Dallas Stars 2015 State of the Team
NHL Free Agency is starting to wind down and most hockey analysts and insiders are on vacation right now. With only minor changes in store for most teams from now until training camp, this is a good opportunity to take a look at the state of each team.
Let’s take a look at the Dallas Stars today. The 2014-15 campaign was a bit disappointing because they missed the playoffs. The acquisitions of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky last offseason were supposed to help them go deeper into the playoffs. However, despite getting one more point in the 2014-15 regular season than the 2013-14 regular season, they missed the playoffs.
Management
GM Jim Nill‘s large and risky moves during his tenure in Dallas seem to have breathed excitement into the fanbase. After being a huge part of the Detroit Red Wings’ successful scouting department since the late-90s, Nill brought a culture change to the underachieving Dallas Stars. However, some of his risky transactions with the Stars have backfired. The acquisitions of Spezza and Hemsky have produced added strain on the budget and the signing of Sergei Gonchar was a miss. However, he was praised for pulling off the Tyler Seguin trade and drafting Valeri Nichuskin, among others.
Coach Lindy Ruff is one of the most experienced coaches in the game, however, there will be added pressure on him this year to make the playoffs. If they do not, his job is in jeopardy.
Grade: B-
Roster
The dynamic duo of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin has proved to be one of the league’s best. The Dallas Stars have tried to surround the two with a decent supporting squad during the past couple seasons. Veterans Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky, and newly-acquired Patrick Sharp provide good scoring depth, while role players Vernon Fiddler, Travis Moen, and Antoine Roussel do their jobs on the bottom two lines.
Defence was a bit of a soft spot last season, however the emergence of John Klingberg and other young defenders Patrik Nemeth and Jyrki Jokipakka will hopefully fill holes. The departure of Trevor Daley is a tough pill to swallow, but they still have a first-line defender in Alex Goligoski.
In net, the Dallas Stars will go with the dynamic duo of Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. The combined price tag for them is over ten million dollars a year, but the arrival of Niemi is an obvious upgrade over last season.
Grade: B-
Future
The Dallas Stars, under Nill, have not been tempted by the strong draft classes of 2015 and 2016 to have them tank. They are in it to win it. That being said, Nill is a former head of amateur scouting and believes in the importance of having many young prospects in the system. Nichuskin, Klingberg, Jokipakka, and Nemeth have broken through to the NHL under Nill, and there will be more to come. Radek Faksa, Remi Elie, Jason Dickinson, and Denys Guryanov can, no doubt, score. Behemoth Jamie Oleksiak, along with puck movers Julius Honka and Cameron Gaunce seem to have a future on the Dallas Stars blueline. Goalie Jack Campbell was drafted eleventh overall in 2010 and has taken a while to develop. However, that is the case with most goalies.
Grade: B