for the veteran additions last season who will make a huge difference this season; Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano. Comeau was the replacement for the departure of beloved “Angry Frenchman”, Antionne Roussell. I can’t think of anyone else who could have been a better choice, but I’m still butt-hurt that Dallas let Rouss go. But I digress. Blake has spent his career being the type of player every team needs. He consistently gets to the dirty places of the ice, he’s physical, scrappy, tenacious and a leader where ever he goes. As much as I want to be mad about the replacement choice, I can’t be. Comeau is the type of “glue” player every contender has and values highly. So too is Andrew Cogliano. Andrew, like Corey Perry came from Anaheim. Dallas traded one of my favorites, Devin Shore for the veteran last season, and as much as I hate to admit it (what with being a big fan of Devin’s and all), Cogs was an upgrade. He’s consistently been a great “glue” player over his career and his ability to kill penalties is invaluable. Dallas’s PK unit only got better after grabbing Andrew at the deadline.
I said I would have more on the Stars’ two superstars, so here it is. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have been the faces of the franchise for the better part of the last decade now. When they are at full throttle, they are two of the top 10 forwards in the league. the issue has been injuries. Some of their lackluster play last year was just from un-characteristically bad play, but you have to factor in just how much the two were playing hurt. I’ve never questioned their dedication to the game and to the Stars. I’m not about to start now. If Benner and Segs are back to form this year, there’s no doubt that Dallas is going to be a force to reckon with in the toughest division in hockey. Frankly, if Dallas is to have a chance at the playoffs, these two superstars have to be healthy and ready to play at a high level. The good thing is that adding guys like Pavs and Perry add much needed depth to a team that was severely lacking in it last season. Two bonafied scoring lines with a third one that can put up some goals, and Dallas will quickly become a team the other powerhouses in the league have to take note of. I can’t wait to see what this team does in 2019-2020.
In case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m a diehard Dallas Stars fan, and I think right now, this season is a huge reason to be excited for hockey in the lone star state. If you are reading this and not a hockey fan, there’s no better time than now to jump on the Stars’ bandwagon. Consequently, if you’ve read this far and not wanted to gouge your eyes out from boredom, you should seriously consider that you might be a hockey fan in the making.
That’s my take on the Stars’ roster in a nutshell (if the nutshell was incredibly long winded). Stay tuned for my second post, which will center more on the rest of the league. Until then…
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The Random Musings of a Nerdy Christ Follower 