The Otter In The Room

The life of an NHL goalie is not an easy one. The goalie is perhaps the most criticized position in all of sports, save for maybe a Quarterback in the NFL. The losses are blamed on you, and the revelings of victory are centered on you. Your coach is both a skills and hockey coach as well as a shrink. Experts analyze your body language after giving up a goal. The extremes that pundits and casual fans alike will go to in order to “figure out” if you are good at your job is almost unprecedented in sports, especially these days when anyone and everyone is an expert.

I am no goaltending expert, but one does not need to be one in order to point out that being the 8th highest paid tender in the league and getting out-played by your backup is not a good look to fans. Even in the playoffs, he looked dazzling at times, even stealing Game 2 from Minnesota, and at others he looked pedestrian. We can sit and make excuses for him, but at the end of the day, the Stars are supposed to be Cup contenders, and they were dispatched by little brother in 6 games in round 1.

If you asked Jake Oettinger what his goals are, he would give you a very simple answer (and has, multiple times). Win a Stanley Cup, become the starting goalie for Team USA, and win a Vezina. We know as Stars fans that these goals are all within his grasp, we have seen him outplay Connor Hellebuyck. We have watched him carry this team past a stacked Avs team while we were limping and broken without our leading scorer and best defenseman. We watched him stand on his head against Calgary.

Perhaps this is why it is so frustrating to see him play so inconsistently this past season. The Stars can’t afford to have him playing to his potential as a luxury; it needs to be an afterthought.

As stated before, I am no goaltending expert. I played as a forward in the short time that I did play youth hockey, my dad wisely telling me “you’re not a goalie” when I probed about potentially trying it out (a move that probably saved him $1 million dollars in equipment and lessons). What I do have, though, is a goaltender expert.

Let’s Bring In Our Goalie Expert

If you follow the Dallas Stars and their fans on twitter/x, you have likely seen this account on your feed. LassStats is a former IIHF Gold Medalist with Team Finland, NHL Draft Pick, and has coached and scouted dozens of NHL goaltenders. Needless to say, he knows more than we do.

I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about Jake specifically, and he didn’t hold back. Jake is a fan favorite (and one of mine as well, if you haven’t been able to tell), but with fandom comes blinders. LassStats helps lift the blindfold and quite frankly tells us what he sees below. Please follow him here, his insights are eye opening and are well worth your attention.

The Interview

How important is Otter’s success to that of the entire team when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup this season?

“Well goalie is the “last line of defense” as the PNC ad says on the ticket radio with Marty turco. The goalie has to make the big saves at the right time. I’m quite an oilers fan because I know someone on the team (I’m mostly a predators fan), but you look at Bobrovsky. He won the series for Florida. You look at Vegas, Hill won the cup for them. Tampa? Vasy. Boston? Rask and Thomas. Quick. Price. Lundkvist. The best goalies shine in the biggest moments. Otter did that vs Calgary and in 24/25”

If you could make one adjustment in Otter’s game, what would it be?

“Stop being so inconsistent.”

I have noticed that Jake also has come out of his crease quite a bit last season compared to past years. Is this an adjustment he has made, or is it more of a trend league-wide for bigger goalies to come further out of the crease?

“Adjustments he’s made. The best goalies, mostly European just as example because it’s true, are very much into their crease. He’s usually out standing because he’s so tall to see the puck over a players head but that drops reaction time speed.”

It seems like Jake is getting beaten on his short side, usually up high. Why do you think this is, and how can goaltenders like him overcome that weakness?

“He’s tall. Also, his stance is really high which makes it harder to use your blocker lower.”

Do you see the downtick in Jake’s stats as an issue specific to him, or part of a broader trend in the NHL?

“It’s been a while now this trend. Goals are getting scored more, so it’s just natural that .900 is probably not the standard median. It’ll be .895 or .890.”

Many fans have called for DeSmith to start more games, do you think that should be the precedent moving forward?

“Yes. He had a .916 until April.”

Jake Oettinger is currently the 8th highest paid goaltender in the NHL. Do you feel like he has played up to his contract so far?

“No. Swayman has. But Oettinger had an AHL team for half the season. He’s also extremely inconsistent, but like Carolina, that’s because he only faces 15-25 shots a game and the ones he faces are mostly medium to high danger.”

Lets Unpack

LassStats, much like many of us, has been critical of Jake Oettinger this past season. Frankly, he deserves it. Jake’s success is crucial to the Stars’ success this season, and getting outplayed by your 36 year-old backup that makes 1/8th of your salary is a bad look.

The NHL has seen a downtick in goalie stats and an uptick in scoring, it’s true. League-wide scoring has climbed. In 15 years prior to the 2021-22 NHL season, GAA sat under 3.00. It has been over that mark every season since then, with Save Percentage dropping to .896, the lowest it has been in 30 years. Otter’s Save Percentage was a pedestrian .899, and his GAA of 2.59 simply does not measure up to his 8th-highest salary as an NHL tender.

Jake is one of 19 goalies in the league that I would consider “true starters,” meaning he started at least 50 games for his team this season. Of those 19, his closest comparison stats-wise is Jet Greaves, who just signed a 3x$5m contract with Columbus, a whole $3.15 million less than Jake. Otter did rank 5th in GAA in that class, but ranked 12th in Sv% vs those who started 50+ games.

His basic stats put him 23rd in GAA and 37th in Sv%. Casey DeSmith, 14th and 26th, respectively.

He was flat out worse than DeSmith in the time that he played.

Let’s get into some advanced stats. In Goals Saved Above Expected, he also finished behind his backup, finishing 26th right between Grubauer and Wallstedt. Not bad, but absolutely not “8th-highest paid in the league.”

I would say that this season’s fate hangs in the balance, the main deciding factor being whether or not Jake is a bonafide top-5 tender. Jakub Dobes took an inexperienced team to the ECF, edging out the Lightning in a Game 7 in which the Habs only mustered 9 shots on goal. If Otter can find in within himself to live up to his own lofty expectations, there is not a doubt in my mind that this team will win the Cup next April.

How Many Degrees Do We Have In This Team?

Glen Gullutzan’s mantra throughout the season was “one more degree.” One degree is the difference between hot water on your stove and a steam engine. I think we saw certain players embody that mentality, Jason Robertson, for example, took his game to an entirely new level this year. He threw reverse checks, went to the boards more frequently, and even went from “cinder blocks in his skates” to an average skater in this league.

Jake Oettinger, while being the main focus of this article, is not the only player that needs to step up. There are a few more players that need more than just one degree, in fact I would say an extra 5-10 degrees would take this team from contender to frontrunner. Can you guess who I am going to say?

Thomas Harley

I think this was the guy that popped up in 90% of your minds. Thomas Harley is a guy that has floundered when not under the guidance of Pete DeBoer. I’m not a PDB guy by any stretch of the imagination, but it is undeniable that Harley has played his best hockey under PDB. The 2024-25 season saw Harley’s surge into many NHL fans and pundits’ top-20 defensemen lists, he stepped up while Miro was hurt and carried us and the top pairing through the season and the 1st round of the playoffs against a more well-equipped Colorado team. In the Olympics this year, DeBoer was the Defensive coach of that team, and he played his best hockey of the season under him. What gives?

While many will be tougher on Harley than I think he deserves, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He had a rough season by his standards, but he suffered a lower body injury early in the year, and when he got back, his partner was also hurt with a long-term injury. Let’s look at some fun charts!

Note: sG aka “Synthetic Goals are “notional goals that a player would cause to be scored, in contrived circumstances, rather than their past circumstances or any particular future circumstances. For both of these reasons, I call the resulting unit "synthetic goals", or sG for short.” via HockeyViz.com

A basic breakdown of what exactly you are looking at:

Chart 1: Harley’s only “weakness” in his game is taking penalties. In nearly every other metric, he is a postitice offensive defenseman, in fact, even last season, he was elite at this.

Chart 2: While he did take a slight dip in productivity (some due to injury and some due to defensive pairings), Harley is buy and large a top pairing defenseman in this league.

Chart 3: Despite the criticism, he was on-net more often, his shots resulted fewer blocked shots and more SOG, and he scored more than he rebounded vs previous years.

Hockey is far from statistically “pure,” meaning that these advanced metrics are largely still experimental, and the eye test is far more valuable than in other sports, however there is reason for optimism. Thomas Harley is a freaking 24 year-old 2nd pairing defenseman. His partner is 26. There is ample reason for optimism despite what reddit and twitter fans will tell you.

Lian Bichsel

While not quite as much of a “this guy needs to figure it out NOW” type of player, Bichsel represents a turning point in our season last year. When he came back, the physicality of the team turned around overnight. However, during the playoffs, he went from bully to victim against the hard-nosed style of hockey that Minny likes to play.

My main concern isn’t whether or not he can play a playoff-style of hockey, but moreso, can he pick up a couple of extra minutes per game and stay healthy? He missed 32 games last season, and the Stars missed him. If Lian can take the natural next steps in his progression, it feels like the bottom D-pair will instill much more confidence in the fanbase.

That being said… the Stars’ D-core has 4 players under the age of 30. Just food for thought. Not bad for what many would consider one of the top-5 D-cores in the NHL, but I digress.

Big defenders like the Swiss Alp usually take some time to develop, but Lian displays an innate ability to use his size to his advantage, something that past “Big Rigs” wink wink have not possessed. The combination of his instinctual proper use of his size coupled with his silky mitts could bode well for his forecast next year. Bichsel is likely to take a step forward this season, how big, however, remains to be seen.

Wyatt Johnston

You’re probably wondering why I am putting a 23 year-old 45 goal-scoring player in my “needs to get better” list. Wyatt recently broke the franchise record for power play goals in a season, a record that stood for nearly 30 years. Why does one of the brightest young players in the league need to get better?

Simple. 5-on-5 goals. Of Wyatt’s 45 goals, “only” 27 of them were 5-on-5. While not a bad statistic on its own in the slightest, the team has a greater need for 5-on-5 scoring, something that went from easy to ignore during the regular season to a glaring weakness against a strong even strength opponent in Round 1.

His proclivity to wind up in his office unguarded and often unnoticed will no-doubt be something teams will gameplan against this season. It will be increasingly difficult to find that spot at even strength. With the lack of production when the Stars loaded the 1st line with Robo-Mikko-Wyatt, who is going to take the Left Wing position and draw the attention that Wyatt seems to rely on?

The reason for optimism here is that he is 23 years old and unlikely to start regressing, but it is a two-sided coin. His breakout this year cemented him as one of the leagues premier scorers, and you can expect defenders to pay far more attention to him than before.

Are The Stars Still Contenders?

This is the golden question, and one that will continue to be asked for the remainder of the offseason, and will most likely persist well-into the season. The question that rightfully should have entered the minds of anyone associated with Victory Green the moment we lost Game 6. The Stars were in cap hell this offseason, shed valuable depth, and lost a 20-goal scoring homegrown young Center as a casualty. The response from Nill? We need to be healthier.

That is obviously not a promise in this league, as made evident by the fact that Dallas never fielded their full roster for the entire 25’-26’ season. They still managed to win 50 games and even threatened to lead the division for a time. Yeah, awesome, sick. Dope and legit.

As a reward for our efforts, we won 2 playoff games.

To say that is not good enough is an understatement. Nill’s comments about health have fallen on deaf ears. The fact of the matter is that 90% of the league would trade places with the Stars. We have a young core locked up for the next 5 years. We have a top-5 defensive unit. We have a goalie with the raw talent to take us to the Finals.

It feels like relying on health is a cop out answer for “we were not able to get better this offseason.” That is not a good message to send to a fanbase that is starting to feel much like the Sharks fans of the 2010’s or the Buffalo Bills fans on the 90’s.

So, are we contenders? I think so. Jim Nill thinks so, and every player in the locker room thinks so. But in order to live up to that, we need a hell of a lot more than “one more degree.”

Thank you for reading, and as always, go Stars.

For the past month or so, I have been enduring severe hockey writer’s block. Unfortunately I do not do a podcast, so spending 6-8 hours per week writing about nothing but Jason Robertson rumors and speculation did not seem very fun for me as a writer, or you as a reader. Well, folks, after what was ultimately about 18 months of pulling teeth and hoping for a Robertson signing, we (kind of) get what we want. Jason Robertson will be a Dallas Star next year, and for the low price of $12 million.

Kicking The Can Down The Road

A deal has been signed, and for now Stars fans can rest while Jim Nill tries to figure out the rest of the roster. Jason Robertson is signed, but only for one season. This means that on January 1st of 2027, the Stars can sign him to an extension. However, it is not so cut and dry, there are a few caveats that will come into play during negotiations. Robertson will not be able to sign for 8 years, as the NHL’s max contract term will be reduced to 7 years for re-signing teams. There are a few other things of note.

• Max term for Robertson will be 7 years. Any other team that wishes to negotiate with him should he become a UFA at season’s end will only be able to offer him 6 years.

  • How does this factor into the Stars’ negotiations? For one, the AAV will definitely go up a bit compared to what they could have offered on an 8-year deal. The year of lost income will likely drive his AAV up to about $15 Million from the $14 Million AAV that he and his agent asked for this offseason.

• The Stars will be operating with about $41 Million in space next year

  • With Seguin’s contract coming off the books in conjunction with the cap raising significantly, this leaves room for about 3 and a half Jason Robertsons. I have hinted at the fact that the Stars are collecting Edmonton coaches like Infinity Stones, and could possibly take a big swing at a certain guy whose name rhymes with “Shmonnor McShmavid.” This would also leave room for a hefty extension for Robertson.

• Even if the Stars can’t re-sign him, they can still recoup some draft capital by trading his negotiation rights. The Stars have done similar things with Ben Bishop, trading away picks for the rights to negotiate. This will not net the Stars multiple first round picks, but Robertson will certainly not walk away “for nothing” even if he does walk.

Avoiding salary arbitration means the runway has been extended a bit to try to work out a legitimate extension, but only by about 5 months. Rather than “Just worry about your season Robo,” we are now at “We have to sign this guy before the season is over. I can only imagine that both sides would like to get a deal done ASAP, and by ASAP I mean January 1st.

Now that Robo is signed for at least the immediate future, Jim Nill can focus on rounding around the roster. The Stars are currently $1.36 over the cap. Let’s look at how exactly they can become cap compliant by opening night.

Who Gets Moved?

It looks right now like either Radek Faksa gets moved before the season starts, or we have to place Cappobianco and Blackwell on waivers. I am reasonably sure that a team would gladly scoop up a depth defenseman like Cappobianco or a cheap forward like Collin Blackwell. My vote goes to trading Faksa.

Radek Faksa is a player that I like, and a player that is valuable on an NHL team. He kills penalties, wins face-offs, and can play with his body. The problem is the $2 Million AAV that he carries. The Stars have multiple players that can do Faksa’s job for half the price. Arttu Hyry showcased last season that he is absolutely ready to play on the 3rd or 4th line of an NHL roster, perhaps even better than Faksa, for only $850k. Joel Kiviranta was welcomed back, plays a similar role as Radek, and has a scoring touch that Radek lacks, all while costing only $1 Million. Oscar Back can slot into that spot as well, for less than half the price. I just can’t justify the price tag on a guy that only plays 11 minutes per game.

Faksa’s value may not be fully realized by the rest of the NHL right now, with all of the contract drama and arbitration providing many teams with a distraction from actually filling their rosters out. Faksa will become much more valuable as the season approaches, and teams realize “Oh, crap, we need a vet centerman who can anchor our bottom lines.” The Stars have a wealth of bottom-6 forwards, and it only makes sense to shrink the field by subtracting the most expensive one.

Sam Steel is another player that we could potentially see. however most of the people screaming for his head are fans on the internet. Sam Steel provides you immense value for a guy only making $2.1 Million. He averages 16 minutes of TOI, plays on every line, and if he can just bury a few more of his opportunities, could very well be a 25+ goal scorer. With the depth on the wings dwindling, I highly doubt Steel gets moved.

What Holes Are Left?

While the Stars have signed the most important piece this offseason, there are still question marks in the lineup. The upcoming season really depends on a lot of “ifs” in order for the Stars to go on a run. Are the Stars good enough?

In its current iteration, I don’t think so.

The Stars can go on a run and win the Cup IF:

• IF Roope Hintz stays healthy

• IF Tyler Seguin stays healthy and scores 20 goals

• IF Jake Oettinger bounces back

• IF Thomas Harley bounces back

• IF Nils Lundqvist continues to play well on the 2nd pair

• IF Bichsel can take a step forward

• IF Tyler Myers can settle in and play better

Oh, man, that is a LOT of “IFs.” The Stars need Otter to step up. The Stars need Harley to play up to his contract, and the Stars need Hintz to stay healthy. Those are three things that will make of break the season for the Stars. While yes, our top-2 lines and Power Play are almost guaranteed to be electric, the gaping hole on the Left Wing side is impossible to ignore. We are potentially looking t a season in which Justin Hryckowian is our top-line Left Wing. This is in no way a slight on Ritzy-Ritz, but putting him on a line that should be scoring 100+ goals doesn’t seem very productive. Could we see Sam Steel on the top line? Do we try to run back the unsuccessful top-loaded Robo-Johnston-Rantanen line?

The big issue is, how on earth do we improve what we have now wile being over the cap? Right now, there are only a couple of players that we could move that would free up significant space. Those two players are Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that WyJo is not going anywhere. There is an incredibly short list of guys you would trade a 23 year-old 45-goal-scorer for.

Thomas Harley, however, has already been involved in a trade that fell through for Norris Trophy Winner Zach Werenski. While I wouldn’t suggest jumping ship on a guy with Harley’s ceiling, that is an incredibly high valuation for a guy slated to make 10.2% of the cap. If Nill got creative, Harley could be gone and the Stars could get a King’s ransom. Does that mean it will happen? I don’t think so.

The big issue here is that you have 2 franchise legends entering what is likely their last seasons with the team, and Hintz and Rantanen entering their 30’s. You don’t want to waste a good year while you have guys like that in their primes.

Right now, signs are pointing towards hoping and wishing. Of course anything can happen, but it looks like we are running it back and crossing our fingers.

What moves do you think could be made to shore up the left side? Do you also foresee the Stars taking a step back this season? I would love to hear from you down below. Haven’t gotten to type this in a while, as always, GO STARS!

The Timeline

In January, Jason Robertson and his brother, Nick, change agents, going with Andy Scott of Octagon Hockey. Octagon notably represents a large portion of the Stars’ core, including Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, Thomas Harley, and (although not with Andy Scott) Jake Oettinger. This was seen as a huge positive at the time by myself and many others. With the history Andy Scott has working with Nill and getting many of our pieces locked up for the foreseeable future, it seemed like this move was almost guaranteeing that Robo wanted to sign and stay here.

Fast forward to the end of the season. Robertson had 96 points, 45 goals, and played all 82 games for the team. This season, he became a true 2-way forward, improved his skating, and became an all-around better player. The Stars’ power play is one of the best in the NHL, and it is largely because of him. Robertson was one of the few Dallas Stars able to score 5v5 in round one against Minnesota. It was a contract year, and he played his ass off, earning him All-NHL 1st Team honors and massively proving his value to the Stars, and the rest of the NHL. Olympic snub be damned.

This brings us to the past week. What a week it has been. For starters, Robertson (expectedly) turned down an 8-year $96m ($12m AAV) contract from Dallas. Suffice to say it didn’t go over well with most of the fanbase, understandably so. I mean, Mikko freaking Rantanen is getting paid $12m AAV, who does Robertson think he is? I mean zero disrespect to Robo here, but I don’t think he is as good as Mikko, and most people with eyes can agree with that point.

So why would Jason Robertson turn down that massive contract, besides the fact that he is a “diva” or whatever? Well, it is a simple economics issue. The market is quite different right now than it was, and context matters. Jason Robertson’s camp sits in a position of very high leverage, especially with the amount of shenanigans players are getting away with. Players have more power than they ever have before, and Robertson understands what kind of power he wields.

He has been chronically underpaid for the last 3 years, and is certainly deserving of a massive contract. A needy team would happily pay him $15m+ AAV, as made evident by some of the contracts that have been offered to him. His offer sheet, while a month ago seemed like a price far too steep for most teams to be willing to pay, has been a hot topic lately, most notably by Ottawa Senators fans after moving on from Brady Tkachuk. Not just them, but multiple teams have both the draft capital, and the money to offer Jason Robertson. Here are the two deals he has turned down so far:

• Seattle Kraken

  • Sign and Trade that involved an 8-year $120m ($15m AAV) and would have sent Seattle’s 7th overall pick to Dallas. According to multiple reports, the Stars were interested in flipping that pick and getting Matthew Knies from Toronto. The Stars gave Seattle permission to negotiate with Robo, and Jason Robertson declined the deal.

• St. Louis Blues

  • Jeff Marek had reported that St. Louis had offered a package containing multiple first round picks for Robertson and were willing to sign him to the same $15m AAV that Seattle offered, but Robertson was unwilling to play in St. Louis.

So now we are left dazed and confused wondering what it is that Jason Robertson really wants. Is it money? Is it to be on a team he believes can win a Cup soon? Is it both?

So What Does This Mean?

I don’t talk to Jason Robertson. I don’t talk to Andy Scott, and I don’t talk to Jim Nill or Brad Alberts, so take everything I say with a healthy grain of salt. What I do have is a brain and a bunch of opinions, and I feel like it is good to have both in this case.

Robertson obviously wants to be on a contending team. Turning down that kind of money is no insignificant deed. He clearly wants to be paid well, too, as made clear by his turning down of $96 million Stars Bucks. I personally think that he has made it clear that he wants to be in Dallas, but he wants to be the highest paid player on the team. Despite the “better than Rantanen” conversation, I think he is absolutely justified, and that he should be the highest paid on the team.

Not only has the salary cap gone up $8.5 million this offseason, but it will continue going up by about that much over the next 2 seasons as well. $12 million two years ago is not worth $12 million now, and it will be worth even less in two more seasons. In 2 years, that $14 million asking price will feel much closer to around $10.5-$11 million in today’s NHL money. It is a matter of macroeconomics in the NHL. It isn’t even an NHL-specific thing. Every sport across the board has watched the price of poker go up season-after-season. This is how things work in sports these days, today’s highest paid player is tomorrow’s 5th highest paid player. Once upon a time, Dak Prescott was the highest paid player in NFL history. How long did that last? Shohei Ohtani signed the biggest contract in MLB history in 2024 with the Dodgers at $700,000,000. The literal very next season, Juan Soto signed for $765,000,000 with the Mets. And he doesn’t even pitch!!!

This is not me saying “just sign Robertson to $14m AAV and be done with it.” I just believe that he is worth more than the $12m initially offered by the Stars. Him turning down those massive offers proves that he is worth more than that, but it also proves that he is probably willing to take a bit of a haircut to stay here. We drafted him, he loves it here, and he has the fans’ support while not playing in a tough market like Toronto or New York.

What Happens Now

Well, no blockbuster trade happened yesterday, so for the time being, he is still a Star. I think one of three things happen. It is important to note that we are able to operate at ~$8.8m (10% of the salary cap) over the cap until opening night, so we can make the room if needed.

One

The Great Compromise

We meet happily in the middle, around $13-$13.25m for 8 years. He comes down, the Stars come up. We make room after signing Mavrik Bourque by moving pieces like Lyubushkin, Steel, or Faksa sometime down the road. There will be a more significant market for players like them further down the road.

Two

We Submit The Qualifying Offer

The Stars submit the qualifying offer of $9.3m and this thing goes to arbitration or a hold out. This would be on-brand for Robertson, as he held out and missed training camp last time we had negotiations. He signed a very team friendly deal, and notched over 100 points that season. This option seems to be the most likely to me, as it would give both camps much more time to negotiate and come to an agreement before the season starts. That would free up cap space to get Bourque inked to a deal and figure the rest out.

Three

The Offer Sheet

This seems far less likely considering the 2026 draft has concluded its first round, and the 4 compensatory picks would all be for 2027 and after. This lessens the value slightly, but there are definitely teams that have 4 of their own picks to submit. Jim Nill probably doesn’t accept a trade for much less than the offer sheet’s value, meaning a good player plus multiple draft picks. A high price tag, but there are multiple teams that have it. Robertson would, of course, have to accept the contract offer for this option, meaning that teams like Ottawa and Seattle would probably not be in the running. Maybe the Sharks or Ducks could try, considering they are both teams that have aspirations to win now, and have rostered players Robertson wouldn’t mind playing for. He is a SoCal kid, after all.

How Do We Make Room?

This is perhaps a bigger question than “how do we bring him back?” The Stars’ depth, at first glance, looks to be shot if we can’t spend any money on pieces to fill out the bottom-6 of the roster. This rings especially true if we have to move Sam Steel and Radek Faksa to keep Robertson. I will say this, we had exceptional depth pieces playing on two-way contracts last year throughout the entire season. We could lose a 7th Defenseman in Lyubushkin, too, if we ship him out, but we have NHL-ready defensemen in the AHL that played significant minutes for us last year. Not to mention we do still have Tyler Myers as a potential 7th D if we’re able to bring back Petrovic for another year. Our 4th line will be good, Arttu Hyry is an NHL-ready center that is younger, much cheaper, and looks to be better than Faksa. Oskar Back and Colin Blackwell make fine pieces on the bottom line, too. If we move on from Lyubushkin, we can even afford to keep Sam Steel on that 3rd line with (assuming Benn comes back, which seems imminent) Duchene and Jamie, a line that looked great last year. Also, uh, did we all forget we are getting Tyler Seguin back next year? He was playing very well before his injury last season, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t be a great 3rd or 4th line center for us again next year.

There is room to be made, and it can be made. Once Robertson is signed, things will really be put into motion for the rest of the roster to fill out. A Mavrik Bourque contract is almost surely waiting for the details of the Robo deal to be ironed out before we find out what is happening there. I understand it can seem like the Stars are just running it back and hoping for better luck next year, but really what choice do they have? While the Robertson contract puts stress on the fanbase and franchise, the Seguin albatross looms until next season.

Try not to freak out, Stars fans. This is a negotiation, the pendulum swings one way, and then it swings the other way. It would be bad business if both sides didn’t explore every available option. Nill and Co. will exhaust every option they have, and Andy Scott will leave no stone unturned. At the end of the day, I still think we bring Robertson back. My bold prediction?

8 years x $106 Million $13.25m AAV

Do it, Jim. He is worth it. Sign him, and figure it out later. So that we can all breathe.

The Stars are leaving Dallas. All signs are now pointing towards them leaving their Downtown arena in favor of building a massive $3 Billion+ entertainment complex in Plano, about 30 minutes north of the current site. The new stadium/entertainment site will likely be adding 4,000 premium seats to the lower bowl, more suites, and North Dallas could provide more revenue from season ticket holders. Are the Stars leaving small fish like you and me in favor of the whales that will bring in more revenue per capita? Why leave downtown in the first place?

Why Leave Big D?

For the past 2 years, a grey cloud has lingered over the Dallas sports world, the litigation between the Stars and Mavs has lurked in the background. The Mavericks and Stars have been engaged in a petty battle for the AAC, one that resulted in nobody staying home, the Stars favoring the aforementioned site in Plano, and the Mavericks heading for a site near Addison, technically in Dallas city proper. While it is easy to point the finger at the Mavs ownership (and somewhat justified), there are a few places to start pointing fingers before aiming your anger at the Stars for abandoning their south-of-DFW fanbase.

Dallas city council is where I think we should all start. If any of you live near Dallas and have been there in the last 15 years, it is no secret that the American Airlines Center and Victory Park are far from the only places the city has abandoned in the timeframe. Sports franchises themselves aren’t the only ones jumping ship and eyeing other places. AT&T corporate HQ is another notable business looking elsewhere. The City of Dallas has been watching this all go down as if they were helplessly watching a slow-motion car accident. The city took the laissez faire approach, and as a result, the Dallas Wings are slated to call the AAC home as the only tenants after 2031.

The Stars have no doubt done their research before announcing this huge move, moving northbound means acquiring better parking, more season ticket revenue, and a higher per-capita income for most of the fans that will be residing near the arena. The main driver of all this, a $700 Million pledge from the City of Plano to help them build this massive entertainment complex. I don’t think a single sports organization in North American sports would say no to that. That funding trumps the funding from the City of Arlington to help build both AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. That is hard to say no to. Arlington also proposed to have the Stars play at the original site of The Ballpark In Arlington, now Choctaw Stadium. The offer from Plano was simply too good to refuse.

This type of money will go towards an arena that is solely devoted to hockey, with all concessions and ticket income going directly to the Stars. There will be a Stars Hockey Hall of Fame, and a hotel complex with bars and restaurants. Something that sounds great until you consider the drive home, something that seems to have disenfranchised a good bit of the fanbase in Tarrant County and spread southward beyond Oak Cliff into Mansfield and Grand Prairie. Fans that used to rely on the DART and the TRE will no longer have the option, and will have to suffer through an extra 30-45 minutes on Texas roadways to get home. A 9:00pm puck drop now means that fans in those areas are likely to get home at around 1am, a huge deterrent if you plan on having a few beers or enjoying the newfound Plano nightlife.

As far as myself and other reporters know, there are no plans to expand public transit into the Plano site, and we may not get them. This is something that Brad Alberts knows about, but Brad Alberts is not TxDOT, and he does not own a rail company. The days of hoping on the train and getting dropped right off at the stadium are likely over once the Stars leave Dallas.

How Do You Really Feel?

The general sentiment from Stars fans, especially those living in Tarrant County/South Dallas is that this move will prohibit them from being able to attend weeknight games. Even those of us that live in the northern contingents are negatively affected. Reddit’s Aperture_TestSubject writes, “(I’m from) Denton. I can take the DART from Denton to AAC for $5 and zero hassle. I’ll go from going to 3-5 games a year to maybe 1-2.” Redditor from Frisco Shababajoe cites Plano’s long-time anti-dart history, and is not optimistic that there are plans to expand any kind of rail toward Plano, decentralizing the fanbase, “I think it’s bad for the team to be less central to its fan base. I don’t like catering to the North Dallas side even if I’m on it.”

As for those of us that live on the other side of town, how can you justify taking the kids to a game on a school night? Especially if we get one of our usual late puck drops? 10+ year season ticket holder dhj1305 told me that they will be dropping their season tickets. “Already takes me over an hour to get to AAC with the traffic, can’t imagine how long it will take to get to Plano.” They go on to write “I feel this will cut out a lot of the Stars fans from the West side of the Metroplex area… If the Stars management cared about the WHOLE metroplex fan base they wouldn’t move!!!”

I understand the sentiment entirely. I used to live in West Fort Worth, and this move would effectively eliminate many of the games I would otherwise get to go to. I texted one of my good friends and day-one Hockey Tonk subscribers from North Fort Worth to ask their opinion on the move. They told me that the distance from the new arena is 33 miles away, while the AAC is 32 miles. The part of their answer that stuck with me was the fact that as a 14-year Season Ticket holder, they will miss the nostalgia of the old arena.

There has been a lot of history in this building, the entire careers of future Stars Hall-of-Famer Jamie Benn, the Modano statue, the crowd pops and the energy of the AAC will be hard to replicate. The culture of being able to leave a game and go explore downtown Dallas, the vibe of Victory Plaza is going to be missed sorely.

Let’s Have The Tough Conversation

But what about some of the quality of life improvements? Let’s be honest, the in-game presentation in the arena leaves quite a bit to be desired. Have you ever gotten up to grab an expensive beer, only to find yourself almost entirely unable to continue watching the game? You are subject to a 14” screen suspended 10’ into the air if you want to catch a glimpse of what is happening. In the NHL, you are liable to miss 4 goals in the time it takes you to get up and get back to your seat. You’re better off just listening to the Ticket on your phone and going off of the crowd noise.

And don’t get me started with the concessions in the AAC. You may be asking, “what concessions?” and you’d be correct. I have gotten better food at my local ECHL Orlando Solar Bears games than I ever have at the AAC, which consistently ranks among the lowest in the NHL in terms of food vendors. Doesn’t that seem a little messed up when you consider the food mecca that Dallas/Fort Worth is? The State Fair happens 10 minutes from the stadium, but the best food you can get consists of stadium staples like a small pizza or nachos. The Texas Rangers have had the “Boomstick” for 15+ years, and serve nachos in a sombrero, allow you to drink beer out of a baseball bat, and serve delicious local BBQ just steps from the seats. The AAC could serve to do much better in this regard.

I grew up with the AAC. Every Stars game I can remember has taken place in that building, but even I can take off the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia and understand that there needed to be updates. Unfortunately, with the Mavericks and City of Dallas against the Stars, those renovations were never going to happen, and those profits from concessions were always going to be held hostage by the Stars’ blue and white roommates.

The Great Sterilization Of Sports Culture

What am I talking about here? Well, the move to Plano is an obvious reach for a higher dollar fanbase (the whales in question). This leaves sardines and small fish like us going to fewer games. With the success of the team, the expensive new stadium, and the logistical challenges for many blue collar fans, this makes way for an epidemic that I have noticed for a few years in the world of sports; the Great Sterilization.

Allow me to go on a bit of a tangent here, please stay with me, I promise it will wrap around into relevance soon.

Imagine a world in which there is a local game on TV. You are able to watch it by virtue of the game being broadcast on a public TV network absolutely free of charge (if you don’t count the cost of some rabbit ears or a digital antenna). You watch the game, with no delays or buffering, in its entirety. You can even easily sync the game up to the radio broadcast if you just bring a cheap radio into the room. Oh, no! It’s a national broadcast! All you have to do is put it on TBS or ESPN if you have cable. No blackouts, simply pay the ~$60 for the sports package and you can literally watch every single one of your teams’ games.

If you want to catch a game, the average ticket price in 2007 was $47.26 across the league. A stark contrast to the current leaguewide average of $146. The average fanatical beer-drinking guy could afford to go to a game. Now, it seems to be heavily skewed toward a more white collar fan. Not that they can’t be fanatical and energetic, but your average c-suite professional certainly tends to lack the craziness of the guy that spent 46 hours in the Texas heat cursing at the duct work in someone’s crawlspace. The everyday fan has largely been priced out. I am assuming ticket prices will continue to rise, as will prices for food, parking, and, naturally, season tickets.

All of these price increases are palatable for the most part, mostly due to the team’s success. What happens when the team eventually has a stretch of rough seasons, how are you going to put butts in seats? Is the casual fan willing to spend nearly $500 for their family of four to get tickets (before factoring food and parking) to see a bad team? To get home at 11pm on a weeknight to see a bad team? Not that I expect it soon, but in 2040, will the casual fan be making the trip?

Cue the sterilization.

I hope the energy can be matched or even exceeded in the new barn. The Stars org has until 2031 to figure it out.

They Aren’t Called The Sin City Saints

The Golden Knights have had a very successful week, they have made it to the Conference Finals, they have won the award for most ridiculous fine, and now they are the league’s most hated team according to fans. They are not without talent on the ice, the off-season signing of Mitch Marner and his subsequent playoff explosion, the mid-season pickup up Rasmus Andersson, and the continued dominance of Jack Eichel have rightfully placed them among the top teams in the Western Conference, but this run has not been without its headlines. This seems to be a bit of a theme with this (relatively) young franchise. Cap circumvention, fines, hires of questionable moral objectivity all cloud the team. It is Sin City after all..

Do they deserve it, though? I want to get ahead of myself here and make it clear, the fans do not deserve the ire of the league and their fanbases. For Vegas fans, hockey has become a mainstay in the desert, the continued success of a team that began as a band of misfit players and the relentlessness of a front office that has been in win-now mode since the team’s inception in 2018. I am always going to put the health of the game at the forefront, and make it known that the Knights being good is great for the sport, and subsequently, the NHL.

The brass making the decisions, on the other hand? That could be a totally different story. The history of conduct by the Golden Knights and their front office make the anger a bit more legitimate than a simple “they hate us cuz’ they ain’t us” mantra. Let’s go back to the beginning of their perceived wrongdoings.

The Mark Stone Loophole

Most people that have followed hockey recently will know about the “Mark Stone” loophole that was recently patched up by the new CBA. In previous years, the LTIR, or Long Term Injured Reserve, was a space in a team’s salary cap that could be reserved in the case of a long-term injury to a player. Multiple times, Mark Stone would go down, and multiple times, he would be miraculously ready by playoff time. It is very much worth noting that in the playoffs, there was no salary cap, allowing the Knights to go and pick up players like Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Thomas Hertl, and Noah Hanifin at the deadline while Mark Stone was on LTIR. Mark Stone first went down with back surgery in 2023, and then with a lacerated spleen in 2024. Both times, he was deemed 100% right at the onset of Game 1 of the Playoffs.

So were the Knights cheating? Were they using this system before anyone else, and was the NHL complicit in allowing this to go on for all this time? The answer will disappoint you.

The Knights are absolutely not the only team that has abused this system in the time that it was implemented. You can look all the way back to the 2015 Chicago Blackhawks when Patrick Kane broke his clavicle, and then the Blackhawks signed 3 players after he was placed on LTIR. The Blackhawks would then go on to beat the Lightning in the Stanley Cup. In 2020-2021, the Tampa Bay Lightning were $18 million over the cap due to Kucherov and Stamkos going onto LTIR. They both were ready for Game 1. In 2024, the year that Stone and the Golden Knights really started to become the poster child for salary cap shenanigans, the Knights were only 3rd in the league amongst playoff teams who were over the cap. The Maple Leafs ($14.15m) and Lightning ($10.27m) outpaced the Knights, who were 3rd, going $8.72 over.

The Golden Knights may not be the team that started it, and were far from the worst culprits while the LTIR loophole was in effect, but they are the team that weaponized it, at least in the fans’ eyes. Something to keep in mind from a fan perspective is that these injuries are very heavily scrutinized by doctors and medical professionals before teams can place a player on LTIR. Just this season, Tyler Seguin tore his ACL in November, and wasn’t placed on SELTIR or LTIR until March. Teams will look for any way to gain a competitive advantage, and this seems to be one of those “lucky bounces” that happened to go their way. The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

This Season

The Golden Knights kicked off their season before it even started by signing Mitch Marner, a Toronto-native that was run out of town by his own fans. Most unethical fanbase article soon? Just kidding. The Marner signing has been a feel good story of redemption for a guy that was labeled as one that “can’t get it done on the big stage.” Boy, has he. He currently has 18 points in 12 games with Vegas, a huge reason for them making it as far as they have.

This honeymoon did not last forever, though. Finding themselves in deep goalie trouble, they signed Carter Hart, to the dismay of many hockey fans. This was due to his involvement in the 2018 Hockey Canada scandal, in which he was one of the 5 players that was implicated in the assault of a woman after winning Gold in the IIHF World Juniors. You can read more about it here. This prompted the Knights to release a statement after signing him, something that is incredibly rare for a big free-agent signing, don’t you think?

I will not spend time disseminating the details of this case, as all of the information has been released, and you can draw your own conclusions. What I will say, however, is that to call this a distraction would be an understatement. Fans were bringing signs to games, the locker room was distracted, and the Knights, as well as Hart, were off to a rocky start. Hart and the Golden Knights went 4-3-3 in his first 10 games with the team. The hiring of locker room distractions for the sake of adding skill to your team is a moral quandary that has plagued teams across the world of sports. This doesn’t totally indict the Knights as the bona-fide evil empire, but it sure does add to the pile, doesn’t it?

The Bruce Cassidy Situation

Bruce Cassidy, the most highly sought-after head coach in the coaching market heading into the offseason, has now been denied not one, but two times when teams have requested interviews with the Stanley Cup winning bench boss. Before we dive too deep into the discourse, let’s talk a bit about coaching rights in the NHL.

In the National Hockey League, when a coach is fired, they are still to be paid the entirety of their salary, and the team that “fired” them, owns their negotiating rights until their contract is over. It is more productive to think about it less as “firing” and more as “relieving them of their duties.” The team retains the rights of the coach, and anyone who wants to interview said coach must ask the team’s permission to interview them. The Vegas Golden Knights, after firing Cassidy, asked permission from the Philadelphia Flyers to interview John Tortorella. The Flyers granted them permission.

Recently, the Edmonton Oilers asked for permission to interview Bruce Casidy in the wake of their firing of back-to-back Western Conference Champion Chuck Knoblauch. The Golden Knights declined. Understandable, seeing as how the Oilers are division rivals. The Philadelphia Flyers also requested to interview Cassidy, to which the Knights declined once again. This one drew many more eyes, and rightfully so.Why are the Knights declining not just rivals, but teams that not only are not in their division or conference, but teams that gave them the grace to hire a coach that has taken them to the Western Conference Finals on short notice. What is really going on here? Is this bad business on the Golden Knights’ part? Is this vengeance for something Cassidy said or did during the end of his stint as head coach in Vegas?

Bruce Cassidy will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention throughout the offseason as a recent Stanley Cup winner with a 178-99-43 record with the Knights.The fact that he is still not being allowed to interview has been excused by the Golden Knights front office as “being focused on winning a Stanley Cup.”

They must really be focused, so much so that John Tortorella and the rest of the teams’ antics have now cost them a 2026 2nd Round Pick and resulted in a $100,000 fine being levied against Torts in the process. The NHL had allegedly warned the club multiple times about this kind of thing, resulting in the very harsh penalty. The rub here, and especially for me as a journalist, is that this move was just disrespectful to the media members that work diligently, travel away from their families, and spend many sleepless nights reporting on the team. John Tortorella will undoubtedly be handed a media job on a silver platter from ESPN or TBS, isn’t it kind of ironic that he is spitting in their faces by no-showing? And after a win, no less. One must wonder what kind of respect he will get amongst his fellow media members in the future when he goes back to his cushy analyst job.

I am completely unsure as to why they would pull a stunt like this. The claims that the team had to board some kind of team plane at whatever airport is asinine and made up by fans trying to excuse unprofessional behavior. Media availability is something that is written into the CBA for the players and coaches, and I am just surprised at the entire thing. A very curious decision to make for a head coach that has no future contract or obligation to this team past their current playoff run. A simple “I’m just here so I don’t get fined” would have worked out much better for them, in my opinion.

The Verdict, If There Even Is One

Are the Knights morally bankrupt? Not any more than any other team. The Knights have enjoyed great success since they joined the league and have done so while obeying, not abusing, many of the rules and systems put in place by the NHL. The mere thought that the Golden Knights are somehow the most evil team in the NHL kind of falls flat when you consider that the Chicago Blackhawks had a legitimate sexual assault cover-up just a few years ago, comlete with a full 107-page report that you can read here in its entirety. The idea that there is a “moral” or “ethical” NHL organization is pretty crazy to consider. Even my own Dallas Stars have monopolized youth hockey in Texas, making it impossible for independent leagues or rinks to function in the state. The entire PWHL, every single team, is owned by the Mark Walter Group, a private equity firm that also owns the lauded Los Angeles Dodgers. These teams are run by very rich people, people that care about one thing. Money. They earn money by winning, and if it takes some questionable actions to secure an extra playoff series-worth of ticket revenue, or a growth of season ticket holder profits, you can bet every single time that they will jump at that opportunity.

The winning ways of this club only give credence to fans that are looking for a reason to hate them, and that’s good for hockey, isn’t it? The sport is built on rivalries. Passion is forged in the fires of hatred, throes of defeat, and triumph of victory. The league has a new heel, and the Golden Knights are playing the part exceptionally well. Wild vs Jets. Flyers vs Penguins. Oilers vs Flames. Stars vs Colorado. And now? Vegas vs... Everybody?

Vegas currently owns a 1-0 series lead against the Avalanche, stealing the first game of the series in Denver. If the Knights can topple the Presidents Trophy winners, the hatred from the league will only grow. We ain’t seen nothing yet.

The offseason is now in full swing, and there has been no shortage of dialogue about some controversial topics. Brady Tkachuk, Jason Robertson, Thomas Harley, and Jamie Benn have all been dancing in our heads like sugar plums on Christmas Eve. It is clear what the ambition is of this Stars team. It is shared with every other team in the NHL; win Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Stars, however, are in the unique position to actually do the thing.

The Stars and their fans (us) have enjoyed year after year of multiple series of bonus hockey, usually going deep into May before our legs get swept out from underneath us, usually in somewhat devastating fashion. 2022, lost in 6 to the Golden Knights after Jamie Benn took a horrendous penalty and rightfully got suspended for cross-checking Mark Stone in Game 1. 2023, lost in 6 to a much more physical Oilers team after Jake Oettinger seemed to run out of gas against McDavid and Draisaitl. 2024, attrition sets in and, according to Pete DeBoer, we “just weren’t built for that (type of game).”

Pete DeBoer is gone. The roster faced some significant turnover and we hired a guy who hasn’t been a bench boss since 2018 with the Calgary Flames. The Stars faced significant injuries to starting guys. Guys that missed 15+ games due to injury:

• Mikko Rantanen

• Roope Hintz

• Tyler Seguin

• Matt Duchene

• Lian Bichsel

• Nils Lundkvist

• Jamie Benn

• Radek Faksa

These are all players that are fully expected to start every single game if healthy. They are not depth pieces. Mikko Rantanen was on a 110-point pace while also being in the top-5 in PIM in the league before his Olympic injury. Tyler Seguin’s season-ending torn ACL ended him on SELTIR and shredded our Center depth for the remainder of the season. Radek Faksa is our most important penalty-killing Forward. Lian Bichsel led the team in hits up until his return from injury 32 games later.

This team still managed to finish 3rd in the NHL in points and won 50 games. Where did that end us?

Exactly.

There are going to be some very tough decisions from the Stars brass this upcoming offseason, and I am sure Jim Nill’s phone is going to be blowing up from teams trying to pry a certain perennial 45-goal scorer from our cold dead hands, or maybe even a certain puck-moving defenseman whose name rhymes with “Thomas Harley” who is set to see a significant salary increase this year.

For this one, I am going to do my best to put my fandom aside and analyze some real topics that I have seen get floated around on social media the past couple of weeks. Buckle up. Just don’t hate me.

Brady Tkachuk

Yeah, this guy. This big, ugly S.O.B that plays up in Ottawa has cleverly been dubbed “007” by online hockey fans for his 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 7 PIM stat line in Round 1 versus the Canes. While he has recently drawn the ire of many keyboard-wielding and Subaru-driving hockey fans, he is a guy that does fit well withing the Stars’ roster, and if he is made available, almost nothing is off the table when it comes to bringing him here.

I am a logistics freak, I love traffic patterns, strategy games, and asking “how.” With that being said, how does this even happen in the first place?

Brady carries a $8.2m AAV cap hit through the 2027-28 season with a full NMC that kicked in this year. You would have to imagine that he would waive that to come play for Dallas, who has become one of the most respected organizations in the league over the past decade. The trade that has been most popularly spoken about is Jason Robertson for Brady Tkachuk straight up. At first glance, second glance, and perhaps even 3rd glance, you say “You’re smoking CRACK, get away from me.” That trade is simply untenable due to the fact that Nill can deny the trade, make a qualifying offer of $11.5m and say, “Go ahead and offer sheet him then, bozo.” The Senators would then surrender 4 firsts and have to begin negotiations at $11.5m. 4 first round picks and AT LEAST $11.5m is worth far more to them than 2 more years of Brady Tkachuk.

Brady Tkachuk is a player that is already the Captain of a playoff team. He had 59 points on a team that does not have a guy in the stratosphere of Mikko Rantanen or Wyatt Johnston. Brady would, and I really mean this, have 90+ points with the Stars. He provides the “F—- You” that so many have noticed that we just lack. When Matthew Tkachuk was brought into Florida for the same reason, many people said the same thing they would say if Brady came here. Florida won 2-straight Cups in very convincing fashion.

Ottawa would have to offer much more than just Brady in a trade for a home-grown superstar worth 45-goals who is also a wise bet to notch 100+ points every season. The Stars would be saving around $4m in Cap space as well by doing so, which would allow them to go for a RHD like Ristolianen, or even a top-level guy like Rasmus Andersson if they are able to offload Lyubushkin as well.

I honestly hope, and expect, the Stars to sign Robertson to an 8-year deal this offseason. However, a team with Brady Tkachuk on a line with Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnson, Miro Heiskanen, and Rasmus Andersson makes my mouth water. Thomas Harley could pair with (my Norris winner) Esa Lindell and really become the dangerous puck carrier he is meant to be, and Bichsel could run with Nils Lundkvist to round out the bottom pair. That it an absolutely insane blue line, probably the best in the league when you also consider the

guy we have between the pipes.

Thomas Harley

This is a guy that is due for a big raise this year, going from $4m AAV to a staggering $10.6m AAV this season. Thomas has been a very polarizing player amongst the fanbase since the playoffs ended, drawing plenty of criticism for his lack of production this season. It is easy to be disappointed in his performance coming off of a 50-point season in 2024-25. However, even as a neutral fan, I would find it foolish to trade him for anything less than an elite defenseman.

If the Stars can get a good RHD to pair with him and slide Nils Lundkvist down to the 3rd pairing with Bichsel, Nill may be cooking with grease. I think it is quite feasible to dangle Casey DeSmith to a team that needs goaltending and get a decent return. I would even say we could send him, Steel, and Lyubushkin to Philly for Ristolainen. Does Philly say no? Maybe. But I could see it happening. The Texas Stars’ Remi Poirier seems to be waiting for his shot in the NHL, and he seems very ready to be a back-up that could put some pressure on Jake Oettinger.

The Captaincy Issue

This is an offseason in which Jamie Benn has a lot to think about. He has clearly gotten the green light from Nill to come back as next year’s Captain should he decide he wants to go again, but is that even a good thing? If not, is that even Jamie’s fault?

The issue honestly does not lie in the salary, term, or playing ability. Benn is a physical winger that can still score 20 goals with 50 points, even in his old age. Sure, point at the playoffs, but again, was that his fault really?

The real issue is that if he comes back, and he is the Captain. can you healthy scratch him when the time comes? In Round 1, he really should have been sat for Game 6, and probably Game 5 as well. Can the Stars have the hard conversations of “You’re a 4th liner, if you’re not playing well, we have to sit you for the good of the team.”? I’m not sure.

Sean Shapiro went on to make a bold statement in his most recent D Magazine article, "It’s Up To Jamie Benn To Save the Stars From Themselves",

“There are 31 NHL teams that would be better for having Jamie Benn around as a cheap fourth-line signing.

The Stars are the 32nd.”

This not just a bold statement, but a thought-provoking one. Obviously the number 14 will never again be worn by a Dallas Star, but he could live the life of an NHL journeyman a la Corey Perry or Jaromir Jagr, playing the important role of a depth scorer, heel, and locker room leader.

I have a nagging suspicion that Nill and Jamie both don’t see it ending that way, though. Tyler Seguin’s contract ends next season, and how fitting would it be for he and Jamie to ride off into the sunset together? A perfect bookend, putting the final bow on an entire era of Dallas Stars hockey, one that many of us fans are surprised hasn’t won a Stanley Cup (results still pending).

While I am sure that it made you scratch your head or think I am crazy, please remember that if you’re reading this, you are a fan. I am a fan. We watch these seasons with green-tinted glasses and make reasonable excuses for many of the shortcomings of this team. It is important for myself as a journalist as well as us as fans to pull our heads out of the sand and look at the 31 other teams that also want to win just as badly as we do. We are a fanbase that, frankly, has a reputation from the more hockey-traditional markets as hockey-ignorant hicks who don’t know what offsides is, and we owe it to ourselves to look objectively at what is in front of us this offseason. We need be prepared for some tough scenarios.

You might get mad when you see these horrible trade packages proposed by meme accounts on the internet, but what you should get mad at are the facts.

The facts are that we are a team that has one Stanley Cup, won almost 30 years ago when George H.W. Bush was in office. We have not been good enough to win a Cup since then. We have made it to3 of the last 4 Conference Finals and have been embarrassed in every. single. one. This team was supposed to be Stanley Cup or failure, and we were outplayed in 5 of 6 games against a Wild team that we had out-played in the regular season.

This is the fact:

THE STARS ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

That should piss you off. It pisses the guys in the locker room off. It pisses Jim Nill off, and I am absolutely sure it pisses Stars Owner Tom Gaglardi off.

I hope this article has been a thought-provoking one. It has been for myself while putting it together. Oh, and one more thing, Roope Hintz is not getting traded, he has a full No-Movement clause. Glad I didn’t forget to write about that one! Enjoy your week everyone. What trades would you like to see made? What are your Stars hot takes? Let me know in the comments. As always, go Stars.

This feeling is undoubtedly the worst feeling in sports. Your team that you pour so much time and love and energy into getting eliminated from the playoffs, earlier than expected, hurts. It twists a knife in your gut and leaves you with nowhere to direct your energy.

Some people turn to the internet to let loose their emotions, casting stones at any big name they can think of. “It’s so-and-so’s fault!” “Why did they do ‘x’ instead of ‘y’?” “Why didn’t the coach do what I wanted him to do?”

A lot of the criticism is pure emotion. There is no room for logic right now, there is only room for anger and frustration, and I understand. Most of us, as Dallas sports fans, are used to failure. The 2023 Mavericks, 2010 & 2011 Texas Rangers, the 2020 Stars. I’m not a Cowboys fan, but that team also stinks of underachievement. It is not easy being a diehard fan. Being a diehard fan means that you go through disappointing moments like this, you are sad in a group, and then you come back fresh and excited for the season in September.

There are plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with the result this season. The Stars’ Cup window has been open for a few years and it really feels like we should have gotten one by now. I have good news, most of this core is under 30 and is locked up for years to come. Our Cup window is still wide open, but some adjustments will have to be made.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Money Situation

The Stars, to put it bluntly, are in cap hell. We have to re-sign Robertson and he is going to be expensive. I have maintained throughout the season that I expect him to ink a deal of $13m+ AAV for a long-term contract. Seguin’s albatross still looms over the franchise until the end of next year, and will make things very complicated for Jim Nill. Keep in mind, Mavrik Bourque is now a 20-goal scorer and needs to get paid as well. I won’t waste time in this article going over the Stars’ cap situation, because after all, I need offseason content.

The Stars’ UFA’s are as follows:

• LW Jamie Benn- 36 y/o, $1m

• D Alex Petrovic- 34 y/o, $775k

• D Kyle Capobianco- 28 y/o, $775k

• LW Adam Erne- 31 y/o, $775k

• RW Nathan Bastian- 28 y/o, $775k

The Stars’ RFA’s are as follows:

• LW Jason Robertson- 26 y/o, $7.75m

• RW Arttu Hyry- 25 y/o, $950k

• C Mavrik Bourque- 24 y/o, $950k

There are many more RFAs to list out, but I summed up the primary ones that played significant minutes for the Stars. The Stars are notably in what I like to call “cap hell.” Seguin’s contract which we already discussed in tandem with Harley’s $10.5m AAV kicking in places the Stars at 29th in the league with ~$11.7m in cap space. We are expected to sign Robertson to a long-term deal and also have a new 20-goal scorer on the roster in Mavrik Bourque that will no-doubt be looking for his payday.

Nill has done well in the past with this kind of thing, inking bridge contracts will be absolutely paramount this upcoming season. Robertson will undoubtedly be looking for term, and the Stars are the only team that can sign him to a max deal of 8 years. The only hope of inking Robo this offseason will be getting Bourque to sign a 1 to 2 year bridge deal and Benn signing another 1-year contract for league minimum with bonuses.

The Elephant In The Room

Perhaps on the forefront of long-time Stars fans’ minds is the future of our long-tenured Captain Jamie Benn.

Benn has been a polarizing figure in the NHL for a long time, and even amongst Stars fans. It is no secret between you and I that he has been a shell of his prime self and even a detriment to the club at times. We all remember the vicious cross-check on Mark Stone in 2022 that effectively snuffed out our Cup trajectory. His emotional penalties at crucial points of important games has become a motif of his playstyle in recent years, and is in no way indicative of a guy that should still be Captain, especially in a 3rd or 4th line role.

I feel like any time someone wants to (rightfully) criticize Jamie Benn publicly, there has to be a disclaimer. This is mine. I LOVE Jamie Benn. I grew up watching him come up through the Stars’ system at a time when he was the only reason to turn on the TV. In his prime, he was a one-of-a-kind player. He could pass, score, fight, check, and lead the team. His playstyle is one that once he retires, we may not see again, especially as a Captain. Jamie Benn is a dying breed, himself perhaps the last surviving member of his species.

He has played 17 seasons as a smashmouth player that opponents dread seeing on the ice. He has been actually a decent player productivity-wise, the past few seasons he has been worth at least .5 PPG, not even bad for a physical bottom-6 forward. However, my issue is not with his production on the ice. He still finds ways to tilt the ice, and still can collect points.

My issue is with the “C” on his jersey. Mike Modano lost the “C” controversially in 2007 in favor of (in my opinion) the best Captain this team has ever had, Brenden Morrow. Doug Armstrong saw the need to transition the team’s leadership, and I hope Brad Alberts, Glen Gullutzan, and Jim Nill have the cojones to do the same. The calm, steady demeanor of the locker room has been a trademark of Jamie Benn’s leadership, and to what effect?

Yes, the Stars have been wildly successful in recent years, going to 4 of 6 Western Conference Finals in that timeframe. But how many times do you think the team could have benefitted from just a bit more emotion? A bit more desperation? When the time comes that you need a jolt of energy or a spark, are we really looking to Jamie Benn to provide that in 2026 and beyond? I speak for everyone when I say that we don’t and haven’t for years.

I don’t think Benn should retire. I would like to see him and Seguin ride off together next year, hopefully after healthy seasons and both of them lifting the Cup at the conclusion. I do genuinely think he has one more season in the tank. Give him the “A” and give a guy like Mikko or Wyatt Johnston the “C.” I am afraid it is time, and after going 0-0-0 with 8 PIM and a -7 in 6 games against a Wild team that was just flat out better for a large majority of the series, I don’t think it is controversial.

Duct Tape and Make-Up

There were some glaring issues that were brought up multiple times throughout the regular season that were frankly covered up by the fact that we were winning games. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, those things simply don’t fly, and were entirely exploited by the Wild. What exactly were those things? If you’ve been keeping up with Hockey Tonk or any other Stars publication, many of these weaknesses won’t come as a surprise.

Over-Reliance On The Power Play

It really seemed at times as though the Stars were just waiting for the Wild to gift them a Power Play. A stunning PP does not equate to a series win, especially in later rounds, it was eventually going to catch up to us regardless. You have to put pressure on them 5v5 and use the man-advantage to stick the dagger in and twist it. You use the Power Play to gain momentum, to demoralize your opponent. You utilize special teams to further your advantage, or to swing the game in your favor. The Stars used it as a crutch.

The Stars owned best shooting percentage in the league, and that percentage fell to a staggering 3.3% in the playoffs 5v5. The Stars’ shots were either blocked by a skater, stopped by Wallstedt, or unfortunately rolled or bounced away. Sometimes puck luck happens, but in this league in this time of year, you create your own luck. Without a true 1C to control the middle of the ice, Faber and Hughes were able to completely take over the game in 5v5, spreading our defense out entirely and leaving lanes to the net wide open.

Injuries

Every team deals with them this time of year, and I am hesitant to even include them in my article as an excuse, but the key players that went down due to freak accidents was quite unfortunate. Nils Lundkvist who had been without a doubt our best defensive defenseman left the series with a deep laceration on his face, never to return, forcing fringe 6th D-men like Lyubushkin and Myers to fill the hole on the 2nd pairing with Thomas Harley. Once Nils went down, attrition worked its magic on the Stars’ D-core. Lindell and Heiskanen can only do so much.

Roope Hintz being unavailable was a huge blow. It really goes without saying, but I’ll say it again. Hintz is a player that fans know as a very good player, but NHL teams and coaches understand is absolutely vital to the success of this team. Roope is a 2-way forward, and one of the league’s best. He kills penalties, he drives the power play, he enters the zone with staggering speed, he backchecks, he forechecks, he does literally everything you would need a Center to do. Without him, the Stars just could not enter the zone. He is one of the few players in the NHL that is able to skate with defensemen like Quinn Hughes, let alone on the Stars, and Hughes absolutely shredded us to pieces as a result.

I don’t consider Hintz being a piece that we would trade entirely because he has a full No Movement Clause in his contract, but also because he is that important to this team. The accusations of him being “soft” or “not wanting to play” from some fans is asinine, and absolutely doesn’t warrant him getting shipped away. His injuries are obviously a cause for concern, but they are more of something that keeps him from being a $13 million player, not something that keeps him from being valuable at all.

Tyler Seguin’s injury happened early in the season, and was also a huge blow. What that did to this team was akin to taking a wrecking ball to our Center depth. Without him, Hintz was the only other top-line Center on the team. Nill did a great job building a repository of very valuable bottom-6 Centers, but you really need depth on the top end, and Seguin was that depth. The moment the Avs got Kadri, I was initially relieved that we didn’t take on that contract or give up a valuable prospect, but the results of the first round really made me wonder. What if we had a guy like him against Minnesota?

I am not going to blame any of this mess of a first round on injuries alone, that would be disingenuous and downright untrue, there were other gaping holes in the gameplan. You really have to start to consider that 3-straight deep postseason runs, a grueling Olympics for most of our top players, and a highly condensed schedule could have all compounded and created the circumstances that led to a plague of hurt players. Maybe the extra rest will be good for the team, one 7-game series equates to about a month of regular season play, and the Stars have played in 9 of those in the past 3 seasons. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise? Maybe I am coping. Probably somewhere in the middle.

Baby’s First Playoff Series

Glen Gulutzan does have experience in the playoffs, and a pretty fair amount of it. He has been with Edmonton during their runs to the Finals and was pretty close to coming all the way back with them a couple of seasons ago. However, he was just an assistant at that time. This time, he was the boss, he was the guy making the decisions.

I want to come out and say, I do like Gully. I think the changing in the makeup of the team, the uptick in physicality, and the makeup of the lines throughout the season did benefit the Stars. I believe that his willingness to put guys like Hryckowian and Bourque on the top lines really helped with their development, same with Nils on the 2nd D-pairing. A lot of young guys and role players got much better this season, taking steps forward and having career years as a result.

In the playoffs, though, you have to make adjustments. The adjustments made were simply not enough. When you have the amount of guys that really contributed to our success throughout the season, why would you keep trotting out the same or similar lines when it truly matters?

Hindsight is always 20/20. I also am not claiming that some guys would have made a huge difference in the series like we needed, but why would you not bring in Bunting after seeing how badly we needed guys like him in front of the net? Isn’t that why we traded for him in the first place? Why would you continue trotting out Myers instead of maybe bringing in a fresh Kyle Capobianco or Petrovic in game 4? The forward combinations definitely could have seen a bit more movement considering how much better the top-loaded line of Robertson-Johnston-Rantanen looked in Game 6. The famed Quebecker line looked just as good as it did in November, why wait so long to try something that we already knew worked well? Also, why on God’s green Earth is JAMIE BENN on the ice during the most important 6-on-5 of the entire year?

These are things that you would hope your head coach would take notice of and make the proper adjustments before it is win or go home time. I am not claiming to be smarter than Glen, but I would love to know why he would think those were good moves.

The Physicality

This single thing was probably the most needed throughout the whole series. The Stars did provide some physicality, but it was never the good kind. The Stars spent a lot of time in the box coming from offensive zone penalties from key players like Rantanen and Benn. I totally understand that our PK was lights-out throughout the series, but you can’t keep putting pressure on Miro and Esa and expect them to also perform 5v5 the entire series.

The Wild were also pretty guilty of the wrong kind of physicality, but the Stars are the only team that got fined for it, somehow. The thing about being physical in the NHL is that you can’t use it as a mechanism to catch up to your opponent. You use it from the start to dictate the pace of play, and you crush your opponent with it when you are leading. Trying to be mean when you are playing catch-up only results in dumb penalties and trying too hard in the offensive zone. Those things end you up in the box 9 times out of 10.

I am so happy that the Stars got better in this department this season, truly. They needed it in a different way in round one, though.

Where Do We Go, Now?

The Stars still are in a great position to compete again next season. This isn’t our last ride before a ton of guys leave the team, we still have a large majority of our core locked up for years to come, and a lot of them are under 30 years-old. Jim Nill will have his work cut out for him this offseason as he tries to ink Robertson and make room for guys like Mavrik Bourque at the same time. There are still some roster holes to be filled, and we will have to see how creative Nill gets in filling them.

This is likely the last season of cap hell we will have to endure before Seguin’s $9.5 million fall off the books next year coupled with the salary cap being raised an estimated $8.5 million. That should leave a lot of room for a guy like… should I even say it? I know this will be a hot topic for the next year, but Connor McDavid could end up being available if the Oilers continue to regress. If he becomes available, you have to wonder how aggressively Nill would pursue someone like that.

I won’t continue to feed the rumor mill just yet, we have all offseason to throw out hypotheticals and what-if’s. The money issue will no longer be a problem after next year. Jim will most likely need to find himself a Center and a solid RHD to go on the top-lines. What could we even use to trade for something like that if we don’t have money?

A Sincere Thank You

I will probably make a long, sappy end of season post in the coming week, but I want to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read, like, comment, and take in my content. I do this because I love writing, I love hockey, and I really, REALLY love the Stars.

I was fortunate enough to learn to skate at a very young age by virtue of my father and grandmother. I have vivid and fond memories of afternoons at the Dr. Pepper Stars Center (now a Bob Knight’s Field House) going to public skate with my dad. I really don’t remember not knowing how to skate, we were there every single day. My grandma worked as a manager there, and I got to do some awesome things, play hockey, get lessons, and watch Stars practices at the rink.

My love for hockey started there, and like many of you, has grown exponentially as the years have gone by. I pour my love into writing these blog posts, finding time wherever I can to make sure I can consistently release them.

When I began doing these, it was just as a creative outlet. I had maybe 3 or 4 family members that followed me for really the entire first half of the season. Now, I have 52 of you that read these, and while not a staggering number, it is just awesome to me that real people think that what I have to say is important enough to get emails about. I don’t think I can quantify what it means that you all read these.

I began this season as a restaurant manager, working very inconsistent hours, staying up really late to watch games and take notes, and really spending every single minute of free time pouring effort into this. I got noticed by a media company and even started writing for them on a weekly basis about the NHL as a whole. Now all I do is write and read news and look at stats, and it has become my favorite thing to do.

I have since transitioned to a job with regular hours, and will be able to provide articles much on a much more consistent basis for you all. I can’t tell you how excited I am to continue doing this for seasons to come. Sincerely, thank you all for supporting me.

A Special Thanks

I want to specifically name a few people that have really inspired and pushed me to stick with this for an entire season.

Firstly, my Dad. I know you’re reading this. Thank you for being my biggest fan no matter what I do, and even playing a role as an impromptu editor and catching some of my slip-ups on my articles right after I post them. You set an example for what a fan is, and made me the die-hard that I am today. Maybe one day we can get the Cup and complete the sports trifecta.

Zach Spanhak and Robert Tiffin, two Dallas Stars journalist and reporters that have followed me for most of the season, and continue to put out work that I would consider much better than mine. Please do yourself a favor and subscribe to Short-Handed and Stars Thoughts.

My beautiful girlfriend, Haley, who is not a hockey fan, but supports me in everything that I do. Every single time I would tell her I gained a subscriber, she seemed to be more excited than I was. The countless nights of me typing away or forcing her to watch sports instead of true crime documentaries this season really means the world to me.

I am not going anywhere, y’all. I will be posting throughout the offseason, talking about everything Dallas Stars until hockey comes back in September. I can’t wait to see what Chef Nill will cook up for us this summer. Thanks for an awesome season, and as always…

GO STARS!

As the series reaches 6 games, a dark cloud looms over the Stars fanbase. That dark cloud? 5v5 offense. We all know about it at this point. After a Game 3 victory (the last game in which the Stars even scored 5v5) it seemed like the underlying numbers were in support of the Stars’ scoring woes disappearing by the end of the series. Well, now the series is ending soon, and the Stars are completely out of runway. There is no more time to get it right, the time to get it right is now.

The Dallas Stars have won 3 of 18 games in franchise history while down 3-2 in a series. In those series, the Stars have advanced one time ever, and that was against the Avalanche in the 1999 Western Conference Final. Not that past results are a promise of things to come, but with the way this series has gone, I don’t blame most Stars fans for catastrophizing the Game 5 loss. In most facets, the Stars have been largely outplayed, whether it be in physicality, generating scoring chances, face-offs, or puck battles. If the Stars’ Power Play were only average throughout the series, we are looking at a sweep or a 5-game series altogether.

The Numbers Don’t Matter

The underlying stats all point towards the Stars clearly being the better team in the series, even last night. The problem is that this time of year, nobody gives a damn about the stats. The Wild have done things that really undermine all of the fancy numbers that you want to pull out. Things like blocking shots, muscling pucks out of corners, and generating odd-man rushes. The Wild have dominated in Goal and Point distribution. For the Stars, only 5 players have scored a goal, and 9 have registered a point in the series. For the Wild, 9 have scored a goal and 18 have registered a point. The Wild have been able to generate offense from nearly every line at some point, meanwhile all of the Stars’ point-getters and goal-scorers play on either the 1st or 2nd Power Play lines.

On the left, look at the xGF for both teams throughout the series. On the right, look at the xGF for all skaters last night. The Stars dominate the xGF, yet here we are. Almost all of the Wild’s skaters are below the line, yet here we are.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, nobody cares about the advanced metrics. Why care about expected goals when you can… score them? Why care about the shot danger when you can… block the shots? Why care about a heatmap showing that the Stars are forcing pucks to the front of the net when you can… make the saves?

The Wild have, for lack of a better term, figured out the Stars. We have shown that we really can’t hang with them 5v5, the X-Factor being Jesper Wallstedt. This series would look vastly different if Gustavsson were in-net, I am sure of it. In fact, don’t be surprised to see Minnesota move Gustavsson to a team like, say, the Oilers, and save a ton of money in the process, but I digress. That is a conversation for another day.

The Case For…

In true Dallas sports fan fashion, even though the season is not over (and far from it), fans are crawling out of the mud and gutters and sticky muck to call for peoples’ heads. Oh, the damage that has been done to Dallas sports by Jerry Jones. I call this “Backup Quarterback Syndrome.” A longtime high performer for your team disappoints you? Get a stick and kill him. A veteran gets hurt and doesn’t heal up instantly like X-Men’s Wolverine? Fire him into the sun. A 3x reigning GM of the year has his worst trade deadline despite having quite literally nothing to trade? Send him straight to Hell (the Maple Leafs).

I am going to hand the whinier cohort of Stars fans a pacifier and ask them to let me explain why they are not high-ranking GMs and probably haven’t even won the Stanley Cup in Franchise Mode without playing a few games on easy and turning on force trades. Let us begin.

Jake Oettinger

No, this series is not his fault. The crux of being a goalie in the NHL is that when things are going great, you are bulletproof, and when things are going poorly, you are the first one on the fans’ trade block. Otter has seen more scrutiny this season than I have ever seen since he came up in the Stars’ system. He has been an awesome goaltender for us, and has truly shown up when the lights have gotten the brightest. In this series, Otter has a .916 SV%, 2.31 GAA, and 2.62 Goals Saved Above Expected. He is a Stanley Cup caliber goaltender, and other teams in the NHL would be salivating if the Stars unwisely sought to trade him in the offseason.

Could you imagine the white flag and the subsequent outrage when the Stars elect to ride a 36 year-old Casey DeSmith for 50+ games with a Remi Poirier that is not ready or developed enough to be in the NHL regularly? It would be suicide by Jim Nill and the Stars organization. The calls for Jake’s head are unwarranted. He was incredible to end the season and has played very well in this series.

Roope Hintz

I understand the injury concerns, and I even agree with them to a certain point. Roope Hintz is a player that to fans is very good, but to NHL teams is vital to the success of this team. The 1C for the Stars is one of the most dynamic 2-way forwards in the entire league. His speed does more than make you go “wow, fast.” His speed opens up D-pairings and keeps pairs like Faber and Hughes honest rather than being so offensively focused in the zone. His ability to enter the zone on the Power Play and in 5v5 creates opportunities away from the puck and spreads out defending players.

Roope is a player that the offense has predicated on since 2019. He does tend to get injuries at the worst times, yes, but are those injuries his fault? It’s not like he is running into the boards full-speed or getting into a ton of fights. His last two major injuries came from a freak accident in an entanglement with MacKinnon and a dirty slash from Darnell Nurse in the 2024-25 WCF. While I agree that it is hard to totally rely on him, I think it just means we need to look to add Center depth when we can, not that we should trade him to Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk.

Jim Nill

Yes, Jim Nill has been thrown into the mix for “people that should be sent to the Gulag.” I won’t even waste too much time typing this one out, I will just say this. 2020 SCF. 2022, 2023, 2024 WCF. Back-to-back-to-back GM of The Year and 3 50+ win seasons in a row. Yes, I understand the ire from fans for players like Myers and Bunting, especially when you consider that we gave up 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks for them. But you don’t judge his body of work by one single trade deadline in which he had nothing to give up.

Is It Over?

No, it’s not over. Are things grim, yes, but the series is not over, and the Stars are a streaky team. They very well could wake up in Game 6, and if they do, I think they will win Game 7. If the Stars are able to muster an offensive outburst and finally show that they can beat Wallstedt 5v5, I have no doubt that they will bring that confidence home to a raucous Game 7 crowd. The trick is getting there.

I do, however, want all Stars fans that reading this to prepare themselves emotionally for a potential series loss. The Wild are a very good hockey team. It is quite unfortunate that the Stars are playing them in the 1st round while Colorado gets to play against a bad LA Kings team and enjoy a week-long vacation, but Gary Bettman wants this to happen, and it won’t change any time soon. The Stars finished the season ranked 3rd in the NHL, and the Wild 4th. No other 1st round matchup featured two team this highly ranked playing each other Round 1. I would even go as far as saying that the Stars potentially losing in Round 1 could be a good thing.

Just look at the injuries this season. I have preached up and down that every team has dealt with injuries to an equal extent, but the Stars have endured long-term injuries to top-line guys all season long. Duchene, Harley, Bichsel, Seguin, Hintz, Rantanen, all of them missed significant time. All of them also played almost all of the playoffs not just last year, but the 2 years prior. That equates to 29 extra games played of physical, tough playoff hockey. Each postseason run lasted about a month and a half. This definitely takes a toll after multiple seasons, and maybe that has something to do with the injury luck this year.

I mean, just look at the Avalanche this season. They lost last year to a team that they had more skill than, and they should have beaten us, but they lost in heartbreaking fashion. Nathan MacKinnon looked absolutely pissed postgame, and the Avs came back incredibly strong, basically dominating the league the entire year after back-to-back first round exits.

I’m of course not telling anyone to give up on the team. Miracles happen, and coming back from 3-2 is far from a miracle. The Stars have shown who they are this season, and they are a team that, if anything, is able to stick around and does not go away easy. I always had Stars in 7 anyways, and you gotta lose 3 in order to win in 7.

Closing Thoughts

The Stars simply needed more last night, and Jamie Benn’s retaliatory high-stick near the end of the game was as boneheaded and quintessentially “Jamie Benn” as it gets. Picture this, the Stars are at a crucial point in their playoff run, and Benn takes an emotional penalty that just twists the knife in your gut. Remind you of anything? Benn has to be better. Sean Shapiro said via his substack Shap Shots that if Benn had been anyone but the Captain, it would warrant a healthy scratch in Game 6.

The Stars need a spark, and that spark will have to come on the road in Minnesota in front of a crowd that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2015. The house will no doubt be rocking, and the Stars will obviously need to steal some energy from the home crowd if they want to have at least one more home game this season.

Don’t give up hope, Stars fans. Our luck could still turn around, a little bit of momentum could light a fire and push this team past the Wild and into a series against our little brothers out West with some momentum. Be optimistic, be loud, wear green, and as always, go Stars.

This series has been everything we were promised as hockey fans. Vitriol, high-stakes goal scoring, and excellent goaltending between two of the best teams in hockey. Yesterday’s Saturday matinee continued to excite fans, even if it did end poorly for Dallas. We can get into the overtime play and gameplan in a minute, but I would like to first say that Jake Oettinger and Jesper Wallstedt have both been must-see TV.

The Great Wall of St. Paul

Jesper Wallstedt has allowed just 3 goals in 5-on-5 play throughout this series. He has started 4 games, 2 of which went to OT, and has allowed 3 GOALS. To say he has been herculean would be an understatement. The series has been tight enough that it could easily be 3-1 either way, but due to his efforts, the Stars have not been able to put a chokehold on the series. I remember writing about Wallstedt early-on this season, talking about how his skill, attitude, and confidence remind me a lot of a young Jordan Binnington. Hopefully we snuff that out before it gets to that point, but I digress.

The rub is that the Stars’ 5-on-5 play hasn’t even been bad. They have besieged Wallstedt as much as a team could, but still haven’t scored a 5-on-5 goal in 147:53 of game time. Wallstedt has faced the most shots (140) and made the most saves (130) of any goaltender in the playoffs. The Stars aren’t failing at 5-on-5 due to lack of trying. They are simply unable to finish, for whatever reason, and they have to figure it out quickly if they want a shot at playing Colorado next round.

I hate to turn this into a sleeper Jesper Wallstedt fanpage, I really hate the fact that he plays for Minnesota and probably will for a long time. I just have to respect the work he has done. He and Jake Oettinger have turned this into a goalie showdown, a 200-foot staring contest and neither have really had the upper-hand at this point. Jake has been playing well, especially in the last few games and OT. Yesterday he was a different beast in OT, sprawling to stop shots and doing a great job of taking care of trickling pucks in or near the crease. The offensive talent between these two teams is just too high to see many big time shutouts or 2-1 affairs, but both tenders have delivered big time.

You can see the confidence in the way Jake has been playing, both good and bad. He played a bit further out of his crease in Game 4 and did a great job when he wasn’t defending against a deflection off of his own defenseman or being interfered with. He earned his keep in OT, basically defending against a 10-minute long power play style offensive onslaught from Minnesota. He was eventually beaten by a net-front deflection off of the blade of Matt Boldy’s stick, but up to that point, he was the reason the Stars were even in the game.

How Close?

So, the Wild win on the back of a couple of fluky goals and clutch goaltending. They needed some puck luck to get this one, and played good defense down the stretch to tie up the game. Sounds eerily familiar to the Stars’ Game 2 victory, doesn’t it? Otter looked insane that game, and a few lucky bounces wound up being the difference in a game that we won by 2 goals. This is a series that is just that close, a few lucky bounces have been one of the main difference makers thus far.

The Stars’ 5-on-5 play is what is dominating the news cycle between the two teams. The PK has bailed them out time after time and the Power Play is carrying the offense. The 5-on-5 goal disparity is 10-3 in favor of the Wild, but the Wild have scored much more than expected in 5-on-5, and the Stars have chronically underachieved. The Wild currently hold onto a +5.3 xGF Above Expected, and the Stars a -5.3. Basically meaning that the pucks haven’t bounced our way and that Wallstedt has been nigh-unstoppable. That is what it takes sometimes to win, a hot goalie, and just a bit of luck.

The question is, though, are the Stars running out of runway for their luck to turn around? In the regular season, these stretches can last much longer than 7 games, even for elite teams. What can the Stars do to fix it, and right the ship themselves?

For one, more chaos. I can see Michael Bunting getting put into the lineup in place of Back and maybe shuffling the lines around to get more tips and deflections in front of the crease. You can’t give Wally any clean looks at all, you need to get in front of the net and create your own luck at this point in the season. One team will be on the brink of elimination after Game 5, and it could be Dallas if they don’t get some offense going very soon.

Injury Updates

So our friend Nils Lundkvist took a nasty skate to the face and left the game. The consensus amongst armchair sports medicine doctors was that he would simply get stitched up and wear a cage for Game 5… Well that is not the case. He was not at practice and has been ruled out for Game 5 entirely. A devastating blow, as he was possibly our best defensive defenseman sans Esa Lindell up to this point. Next man up is probably going to be Petrovic or Lyubushkin. Buckle up.

Roope Hintz is still not going to play Game 5, but is still skating, albeit on his own. He probably won’t be back for the series.

Mats Zuccarello is expected to be back in Game 5, meaning the Minnesota Power Play will be firing on all cylinders with one of their top-liners back. He is still listed as questionable.

Yakov Trenin was also a full participant in practice ahead of Game 5. While he is officially listed as questionable, the NHL leader in hits is also expected to make a return in a pivotal game.

Is The Sky Falling?

The Stars are going to be without Roope Hintz as well as one of their starting Defensemen tomorrow, meanwhile the Wild are getting two extremely key players back for a series-altering game. We are coming off of a brutal OT loss in which we were mere fractions of a hair away from going up 3-1 and taking decisive control of the series. The vibes, to be completely honest, suck right now. It is the way of the playoffs that every loss feels like the season is totally over, and every win feels like the Cup is coming home. Such is the way of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

What do the Stars need in order to win this one and take the series to the brink?

Phenomenotter Needs To Show Up.

Jake Oettinger is historically great after a loss, and if the Stars are to maintain their seemingly predestined playoff meeting with Colorado, it is a non-negotiable that Otter out-plays Wallstedt. He is paid to be an elite level goalie, and he needs to be at least that in Game 5. I have spent all season defending him, it is time for him to prove me right.

5-on-5 Goals Must Happen

The Stars have not been able to score a 5-on-5 goal since the 1st period of Game 3. Maybe they are subconsciously waiting for a Power Play opportunity to happen, but they cannot afford to just wait for the Wild to screw up to rack up goals. Yes, the Power Play is playing very well, but the even strength offense needs to find a way to get the disk past Wallstedt before we are turned into Avs-Wild hate watchers.

Gully Needs To Adjust

Glen has done a fabulous job this year as a head coach stepping in and making this team what it is. This, however, is when the coaching chess match begins. With the final decision on line changes and some key players out, the lineup will look slightly (or very) different. Bunting could see top-line action, Benn could get moved down a line, Ritzy could be moved up, Wyatt and Robertson could see some time together 5-on-5, something has to be done to shake up this lineup. You can’t just trot out the same groups and pairings every game and expect the luck to balance out this time of year.

Depth Guys Have To Step Up

Guys like Ritzy and Bourque have carried this team at times, and while they haven’t been bad this series, it is time for some of those bottom-line young guns to step up. I have stated already a hundred times in this article that the Power Play cannot be our sole source of offense. We cannot just hope that Robertson and Rantanen will miraculously bail us out every time we need a goal. The bottom-6 guys need to contribute, too. I’m looking at you, too, Jamie. Benn and Bourque have both taken some pretty bad offensive zone penalties in this series. It’s time ti tighten up, especially with their Power Play back at full strength

The Stars, no matter what, will still get to play at least two more games this season. It would be nice if the next 2 could be wins, but that probably won’t happen. I have always had this series going 7 games, and the way it has gone so far, nobody should be surprised to see that happen. This is what it is all about. So enjoy it. Embrace the joy and fanaticism of screaming from your couch when a goal is scored and engaging in friendly (or toxic, mostly) banter with opposing fans. The Stars are not down, and are certainly not out. The injuries being dealt with right now are nothing compared to what they have gone through during the regular season. Don’t give up hope just yet, y’all. And as always, go Stars.

Well, I hope you all got some sleep last night, because I know I didn’t. As I sit here typing this article, I am thinking mainly of the positives. Positives like Arttu Hyry cementing his spot on the roster, our Penalty Kill being nearly perfect, and Radek Faksa’s heroic performance. There is a lot to smile about if you’re a Dallas fan waking up this morning.

There is also some cause for concern, particularly on the penalty front. The Wild had 7 opportunities on the power play, 2 of which coming in 1OT. The Stars also had 8 opportunities themselves, nearly all of Dallas’ goals coming on the man advantage. Both teams have lacked discipline at key moments in this series, and as of right now, it hasn’t bitten the Stars outside of Game 1.

I see that as a miracle considering how dangerous Minnesota’s power play is. They ranked 3rd in the regular season and truthfully ate Dallas’ lunch in the head to head matchups on the power play. The Stars’ PK was a legitimate concern heading into this series after what had happened in the final game between the two on April 9th. What has the secret sauce been?

Arttu Hyry

Everyone knows him now, our secret weapon and newest addition to the Finnish Mafia plays on the Power Play, Penalty Kill, and 5-on-5. Last night, Hyry took tons of very high-leverage faceoffs in overtime.

There is a good argument to be made that he should be playing on the top line with Wyatt and Mikko. Why not have Mr. Faceoff on the top line and start with puck possession? In the past two games, we have watched a rookie skate in 5-on-5, the Power Play, and the Penalty Kill. Hyry even registered a shot while the Stars were short-handed last night. If his roster spot next season was a question heading into this series, it has been cemented now.

I was initially critical of not having Bunting in the lineup ahead of Game 2. I mean why would you leave out a 20-goal guy who skates on all lines? Well Gully certainly saw something we all didn’t, and was totally right. Hyry has done everything we expected Bunting to do, and maybe even does it better. I would love to see him get some minutes with the big dogs.

Let’s Talk 5-on-5

You all probably remember the bulletin board material provided by Nick Foligno after Game 2.

“They can’t hang with us 5-on-5.”

If you look at the surface, he is totally right. The Stars, in ~174 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey, the Stars have only scored three times. But once you look deeper, it becomes evident that the Stars are not only hanging with them, but even are outplaying them in Games 1 & 2.

What I deduce from this is that Jesper Wallstedt has been an absolute menace. Many of the Stars’ opportunities came right in front of the net, and Wally has done an excellent job keeping them out of the net. On the opposite end of the ice, the Wild’s shots are primarily coming from the perimeter, and a large chunk of those shots are getting blocked before they even reach Jake Oettinger.

Expected goals aren’t as good as actual goals, but you can expect them, right? The eye test as well as the underlying numbers suggest that the Stars are not having many issues 5-on-5. At times, they are not really applying pressure, but they are still peppering the rookie Wallstedt and creating opportunities in front of the net. If Wallstedt wasn’t playing out of his mind right now, these games would not be anywhere near as close as they have been.

The real trouble has been the absolute bonehead offensive zone penalties committed by the Stars. While we can all disagree on how the penalties are getting called, the fact is that we are getting called in the offensive zone far too much. I know our PK has been very good the past 2 games, but if they hadn’t been, there is no doubt we would be down 3-0. The Wild went 1-7 on the Power Play yesterday, but I fully do not expect it to stay that way for a whole series.

Hockey Tonk’s 3 Stars of the Game

I feel as if the real 3 Stars of this game did more off of the scoresheet than on it. Obviously Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Matt Duchene will get their flowers, but who really deserves them?

Radek Faksa

Faksa was a hero on the PK, specifically in the 1st OT when he broke his stick deflecting a shot just seconds in. He blocked 5 shots throughout the game and was a busy man in the face-off circle, winning 50% of his draws. Also, he was about 2 inches from winning the game for us in OT.

Arttu Hyry

Ctrl+C & Ctrl+V what I said earlier. He was a demon on the face off dot, especially when it was clutch time in the 3rd Period and beyond. He finds himself in the right spots during plays and is flying up and down the ice. If he continues to play this way, he will never see the AHL again.

Nils Lundkvist

After I complained about his Game 1 performance, Nils took it upon himself to make me look dumb. He has succeeded, and done an exceedingly good job at it in Games 2 & 3. The Stars’ 2nd D-pairing has performed very well the past 2 games, spearheaded by a richer and happier Nils Lundkvist.

Gully’s 1st Dallas Stars Playoff Overtime

I, like many others watching the game, was not super inspired by the overall play in Game 3 OT. Until the last few minutes of gifted power play time, it just seemed like they were all playing not to lose. It very nearly cost them in the first period of OT. The Stars seemed to favor chipping and chasing, unable to really establish the zone and cycle like they like to. About midway through the 2nd OT, the group really started to gain steam, walking into the offensive zone and cycling the puck.

It did seem to me as if they were just waiting for their inevitable power play opportunity to come about. I won’t say I necessarily hated the gameplan or execution, but it felt like the Wild were gonna score for most of the 1st OT. Power Play zone entries continue to look less than ideal with the millions of drop-passes, but they started working surprisingly well as the 2nd OT progressed.

Overall, I am happy with the win, and the overall play from Dallas the past 2 games. I wish it wouldn’t be so close at times, but we all knew what this series was going to be when it was confirmed all the way back in March (really, since about mid-November). There has been no shortage of online vitriol, there are even people calling for criminal charges to be levied against Tyler Myers and the Dallas Stars organization. I wish I was joking when I said that.

Game 4 is reaching must-win territory for Dallas, and it might as well be one for Minnesota. The Wild have never climbed out of a 3-1 deficit in their team’s history, and it would be very difficult to do so against Dallas with Game 7 being at the AAC. The Stars also don’t want to surrender any momentum after handing Minnesota a backbreaking loss in front of their home crowd.

We aren’t out of the woods, yet, folks. Up 2-1 is still a lot of work to do, so try not to put the cart before the horse and assume we will easily win the series. The past 3 games have been anything but easy. Enjoy the extra day of rest and the 7pm CST start time on Saturday, and as always, go Stars.

Your Regularly Scheduled Injury Update

I would still assume Roope is 2-ish weeks away from possibly playing in a game, but this is the best news of the day. I am not reporting that he is 2 weeks out, but in my opinion and “expertise,” or lack thereof, it seems to me that his timetable is still somewhere around the 2nd Round.

After a Game 1 in which the Stars looked to be having major connectivity issues, the entire squad stepped up to provide a thunderous response. Winning the small battles, fighting for pucks, and winning races resulted in some fortuitous bounces that seemed to all go Minnesota’s way in Game 1.

You’re gonna need a little puck luck to win a Stanley Cup. Tonight Wyatt Johnston’s efforts paid dividends, ultimately being the difference maker in a tight and physical game. The shining star of the game is clearly going to be Jake Oettinger, who seemed to hear all of the criticisms and throw them all out the window. Outside of 2 goals from Brock Faber (one of which involved a curious holding the stick that went uncalled), Otter was simply outstanding. He stood up multiple high quality chances from Minnesota’s best players and gave us the performance we should come to expect from him this time of year.

Perhaps equally as impressive was the Penalty Kill’s ability to limit net front opportunities and push everything to the outside. This was in stark contrast to the past few contests against the Wild, though notably missing Sam Steel, Faksa, and partially Heiskanen for some of those contests. The Stars’ PK unit was perfect, not really allowing any high-grade opportunities and clearing pucks efficiently.

Look at the shot charts from Games 1 and 2, in Game 1, there were more shots from the middle of the ice, most of them unimpeded clean looks. In Game 2, the ice was noticeably much smaller in the Dallas zone. Not many skaters got to take strides and shoot pucks throughout the 4 power play opportunities that were afforded to them. The Wild only registered 10 shots in those 8 minutes, only 6 of them on-net.

How can we talk about the defensive strategy of the team in this effort without talking about the massive shoulder-to-shoulder center ice collision between Blackwell and Trenin is the type of thundering blow that shifts the momentum of not only a single game, but potentially changes the outlook of the series. Yakov Trenin led the NHL with 413 hits in the regular season. For 5’8” Colin Blackwell to step up and deliver the biggest hit of the season for the Stars against a guy like Trenin speaks volumes of the response that the team had.

“I enjoy playing physical, and trust me I get hit all the time. I think in a series like this and the playoffs, any time you get a chance to be physical, you get the opportunity to do so and it just so happened to be a big one.”

The key takeaway from this quote, besides Colin Blackwell being an absolute dawg, is that he seems excited to play that way. The whole team seems excited to play like this. I really think that even though this is a tight, tough series between two teams that hate each other, I think this is fun for them. These two teams feed off of games like these and hits like the one Blackwell laid on Trenin are monumental.

Lets Talk About Zebras

As with most of the games throughout the playoffs across all teams, unfortunately a lot of the leading headlines after these games are “how much the refs hate my team.” It seems to be a very contentious issue amongst rival fanbases, specifically between our fans and Minnesota’s. We obviously would have liked to see Nick Foligno get at least a major penalty for his dangerous WWE-style takedown of Thomas Harley. We also all wonder how on earth Duchene and Rantanen enter the box, resulting in a Minnesota Wild power play after the Wild started another post-goal scrum.

I am here to tell you that the referees are not one sided. They just suck. They aren’t wearing Wild or Stars sweaters, and playoff hockey can be hard to regulate, especially between two teams like these. One thing is for certain, the refs have to take control of this series before players get seriously hurt. Glen Gulutzan certainly doesn’t seem confident that it will go that way.

I don’t see it going back. I think it’s just going to stay like this as we go forward. It’s probably gonna stay like this the whole time.

The Playoffs are known for their increased physicality and swallowing of whistles by the refs, but how far is too far? Am I just being soft? Does the Department of Player Safety actually do anything?

I think I speak for all hockey fans when I say that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the best postseason in the sports world, a lot of that is owed to the “just let the boys play” mantra. And I agree, the hits count for double in the playoffs. Every inch of the ice is contested, and the level of hatred grows much faster in a 7 game series.

That being said, the standard of refereeing in this series so far should be better. I have seen tons of uncalled penalties both ways, ones that should be called even in the playoffs. I, however, do not think that the callas have favored one team or the other. Neither game was swung too far in either direction by the officiating. That’s just my opinion.

Injury Updates

Trenen and Zuccarello are both game time decisions heading into Game 3. This is not surprising, however neither were on the ice for their morning skate. Both have suffered upper-body injuries in the series, the Wild getting the worse end of the physicality battle so far in the series.

Roope Hintz was confirmed unavailable for Game 4, and did not travel with the team. I’m gonna keep the speculation to a minimum here, Hintz won’t play in Round 1. He is not even skating yet, alone or with the team, and did not travel to Minneapolis for the trip.

Nathan Bastian has traveled with the team and was skating with them today. The nature of his injury (hand) allows him to skate with the team for conditioning purposes, and he has been. Nathan travelled with the team on the road trip and now could be available in the 2nd round.

Jake Oettinger will obviously be starting in his hometown, and he has had plenty of success there. Oettinger has a .929 Sv% and a 2.13 GAA inside of Minny’s barn throughout his career. Jake will no doubt have to continue his showcase from Game 2 in order to win. Game 2 was incredibly close, even with Jake’s return to form. It is a non-negotiable that he plays to the same level and continues to out-play Wallstedt.

This time of year, every single game feels like more of a must-win. I am sorry to say that the must-win games haven’t even occurred yet, but having any kind of advantage in this series is huge. I am not a big believer in the momentum from game-to-game, but winning tonight would be mastodonic for either team. Do not forget to do everything the same way you did it on Monday. Wear the same jersey, hat, and eat the same meals you had that day. The Stars will take any help they can get. Enjoy another night of Playoff hockey, don’t take it for granted. As always, Go Stars.

Down 0-1 to start a playoff series, does that sound familiar? The Stars looked, well, bad to say the least in Game 1. They were kept out of their usual bumper positions, got into penalty trouble, and struggled to get high-danger scoring chances against a rookie goaltender.

I am going to do goal breakdowns of each goal from my perspective, so we all know whose fault it really was that we lost game 1. (Spoiler Alert: It’s not all on the goalie)

Goal Number One

This one started with a pretty weak penalty on Tyler Myers. He got hit for “elbowing” which to me looked like Zuccarello simply skated into Myers’ elbow. Okay, so we can chalk that up to 2 minutes for being huge. The Wild power play recently feasted on us a couple of weeks ago, and it wouldn’t take long for it to happen again. Joel Eriksson Ek basically was allowed to freely skate right in front of the net. Miro was in the passing lane, but was unable to really get in the way. A great opportunity for Eriksson Ek, a bad turn of events for Jake Oettinger and the Stars.

You can see when the goal was scored, no Stars players’ skates were even moving. Hughes cycled the puck to Zuccarello, who moved it to Boldy. This spun Miro around, basically turning him into a pylon. Tic Tac Toe, nobody was really covered and it led to a wide open look for the first goal of the series.

Goal Number Two

This one was particularly frustrating to watch because it actually all began in our offensive end. The Wild were trying to clear, Sam Steel made a pretty nice play to keep the puck in the zone and did the right thing, he got the puck in deep to Mikko Rantanen. Mikko tried moving the puck up the boards and Nils Lundqvist wound up with possession. Rather than cycling to Harley on the blue line, he just… started skating and did not stop. He skated all the way to the other end of the ice and down behind the Wild net, where he ran into 2 Minnesota sweaters. Well they gained possession, and did so with one of our defensemen behind them.

This led to a crisp, clean zone entry for Minnesota, something they do very well. Harley was in front of the net, tied up on the far side, when Kiril Kaprizov got the puck all alone on his island while Nils was out of position behind the play. Kiril being a Left-shot gave him more room and a very clean look. Honestly, not a ton more Jake could have done here, maybe come out of the crease a bit to cut the angle down? With how fast the play developed, I am not sure if he even had time. A snipe from an elite goal scorer makes it 2-0.

Goal Number 3

Another case of letting a guy get in front of the net and earning a great chance off of a puck that was going way wide. After we failed to clear the puck, Quinn Hughes made a great spinning pass got it back in the zone. A rolling puck landed on Faber’s stick, was just shot in the general vicinity of the net and tipped in by Hartman.

I am unsure who exactly was supposed to be covering the front of the net, but neither Harley or Lundqvist were there. The Wild were essentially just peppering the net and were rewarded. You simply can’t allow guys to live in the crease.

Goal Number 4

The Stars just killed off a careless tripping minor from Mikko Rantanen, and looked pretty good while doing it. The Wild were doing what they had done all game long, and were just sending pucks to the net. Otter was sliding coast-to-coast and for some reason just didn’t cover his post. If I am putting any of these goals solely on Otter, it is this one. You just gotta make that save when your team is down, and cover your post.

The biggest part of this was that Gully kept Jake in. After what happened last season, I wouldn’t blame Jake for looking over at the bench after letting it in. Not pulling Jake right there was basically Gully saying, “You’re our guy still. You’ve got this.” You really gotta wonder if what Pete DeBoer said has stuck in Otter’s mind this season and last night.

Goal Number 5

Another very weak penalty called on our best penalty killer. Number 23, two minutes for watching two Wild players run into each other. This opportunity was caused after a save made by Otter went towards the boards, and both Stars defensemen went chasing after the puck instead of one chasing and one covering the zone. This lead to Erriksson Ek once again having a totally clean look directly in front of the net.

The Stars’ defensive presence at the net-front in this game was abysmal. Lots of chasing, lots of guys out of position, and not supporting their goalie.

Goal Number 6

Empty Net gift. Touchdown, Minnesota.

We Should Not Give Up On Otter

I am a long-time listener and supporter 105.3 The Fan’s Gavin Spittle’s Spits and Suds podcast. Honestly, my favorite listen after a game, while in the car, or after some news breaks. Gavin always has smart things to say about the nuanced situations that our players and organization find themselves in. Something he has talked about at length at multiple junctions of this season is Jake Oettinger.

Sound familiar? I have written more about Jake Oettinger in recent weeks than I have abaout any other topic about the Stars! I feel like I am losing my mind defending him at times. Something that Gavin Spittle said recently has really stuck with me and really rings true.

“Jake Oettinger is the Stars’ Dak Prescott.”

When this team loses, everyone wants to dogpile Jake. Which is really puzzling to me considering the MASSIVE public outcry and calling for Pete DeBoer’s head after his comments after Game 5 against the Oilers. We really chased out a coach that took us to three-straight Conference Finals because he talked badly about Jake, and then turn around as a fanbase and chastise him after every loss.

I understand that Otter is a) a 27 year-old grown man, b) a millionaire, and c) the 8th highest-paid goalie in the NHL. I am not here to protect some guy’s feelings. I am here to explain that he is a good goaltender, and he was absolutely hosed by the team in front of him last night. Do you want someone to blame? I will give you a look at some other stat lines from yesterday as well as some of their pay info.

• Mikko Rantanen

  • $12m AAV, 21:22 TOI, 4 PIM, 3 SOG, -3

• Thomas Harley

  • $10.6m AAV, 19:40 TOI, 1 SOG, 1 Hit, 1 Blocked Shot, -3

There are 2 guys that make far more than Jake Oettinger that failed the team yesterday. Nils Lundqvist, who we just extended, was directly responsible for the 2 goals against he was on the ice for. If you want to point your ire at someone, maybe look past the easiest target.

I am not sitting here and saying Otter was great and his team sucked. On a game like that, you obviously would like for him to make some bigger saves. You want him to stand on his head and stop some of those high-danger shots. You need him to be your best penalty killer, and he wasn’t, and didn’t do any of those things. Was he good, not really. But was he the reason the Stars lost? Also no.

So let’s give him another chance, stop taking stupid penalties, and stop letting Minnesota get nice, clean looks. I do wish he had a bit more edge, a little bit of Marty Turco “get the f*** out of my crease” energy. Guys cannot be camping out there, we saw what happens when you allow them to do that.

Three Silver Linings After The Blowout

After a gut punch in the first game, is there anything to be positive about? Well yes, actually, there are a few things.

It Is Only Up From Here'

Gully and the team were pretty open about the shortcomings in the game. We have to win puck battles, clean up our play, and just put a better effort together. There is a lot to be said of this team’s resilience and ability to bounce back not only this season, but in seasons past. This isn’t a hard fought game where we did a lot of things right and lost it in OT 2-1; this group knows exactly what they need to do to respond. Minnesota didn’t roll out a new play-style or do anything we haven’t seen before. This is an internal things and it is all things the guys have shown they are able to fix.

We Are Great After A Game 1 Loss

We lost 5-1 to Colorado in game 1 last season in the 1st round. Now, it isn’t the best comparison because that game was actually pretty close, and this one was a beating, but still. I am sure you have seen the stat circulating online, the Stars have lost 9 of their last 11 Game 1’s. The two Game 1 victories coming against the Jets and Oilers last season. We have went on to win the series 7 of those 10 times. This team knows it, the Wild surely know it, it is just one game in a long series.

The Stars Are Almost Totally Healthy

Obviously we would like to have Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin out there, but as of right now (knock on wood), the only players currently injured are Hintz and Bastian. We have a very deep d-core to pull from, and plenty of healthy scratches. There is depth on this team, and for a playoff run, you need to be deep with defensemen. Everyone is banged up right now, and it will be good to rotate some of the bottom pairing defensemen throughout the series. I would expect to see Lyubushkin or Petrovic at some point in the next few games.

Looking Ahead

Roope Hintz has been officially ruled out for Game 3. He has not been skating at all, alone or with the team. I honestly don’t expect to see him back at all in the playoffs, and I suggest you do the same if you haven’t already. It is just mental health best practices at this point. As for the lines ahead of Game 2, per Sam Nestler via x.com, the lines should look like this

Hryckowian - Johnston - Rantanen

Robertson - Duchene - Bourque

Steel - Hyry - Benn

Bäck - Faksa - Blackwell

Lindell - Heiskanen

Harley - Lundkvist

Bichsel - Myers

Oettinger will get the start in net.

Some things to note, Sam Steel is back down to the 3rd line where I believe he belongs. I am not totally sure why he keeps getting put on the top line, but Gully must see something that I don’t. Arttu Hyry will be making his NHL Playoff debut tonight in place of Adam Erne, who will be celebrating his birthday from a nice suite while he gets to watch the game. Tyler Myers is still in, no Petrovic or Lyubushkin. I think that is the right move. People love to hate on Tyler Myers because his advanced stats don’t look great, but having him on the back end to (hopefully and presumably) clog up some of these passing lanes and bully some of the guys that try to coast to the crease will help if he plays his role.

I would have liked to see Bunting come in for Erne instead, but Hyry is good on faceoffs and is from Finland, so I’ll take it, I guess.

Remember to be loud and wear green tonight, y’all. I will be switching from my Modano jersey, which is obviously cursed against the Wild, to my Hatcher uni with the C patch on the left shoulder. Oh, how I miss those jerseys. I mean, honestly what was I thinking, though? Modano is from Michigan and works for the Wild organization. So the last loss is totally on me, my bad guys. If you are on social media, remember to bald your profile picture. I am rocking a bald Lian Bichsel tonight because I want to see him dump Ryan Hartman into the Wild bench. I get really superstitious this time of year, so let’s go.

Enjoy playoff hockey and try not to feed the trolls, everyone. We love Norm Green, and as always, go Stars.

The Eastern Conference has been insanely fun to watch down the stretch, specifically the battle for Atlantic Division supremacy. The East is quite a bit heavier than the West, with many cup contenders and teams that could wreak havoc on everyone’s playoff bracket predictions. The matchups are set a couple of days ahead of game 82. If you told me that the Pens, Sens, and Sabres would be in the playoffs in September, I probably would have laughed, but here we are.

The Round 1 matchups are as follows:

• A1 Buffalo Sabres vs WC1 Boston Bruins

• A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs A3 Montreal Canadiens

• M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs WC2 Ottawa Senators

• M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs M3 Philadelphia Flyers

The Eastern Conference post-Olympic break has been nothing short of cinema. The amount of math I have done in the past few weeks, calculating scenarios, and predicting what would happen would put a 5th grader to shame. Like most hockey players, I am not much smarter than a 5th grader, so let’s see how these predictions go.

Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins

Buffalo is probably the best story of the NHL this season. The last time we saw the Sabres in the playoffs was 2010-2011. Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller led the team to a playoff berth, and they wound up losing in the 2nd Round to the Flyers in Game 7. Ever since then, dark days have descended upon Buffalo. 15 long years of dysfunction and playoff drought is finally over, led by Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. While a great story, what chances do they have against Boston?

Boston has a better power play and a clear advantage in goaltending. Jeremy Swayman currently sits with a 2.76 GAA and .906 Sv%, in the playoffs, his numbers improve to 2.38 and .922, respectively. Last year, Swayman was a brick wall, boasting an incredible 11.1 GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average). Jeremy Swayman will be the key to upsetting a far less experienced Buffalo team. With the exception of Pastrnak, The Bruins lack game breaking forwards. However, outside of Tage Thompson, so do the Sabres.

Although they match up pretty evenly roster-wise, The Sabres are the clear favorite here. You can expect Key Bank Center to be absolutely rocking like the thunder dome. The play of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be an x-factor for the Sabres, he will need to at least match Swayman’s level if they are to advance past a tough Boston team.

My Prediction: Sabres in 6 games

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Montreal Canadiens

An insane year from Kucherov, a Vezina campaign from Vasilevsky, and some of the most entertaining hockey games in the sport have the Lightning primed for another deep Cup run. With good reason, the Lightning are a very frustrating team to play against, especially for a younger team like Montreal that simply doesn’t play that brand of hockey. The Habs have been able to hang around during the regular season, though. The Canadiens went 2-1-1, effectively “winning” the season series against Tampa.

The Canadiens are not to be underestimated, though. They are young and hungry, and the Bell Centre is notoriously a difficult place to steal games in. If the Habs are able to steal a game from Tampa and flip home ice, this could be a challenging series for Tampa Bay. Cole Caulfield has emerged as an elite goal scorer in the NHL and Nick Suzuki hit the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career.

The largest hurdle for Montreal in this series is simply that they are playing against an absolute monster in the 1st round. The Lightning have the edge in nearly every statistical category, and just by the eye test and what we already know about their playstyle, they are going to be a steep hill to climb. Should the Canadiens find a way to get past them in round 1, who could stop them? The Lightning, until proven otherwise, are my favorite to win the Eastern Conference. No Panthers to stand in the way, a clean bill of health going into game 83, and playing an inexperienced team with inferior goaltending in round 1 should work in Tampa Bay’s favor.

My prediction: Lightning in 6 games

Carolina Hurricanes vs Ottawa Senators

Now before you totally write off the Senators, consider that they are getting healthy at a great time and have been playing very well to close the season, nearly overtaking Boston for the 1st Wildcard spot in the East. Their style of play is offense-heavy, and they have a dangerous power play. Having Tkachuk back for the playoffs is absolutely huge as well. He is one of those guys that we all haved loved to hate. He is a physical menace and pest that has soft mitts and a scoring touch that Ottawa will need to lean on if they are to beat Carolina.

While being top-10 in nearly every major team-statistical category, the Hurricanes are simply better in almost every aspect. The slow, trap hockey style that is tried and failed by many teams is as successful as it could be in Carolina. They play playoff brand hockey every single game, and are primed for a Cup run. Do they still have the yips? Could this finally be the year they break through and get to the Final and win a Cup? One wonders what more they could have done at the deadline to bring in some elite talent. The Canes have lacked star power for multiple seasons now. Bringing in a guy like Panarin seems like something that was feasible early in the season, and could help them immensely at this point. Will the lack of a game breaker kill them?

While the Senators grade as a good team, they are not a great team. Carolina, on the other hand, is a great hockey team. There seemingly is no “slowing them down and playing our own game” that the Senators can implement. The Hurricanes have the advantage in nearly every category, whether it be goaltending, special teams, or 5v5 play. To sting the Senators even further, they have a putrid penalty kill, ranked 29th in the league. Having the league’s 3rd-worst penalty kill along with averaging almost 10 penalty minutes per game doesn’t bode well in a 7-game series against the league’s 5th best power play.

My Prediction: Hurricanes in 5 games

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers

Sid and Geno’s (maybe) final swan song couldn’t have gone much better for the Penguins franchise cornerstones. The Penguins are an offensive powerhouse. They are fantastic on the man advantage, and are just as good on the kill; both of which are ranked 7th in the NHL. The midseason goalie-swapping with Edmonton that brought on Stuart Skinner gives them a reliable playoff goaltender with a penchant for going deep into the tournament.

The Flyers, on the other hand, have been playing inspired hockey to end the season, going 10-3-0 en route to locking up that third spot in the Metro and avoiding a series against one of the division winners. Philadelphia can win this series if their 5v5 defense can stifle the Penguins, or they can get into Skinner’s head early in the series. The likelihood of that is pretty low, however, as they are a defensive team with the worst power play in the league. If they get into trouble, their penalty kill is also 22nd in the league. The Flyers will need to play clean trap hockey in order to take this series.

This will be one of the series’ to watch, in my opinion. While neither are quite elite teams, the battle for regional supremacy and perhaps Sid and Geno’s final playoff run will make for entertaining hockey. I simply don’t see Philadelphia truly threatening to win a 7 game series against a strong offensive team like the Penguins. They simply grade out as a much better team and it will take a pretty big upset to move past the Penguins.

My Prediction: Penguins in 6 games

The Eastern Conference, like I said earlier, has been a feast for the eyes of any hockey fan. There are tons of great storylines to kick off the playoffs. Buffalo back in the mix, Tampa in without Florida to stop them, and Sydney Crosby’s potential final playoff run are just a sample of what is to come.

I am expecting Tampa Bay to emerge as the Conference Champion, but with the gauntlet that they are going to have to get through, who knows? After all, we all remember the Columbus Blue Jackets upset of years ago. Anything can happen in Lord Stanley’s playoffs, and I am likely to eat some of my words at some point in the next couple of months of playoff hockey.

If you are a fan of one of these teams, buckle up. If you are a neutral fan, grab some popcorn.

Thanks so much for reading. Who do you expect to win in the opening round? What upsets do you have in mind? Let me know below.

As an aside…

The Stars and Buffalo Sabres will square off tonight in what may seem like a meaningless game, however, the winner of tonight’s contest will decide who gets home ice if both are to advance to the Stanley Cup Final against eachother. While not entirely high stakes, there are still stakes!

Bonus Stars news: Jim Nill told Pierre LeBrun that he “Thinks Miro will play in Game 1.” Awesome news! See y’all soon. As always, Go Stars!

Going all the way back to about November of last year, this has seemed to be the 1st round matchup for the Stars. This Wild team started off as a good team, and through significant additions like Quinn Hughes (you may have heard of him), they have become a dangerous squad. Bill Guerin has done his absolute best to build a team that can beat Dallas and Colorado. The Wild have gone 2-1-1 against Colorado and 2-2-0 against the Stars, proving that they can not only hang with the “big boys” of the Central, but can outplay them.

The Wild have gotten much bigger, bringing in the other Foligno at the deadline, and play a much heavier style of hockey. This was front and center during the massive game against Dallas earlier this week. Quinn Hughes is quite possibly the best defenseman in the division, and the Wild have their own pair of 40-goal scorers in Boldy and Kaprizov. This is absolutely not the scrappy team from 3 years ago that got sent packing in 6 games.

What Can Last Thursday Tell Us About Next Week

The opening period of the game was really all Minnesota, they started off skating fast and playing very well through the neutral zone, something they do very well. The Stars opened the scoring on their first registered shot of the game, a net-front chaos that Wyatt Johnston decided he would take care of. 1-0 Stars, but the Wild continued to outplay the Stars for the remainder of the period. Bad penalty calls or not, the Wild took full advantage of the Stars’ penalty kill.

The Stars PK went 1 for 4 on the night, which is very bad. However, there is a silver lining in all of this. The Stars, after sending Cameron Hughes back down to Cedar Park, will probably be getting one of their best penalty-killing forwards in Radek Faksa. Sam Steel is looking more and more likely to play in game 81 or 82 as well, which is going to be huge for the Stars PK. Micheal Bunting as well should be back by the end of the season, and he kills penalties, too. It has been really difficult to watch the PK lately, but with reinforcements coming back, things should get better and tip towards being almost normal again.

In Defense Of Tyler Myers

I know, so many fans are not very big on Big Tex and his style of play. Advanced numbers suggest he is okay most of the time and outright bad at others. His decision making can sometimes lead to turnovers and he doesn’t really threaten to score goals. The numbers and stray observations don’t really measure his full skillset on the ice.

In the NHL, you generally have 2 types of defensemen. You have puck carriers, and you have guys that usually skate to the blue line and chip or pass it in. Tyler Myers is nearly 7 feet tall and can actually skate and exit the zone on his own. I have seen him numerous times gather the puck and skate across both blue lines. This allows forwards to get into much better position, and sets up much better opportunities for the goal scorers. Did I also mention that he plays with another tree named Lian Bichsel? Those 2 on the ice means that puck battles on the boards almost always go in favor of the Stars. Having them clog up passing lanes with their insane reach is not to be underestimated. Another thing to not underestimate is the “oh, f*** that” factor. Imagine that you are a 5’10” center trying to carry a puck across the blue line just to see two giants closing in on you.

90% of the time, that situation will lead to a chip and chase to the boards, where they will win that battle, because they can also skate well enough to get there first. I see the criticisms of Myers, and I totally understand, I am not saying that he is a top-4 pairing (as made evident by his short stint with Harley in this game), but he and Bichsel will cause chaos in a 7 game series, and are something teams will have to gameplan against. When you look at the Cameron Hughes goal, that opportunity was created by Myers skating hard to get the puck and getting it to Blackwell. Blackwell couldn’t tuck the shot in, but the chaos that was caused resulted in an easy put-back from Hughes. That won’t show up on his Projected WAR% or xGF or S% or CORSI. It will show up when it matters, though, which is on the ice.

212 Degree Hockey

The Glen Gulutzan hire brought some controversy, but I think I speak for every Stars fan when I say that he has far exceeded everyone’s expectations. What he has done to this team is nothing short of incredible. The last few seasons, the Stars have been a soft team. The lack of a physical response has cost them the last 2 seasons in the Western Conference Final. What do you think would happen now, if Darnel Nurse slashed Roope’s foot? I can already see Blackwell, Erne, Ritzy, Mavrik, among others coming in and taking matters into their own hands. It is simply a part of the team game now, whereas it was previously a stick checking and finesse team, the Stars have adopted a much different style of play.

Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen are the prime examples of the style of play being adopted by the team and integrated into the fabric of their jerseys. Robertson has become a 200 foot forward who does check and does skate to the boards. He has adopted the Brenden Morrow reverse check and we saw it piss off the Winnipeg Jets, a team that desperately needed a win at the time, and it completely messed with their heads. Mikko has become one of the villains of the league, earning career-highs in PIM and really using his body more this season than in seasons past. It isn’t just fighting and scrums that make up the physical nature of this team. They have been able to play patiently, and ramp it up when needed, and as a result, we get a much more fun and entertaining brand of hockey.

Most importantly, it matches up well with the Wild in the 1st round. The Stars won’t get bullied, and will play their game.

Another Otter Paragraph

Has it gotten old yet? Every time we lose or allow more than 3 goals, fans start screeching about how we need DeSmith to start, or how we should have Otter thrown into the fiery pits of Mordor. While he has not been himself for a couple of stretches this year, he now has 4 shutouts this season, 2 of them coming in April. He has stolen games from teams like the Avalanche, and seems to be heating up at the perfect time. Otter shines in big moments, and he will have to be the better goalie in the first 2 rounds, assuming us and Colorado advance.

I think it goes without saying that the Stars and Wild matchup very closely, on ice and on paper. I don’t think either fanbase wants to face each other in round 1. This is going to be an absolute battle, and will go 7 games. I just don’t see a clear edge for either team here. Jake Oettinger will have to play out of his mind no doubt, especially with Roope and Miro possibly missing playoff games. Home ice and Otter being exceptional in close-out games will be the main edge here.

A Peek Into The Stars’ Infirmary Ward

I would like to start this off with the good news. Radek Faksa and Micheal Bunting will be playing tonight against the Maple Leafs, adding incredibly valuable forward depth and bolstering the PK substantially. The Stars have struggled at times in the faceoff dot, and Radek will help a ton in that regard, especially in the defensive zone where faceoff wins have been very tough for us.

Roope Hintz

Roope has been shut down for the remainder of the regular season. He is expected to play at some point in the 1st round. His backchecking and speed are missed a lot. He takes so much pressure off of the defense with his speed, and he adds so much to the zone entries on the power play.

Miro Heiskanen

The most important player on the roster will “hopefully” be back for the first round. Per Gully,

“He won’t play for the rest of the regular season, for sure. We’re hoping that he’s ready for game one, but we’re not sure yet.
We’ll see how the next 3 or 4 days go. We get a week here to see how he feels and see if he gets back on the ice.”

So uh, not great news, but not terrible news. Him coming back will be paramount.

Nils Lundqvist

Day-to-day with an illness. Nothing more to report, he is expected to be ready for Buffalo.

Nathan Bastian

After taking a shot to the hand against Boston, he has been week-to-week, and isn’t expected to be available until maybe the 3rd round. While it isn’t as big of a hit as losing a top-liner, Bastian has come up in some big moments this season.

Clearly, getting our 1C and 1D back is the top priority. Both of them being knee injuries is definitely nerve-wracking, but you have to consider that Gulutzan is not going to volunteer information on when they will be back. We are in full “war games” mode at this point of the season. The Stars have been preparing for Minnesota for over a month now, and allowing them to preemptively know the status of these guys is not on Gully’s list of things he wants to do. Reminiscent of last year’s series against Colorado and Winnipeg, we simply won’t know until they announce it that day. The reporters on the ground want to know just as bad as we do, and they won’t even know until the day of. Try not to lose sleep over it. Remember that we beat Colorado last season without our top goal-scorer in Jason Robertson and without Miro. This is nothing new to this team, there have been key injuries all year.

I didn’t write a bunch about the shutout win against New York because, well, there isn’t much to write about. Otter stopped all 22 of the shots he faced and Robertson tied himself with Wyatt Johnston for team leader in goals. We are in the rest and recoup stage of the season, made evident by the fact that Bichsel is a healthy scratch tonight against Toronto. It has been a grueling season, and frankly there isn’t much to play for. We are all just crossing our fingers and waiting for the playoffs to start. It is worth noting, obviously, that the Stars did clinch home ice in this game. It seemed like more of a formality than anything after the massive regulation win on Thursday against Minnesota.

Go ahead and refill your blood pressure medications, y’all. If the regular season has told us anything, it has told us that the first 2 rounds are going to be high octane, high event hockey. My final prediction for the 1st round is this:

Stars Win in 7 games

Hot take, I know. I just don’t think the Wild are as skilled as the Stars and don’t match up very well against us 5 on 5. The edge in goaltending goes to the Stars, and home ice will be a factor, having games 1 and 7 in the AAC is going to make a difference. I will be here after the final game of the season to get us ready for the playoffs. Enjoy some meaningless hockey and hope and pray for the health of our victory green homies, and as always, GO STARS!

We can all talk about the success of the Dallas Stars on the ice. The Stars have become one of the powerhouses of the NHL over the last few seasons. Dallas has appeared in 3-straight Western Conference Finals, and currently sits at 2nd in the Western Conference behind the eventual President’s Trophy winning Avalanche. They have played very tight games against Colorado in what many assume to be a predestined 2nd round matchup.

All of this success has to start somewhere, and it really starts at the top. Jim Nill is the 3rd longest tenured GM in the NHL, and for very good reason. His constant efforts in taking care of the people in this organization reflect greatly when you look at the tenure of much of the coaching staff and personnel across Dallas and Cedar Park. The way that he takes care of every single person in the Stars’ system is a lost art in today’s sports business. With the exception of David Pelletier, all of the Dallas and Texas Stars’ coaches have either been with the organization for multiple years, or have deep ties with the Stars.

Glen Gulutzan

Glen is in his first year as Head Coach of the Dallas Stars, but his Texas ties go way back. Most Stars fans that follow hockey know him as a guy that we poached from Edmonton’s ranks, a guy that actually coached the Stars about a decade or so ago. Glen’s coaching history with the Stars goes much further back than simply “this is his second go at Head Coaching the Stars.” There was a significant build up with the organization that led up to him coaching the team from 2011-2013.

Before the Golden Knights, Vegas had the Wranglers. Glen began his professional coaching career with the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers in 2003. He had a decorated career as a Head Coach and GM there, becoming the first ever ECHL coach to lead his team to three consecutive 100+ point seasons, and winning the John Brophy award in 2006 as the ECHL’s Coach of the Year. He coached the ECHL All-Star team three times, and took his team to the playoffs in 5 of his 6 seasons with the team.

Clearly an up-and-coming coaching talent in the pro hockey world, Glen would begin his Stars journey in 2009, being hired as the Texas Stars Head Coach in their inaugural season. Glen went on to take the Texas Stars to the Calder Cup Final that year. In that season, Glen would actually coach Jamie Benn and current Texas Stars Assistant Coach Max Fortunus. The season after, he coached Toby Petersen, the team’s current Head Coach. Crazy full circle type stuff happening here. Glen got promoted to the Dallas Stars after Marc Crawford was relieved of his coaching duties.

His first stint with Dallas was a bit rocky, the Stars at that time were going through a sort of changing of the guard. Brenden Morrow was getting older, and Jamie Benn was the team’s new up-and-coming star. He went 64-57-9 in his two seasons with the team, a stark contrast to the success of the current squad. When Gully was hired by Nill in July, it was met with some controversy. This guy that sucked 10 years ago is our coach now? Needless to say, Jim Nill knew what he was doing with this hire.

Neil Graham

Neil has been with the Stars organization for the last 14 years, going all the way back to his Steelheads playing days. In 2012-2013, Neil was a player/coach for the team before getting promoted to Assistant Coach. He would do that until 2015, when the honor of Head Coach was bestowed upon him. He coached them for 4 seasons after that, going to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in all 4 seasons. His final record with the Idaho Steelheads was 166-91-31.

His career would continue to trend upwards, getting brought on as an Assistant Coach for the Texas Stars in 2019. That wouldn’t last long, as he was promoted to Head Coach before the season was even over. In his tenure with the Texas Stars, he took the team to the Calder Cup Playoffs all 4 seasons, going 183-140-40. His footprint is a well-defined one; he coached multiple AHL Rookie of the Year winners. Riley Damiani in 20’-21’, Logan Stankoven in 23’-24’, and fan-favorite Justin Hryckowian in 24’-25’. He also coached Mavrik Bourque during his MVP and Scoring Champion season in 23’-24’. Matej Blumel also led the AHL in Goals last year under his stewardship.

Graham has developed multiple franchise cornerstones of the Dallas Stars, his fingerprints on players such as Harley, Bichsel, Oettinger, and Robertson. His impact on the organization cannot be overstated, we would not be the team we are today without him. He currently coaches our power play unit, which is the 2nd best man advantage in the league.

Neil Graham epitomizes hard work and investing in the culture of the franchise, and his story and rise to the NHL is a microcosm of what it takes to be a Dallas Star. Graham has worked his way up from a player/coach for an ECHL team to a high-achieving NHL Assistant Coach. I am absolutely confident that he will be an NHL Head Coach one day, hopefully for the Stars post-Glen Gulutzan. Graham will be getting looks from other teams’ Head Coaching vacancies this offseason, especially if the Stars rattle off another deep playoff run. He is surely part of Jim Nill’s succession plan, and he deserves to be. Neil is a hidden gem of this franchise.

Alain Nasreddine

While not as decorated as Gully or Graham, Nasreddine has been coaching the Stars’ defensive unit and PK for the past 3 seasons. All of those seasons, as you know, are seasons in which we went to the Western Conference Final. Nasreddine has been an Assistant Coach for a decade now, previously coaching the New Jersey Devils before coming to Dallas.

He currently has the Stars’ PK at 11th in the league and Goals Against at 2nd in the league. Dallas also ranks 5th in the NHL in Shots Allowed Per Game. This has all been done with a revolving door of bottom 4 defensive pairings. Bichsel, Lundqvist, and Harley have all missed long stretches of games. Alain has made due with mostly AHL call-ups for the entire season. The craziest part is that they have all played very well under his tutelage. Capobianco, Petrovic, Lyubushkin, and Kolyachonok have swung well-above their weight class at multiple points throughout this season.

It is also worth noting that Lundqvist has taken a massive step forward this year, playing on the 2nd pairing with Harley and being more than serviceable on that line. The eye test confirms it, as do the advanced metrics. It is without a doubt a result of his hard work and Nasreddine’s ability to develop his talents up to a solid 2nd pairing.

David Pelletier

David has spent his entire coaching career up to this point as a skating coach for the Edmonton Oilers. He spent 11 seasons in Edmonton, working alongside Gully for a good portion of his tenure. He is the only coach on the Dallas Stars’ staff that is new to the organization, getting hired on this year as an assistant, coaching from the press box and undoubtedly working with the team in terms of conditioning and training.

Pelletier was a very decorated figure skater, winning Gold in the 2002 Olympics for Canada. He won many more awards throughout his skating career, and has made an impact on the NHL level. You know that guy, Connor McDavid? He is the best skater in the NHL, and David Pelletier was his skating coach. You can just look and see the impact that he has made on Jason Robertson as well. Robo’s skating has gone from “cinder blocks in his skates” to now being in the top 33% of the league in terms of skating speed. He is faster than guys like Jack Hughes, Kyle Connor, Jake Guentzel, both Tkachuks, and Austin Matthews. Jason Robertson’s skating ability has now led him to be a 200-foot forward with a plus-defensive rating and much wider skillset.

Toby Petersen

After Neil Graham was inevitably promoted, somebody had to either step up or step in, and longtime Dallas Star Toby Petersen was Nill’s answer. Petersen, while a 1st year coach for the Stars organization, is no stranger to the Victory Green. Most of you that are reading this probably remember his playing career with the Stars. He was one of my favorite players during his time here by virtue of him being a Type 1 Diabetic, something that I thought was awesome and inspirational as a Type 1 Diabetic athlete myself in my teen years.

Petersen came into a situation that was kind of tough, much of the Texas Stars roster had been (and still is) picked clean, most of the big players making the jump to the NHL and filling in for a beat up Dallas Stars D-core. The team in Cedar Park had a pretty rough start to the season, but have really been able to bounce back, getting back into the Calder Cup Playoffs in Toby’s inaugural season.

Prior to his job as the bench boss for the Texas Stars, he has spent the last two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche as a skills coach. Before that, he worked for 6 seasons as an AHL Assistant Coach, bouncing around a bit, coaching for three teams in that span. In 2016, he coached the power play for the Calder Cup winning Lake Erie Monsters. The Monsters’ power play rate during that playoff run was 24.4%, very very good if you ask me.

Toby didn’t just win a Calder Cup as an assistant coach. He won the Calder Cup with the Texas Stars as a player in 2014 at the tail end of his playing career alongside a young upstart Czech Center named Radek Faksa. Sound familiar? Toby Petersen’s ties with the Stars go beyond his career playing in Dallas, he has legitimate ties with the AHL affiliate as well. Another master class coaching hire by Jim Nill? The proof is in the pudding, the Texas Stars are back in the playoffs.

When I ponder my crystal ball, I can see Neil Graham as a Head Coach with Petersen in the wings as an Assistant, part of a long-term succession plan in 5-ish years if things play out the right way. Time will tell.

Travis Morin

For those familiar with Texas Stars lore, this is not a new name to you. Travis Morin was pretty much a career AHL’er, playing all 12 of his seasons with the Texas Stars. Morin leads the Texas Stars in Goals (175), Assists (385), Points (560), and Games Played (686). Morin is the only player in Texas Stars history to have his jersey retired. In the 2014 Calder Cup Winning campaign, Travis Morin won the Les Cunningham Award (AHL MVP), John B. Sollenberger Award (Reg. Season Scoring Leader), and Jack A. Butterfield Award (Playoff MVP). He played in 87 playoff games with the Texas Stars, scoring 23 Goals, tallying 42 Assists, and notching 64 Points en route to becoming the franchise’s most decorated postseason scorer.

This Cedar Park legend has been an Assistant Coach for 7 years now, further cementing the winning culture that so many Dallas Stars prospects are forged in before making it to the big club.

Max Fortunus

Sticking with the theme of Texas Stars legends as the coaching staff, Max Fortunus is the next guy in the totem pole. Max played in a staggering 15 AHL seasons, playing in 882 games throughout his career. He played with the Texas Stars for almost half of those games, playing in 6 seasons with the team. Max is the franchise leader amongst defensemen in Goals (44), Assists (123), Points (167), and Games Played (402). He was also a part of the Calder Cup winning squad in 2014.

Max is currently in his 5th season as an Assistant Coach with the Texas Stars.

All three of the coaches for the Texas Stars won the Calder Cup in 2014 as players. This was undoubtedly something that was done deliberately. Winners breed winners, and iron sharpens iron. This is an important stepping stone for future Dallas Stars, teaching them early on that the fabric of this team is rooted in winning before they ever set foot in the AAC.

The on-ice product is undeniable, the Stars are a fantastic hockey team. What you don’t get to see when the guys take the ice are all of the moving parts and parts that make up the organization as a whole. When I look at this staff from the top down, I see years of planning and cultivation at play. Everything that Brad Alberts and Jim Nill have done, they have done with a key vision and pieces in place. Jim Nill obviously gets a ton of credit already, but I feel like the praises are usually in other areas, not quite focusing on the guys behind the bench. While this has been a deep dive into the coaching staff, I could have gone even deeper. Every skills coach, video coach, and goaltender development coach has bought into what Nill has built. They all have been with the Stars organization for 3 or more years. You need not look far to see the kind of culture that we have in Dallas, and why so many players and coaches want to be here. It isn’t just the taxes.

I hope that, as we get ready for an absolutely massive game against Minnesota this evening, this article has given you insight into the Stars beyond what you see on TV or on the stat sheet. This is a house that has been meticulously built brick-by-brick to become what it has become today. In the wake of New Jersey firing their GM and Toronto searching for a guy to put out their dumpster fire, take a moment to be thankful not only for Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen, but for Brad Alberts and Jim Nill. Enjoy the high stakes playoff preview tonight, and as always, go Stars.

In what was ultimately an incredible defensive game between the two best teams in hockey, the Stars fell to the Avalanche. The Stars finish the season series against them with a 2-1-1 record, collecting 5 of 8 points. For what it’s worth, the Stars looked very tight defensively, and DeSmith played a hell of a game. Casey allowed 1 goal on 21 shots for a GAA of 1.03 and SV% of .952 against the best team in the league. There are plenty of takeaways from this one, so lets go through and see what mistakes were made, and why we shouldn’t be beating our heads against a wall after a shutout loss. We will be going period by period today and looking at the events that transpired, because we won’t learn much from the scoresheet.

1st Period

The 1st began with, expectedly, a ton of physicality from both teams, but was really established early with the planting of Val Nichushkin (a man I will always root against). I thought this was a wonderful play by Bichsel, who I remember taking note in the last article that he was lacking in big hits lately. Well, we got one, and it was against an enemy of the Dallas Stars. Bichsel caught Val doing something he doesn’t normally do, skating with his face directly looking down at the ice, and he took advantage. Adam Erne also was contributing in that factor, which is why we signed him in the first place. Erne has looked pretty good lately, most recently notching 2 points against Winnipeg in the shutout.

One thing of note, without Makar, Colorado’s up-and-down style of play seems to really slow down. It is kind of easy to marvel at Makar’s skill level while he is on the ice, but it is even more noticeable when he is not playing. It was difficult for Colorado to really establish zone time at points during this game, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that their darling Makar wasn’t there.

Something else that made this game feel like a round 2 matchup was the almost total absence of soft penalty calls, something we will get into later. The refs were definitely swallowing their whistles for most of the game here, not particularly favoring either team for the most part. Benn did get called for a tripping penalty, and the PK looked pretty great against a Colorado power play that has really owned the Stars this year. They even generated a nice 2-on-2 short handed scoring chance, something Colorado has struggled with this year. Colorado has given up more shorties than any other team this season.

Jason Robertson and Hryckowian both looked really good this period, creating chances and putting pucks on net. Also very notable how much of a step forward Arttu Hyry has taken, he tallied 2 shots on goal in the 1st. The 1st period would end up about as even as it can get, both teams with 9 hits, 50% in the faceoff circle, and shots slightly favoring Colorado 8-7.

2nd Period

Early in the 2nd, Brett Kulak was called for tripping, starting the period off with the best home power play in the league. The Stars would control and cycle for about 30 seconds, ripping off only one shot during the entire man advantage and looking quite anemic, honestly. Towards the end, there was a scrum in the Colorado end that somehow resulted in both sides taking roughing penalties. Mavrik Bourque and Drury both would head to the box and serve 2-minute roughing minors.

Shortly after that, Wyatt Johnston would go on to feed Robertson, resulting in one of the best looks of the game, but Robertson fanned on the shot. Really, the passing in this game looked very bad on the Stars’ end. It seemed like for a while, nothing would go tape to tape. Almost every passing lane was crowded the entire game. If you were to ask the broadcast booth, they would probably tell you that the Texas heat was melting the ice from outside the building. It was 58 degrees outside of the AAC, but sure. Really what I saw was clogged passing lanes, and really good stick checking from Colorado.

At this point in the game, the Avs were absolutely dominating the faceoff dot, to the point where they were just firing anything and everything at the net, often right at the logo on DeSmith’s jersey. This was forcing a ton of defensive zone faceoffs, at a certain point, the Stars were 2/14 in the faceoff circle, just abysmal. I won’t take this too seriously, because Hintz and Faksa should both be back by game 1, and both will help that stat line a ton. Honestly, neither team during the 2nd had a bunch of sustained offensive zone time. The Avalanche actually did not register a single high danger opportunity for the whole period.

The 2nd would end with still no score, hits even at 13-13, shots favoring the Avs 15-12, and obviously faceoffs favoring the Avs at 18-13.

3rd Period

The 3rd would see much more rush offense, going up and down the length of the ice until Brock Nelson would take a hooking call about 7 minutes into the period. The Stars would get about one dangerous chance, but once again, the Avs PK did their job and killed the penalty. There was 50 minutes of tight, scoreless hockey before the tie was broken on a Marty Necas shot from the doorstep.

This one came from a failure to clear the puck, which allowed the Avs to re-eastablish the zone and led to a sick pass from Lehkonen right to the blade of Necas’ stick. Bichsel wasn’t able to turn quickly enough and then boom, 1-0 Avs. Devastating, really, the Stars hadn’t seen much of that from their end, and this one just crept past Lian Bichsel.

The real controversy from a Stars fan perspective were the brutal missed calls in the 6-on-5, most notably the holding of Jamie Benn’s stick that went uncalled right in front of the ref’s face with 90 seconds left. Who knows what would have happened in a 6-on-4 situation with a minute and a half left? While yes, it is frustrating that it came down to that, the empty netter from MacKinnon was also equally frustrating to watch. I understand that they thought the puck was gonna be iced, but MacKinnon is a very fast skater and he noticed that the Stars weren’t skating hard for the puck, saw his opportunity, and took it. 2-0 Avalanche, game over, see you (hopefully) in the 2nd round.

Final Thoughts

I really didn’t hate this game. It is always frustrating to lose in a shutout, especially to the Avalanche, but the playoff seeding is pretty much locked up. The Stars currently have a 2-point advantage over the Wild in the standings with one game left against them on the 9th. If the Stars can win tonight against Calgary, and at least take the game vs the Wild into OT, the outlook on getting home ice in the 1st round looks a lot better. The Stars and Avs rivalry this season has been a sight to behold, every single game was won by razor-thin margins. Three of the four games went to a shootout. The Avalanche have been really uncontested this season, and the team that has played them the closest is the Stars. If both teams are healthy and manage to meet in round 2, you can expect a Stanley Cup Final level series.

I do think we should be somewhat upset with the loss, and even frustrated to an extent. I mean, you just have to put more than 18 shots on net against the Avalanche if you want to win. I do not want to get too hung up on this loss, because we have probably a more important game coming up on the 9th against Minnesota, especially if we manage to lose to Calgary in regulation and the Wild win against Vancouver. Right now, on top of the 2-point advantage we have, we also have a heavy advantage in regulation wins, so Minnesota would not only have to make up 2 points, but overtake the Stars as well. A win today and against Minnesota will make it that much easier to lock up home ice in the first round.

The remaining games for the Stars are against the Flames, Wild, Rangers, Maple Leafs, and finishing against the Sabres. Hopefully they don’t make that final game against Buffalo a must-win, because Buffalo will also likely be battling for playoff seeding at that time. We are basically in playoff mode, y’all. Take your heart medicine, because the first 2 rounds are likely to be very heavy and taxing on all of us. As always, go Stars.

After finally snapping their losing streak in Pittsburgh, the Stars are back to their losing ways in Boston. Injuries, being tired, getting goalie’d, you’ve heard them all over the course of this trip. What is going on? It feels like deja vu, memories of last season’s season-ending 7-game losing streak are absolutely flooding back in the midst of this tough group of games. Yes, of course, we have had a tough schedule, blah blah blah, we have had to play a lot of road games, blah blah blah, condensed schedule, whatever. It seems like the DNA of the team has been altered since the OT loss against Minnesota, there has been a startling lack of physicality, more stick checking, less winning puck battles, and as a result, less goals and less wins. Even if you look at the win against Pittsburgh, the Stars were only the better team for what, a period and a half? The first 11 minutes against Pittsburgh was clearly owned by the Pens, a 4-goal explosion in the 2nd is what pushed the Stars past despite what could be called turtling in the 3rd. Look, I am normally a pretty optimistic fan, I try to look at things from a positive angle, but it is getting harder and harder for me to find positives with this team. Let’s go through each of our recent losses going back to that Wild OT loss.

March 21st vs Minnesota

This is probably the only “quality loss” out of the group. A very tight, hard-fought game, goaltending was there, defense was there. By most advanced metrics, the Stars “should” have won this game, but then you have Robo doing… whatever he thought he was doing in that 3-on-3, resulting in Tarasenko unleashing a howitzer from Vlad Island and ending the game. Oh well, no reason to panic, we just beat Colorado! On to the next one!

March 22nd vs Las Vegas

This was a game that we could have won as well. Physicality seemed to be matched pretty well by both sides, and hey, Wyatt Johnston got number 23! After going up 2-1, once again, it looked like they were playing to not lose, rather than to bury a team they should have beaten. A very weak goal from McNabb, where he just walks directly past Miro and Esa and just… scores. DeSmith played a pretty good game all things considered, but look. It was a back-to-back, coming all the way from Minnesota and all that. We’ll get em’ next time, we have a softie next game!

March 24 vs New Jersey

Well that sucked. Olympic darling Jack Hughes and all of his teeth were able to put up 6 goals on the Stars, 4 of which were on Otter. Jake only stopped 4 of the 8 shots he faced, but I genuinely don’t blame him. The defense in this one looked like the McNabb goal from the prior game, except that it happened over and over again. The Stars were able to make it close a couple of times despite that, and even though they fell for the proverbial trap game, they showed grit and heart. They never gave up and that’s what matters. We also might be getting Moose back soon, and that will solve all of our problems. Time to go play against the Isles and get revenge (we should have won the first game, the goal should have counted, I don’t care.)

March 26th vs New York Islanders

Alright, well after the last game, we really need a gritty road win to get things on track. That will be tough, but we can do it, wait. Shit. Ilya Sorokin is a top-3 goalie. The system was to blame, the Islanders system. The team got goalie’d and was beaten by the system. Even in a goalie standoff like this game, you still would like to see a better effort than that. Not being able to score until 57 minutes in on a 6-on-5 will not cut it, 16 shots through 2 periods won’t cut it. Starting to get nervous… but we got goalie’d, so no panic here. Re-rack and get the next one.

March 28th vs Pittsburgh

Finally, a regulation win was exactly what we needed, we broke the Skinner curse, and were able to score 4 goals in the 2nd as well as 2 empty-netters to right the ship. There are some caveats, like the fact that it was pretty close leading up to those empty-netters from Mavrik Bourque, the Pens had made it a one-goal game and were starting to control the pace of play again in the 3rd. The Penguins did not look like a team that lost 6-3, in all honesty. My eye test tells me that the Stars were absolutely dominant in the 2nd and relied heavily on that to win. Keep in mind that a team scoring 3 regulation goals against us would have been enough to outright beat us in 5 of the last 7 games prior to this matchup, but we will absolutely take it. Let’s keep it rolling.

March 29th vs Philadelphia

Another game that just looked like the Stars had nothing in the tank. They looked tired, and by the end of the game, would be missing some pretty important pieces due to injury. The Zegras OT goal looked anemic on the Stars’ end, Miro looked passive and Zegras delivered what honestly wasn’t even the best shot to win it. It was just one of those that managed to find the back of the net. The Stars and Flyers really quite honestly both looked spent in the 3rd period and OT. Not the most entertaining game, but look, the Flyers are fighting for not only their jobs, but a possible playoff berth. The Stars had already clinched a week ago and really didn’t look like they were playing as hard as they could have. Maybe it is the attrition of the schedule and injuries really getting to them.

March 31st vs Boston

Alright, maybe it is time to start raising some flags, because it is getting to the point where we are wondering what has really broken with the Stars. Boston just frankly out-played Dallas in every aspect, there isn’t much more to say about it. Otter looked good, but not great, certainly not like a top-10 goalie, and the missing players are really starting to get to this team. While I have been singing the praises of guys like Erne, Back, Bourque, and Ritzy from the rooftops for the majority of the season, they are not a Roope Hintz. They are not a Mikko Rantanen, and they are not a Tyler Seguin. Missing guys like Bunting and Myers against a team like Boston that is physical and heavy and big really put the Stars in a position that made it hard to dictate the game. I do really think having those dudes in would have made a huge difference.

Enough Excuses, What Is Happening?

The old hockey adages, “gotta win puck battles, play a 200-foot game, get pucks in deep, and put bodies on bodies,” all genuinely ring true for the team during this stretch. This team is not a fast break team, they rely on getting to dirty areas and winning battles, they have altered their identity to the point that that specific type of play is in their jerseys now. The Stars have done what we all wanted, they have become a more mean, physical, F-you type of team, and when that is taken away from them, the Pete DeBoer style of Stars comes back out, and not the pretty side. The lack of physicality of the team when they play like this is impossible to ignore in times like these. I was listening to Gavin Spittle talk about this on his post-game podcast (check out Sits and Suds, for real) and he made a great point. When was the last time you saw Bichsel really paste a guy against the boards? When was the last time he made an angry hit and really punished a guy for simply existing? It seems like that aspect of our game that was so evident in our point streak has kind of just evaporated in recent games. The Stars are missing those little things that come with that physicality and nastiness, they are losing puck battles in the corner, they are being more passive on defense, often resorting to zone defense at times when for the majority of the season we have been playing man.

Is it maybe a confidence thing? Is it attrition? Because I am not going to be the first one to tell you, every single team in the league plays the same schedule, and every single team has dealt with injuries the same way the Stars have. While they may not be missing as much top end talent at times, they also deal with them. The Stars aren’t even top of the league when it comes to man games missed due to injury. The Stars have done a great job with the “next man up” mentality and getting through some devastating injuries while still playing elite hockey. You know, I kind of get why they are slowing down, but I don’t think they should be backing into the playoffs like they did last season. Of course, we played great in the first two rounds last year after playing horrible hockey to end the season, but remember the situation we were in against Colorado. It was Game 7, at home, midway through the 3rd period, and we were losing 2-0. It was 2-1 with 6:15 left when Mikko scored the equalizer off of the skate of an Avs player. That series was incredibly close the entire time, I just imagine how much it would have not been close if we hadn’t drunkenly stumbled into the playoffs. I am not saying that is what is going to happen this time around, but it certainly is trending that way.

The Road Ahead

The remaining schedule certainly is not as tough strength of schedule-wise as it has been the past couple of weeks. The Stars will have the luxury of playing some really bad teams down the stretch, but the not-bad teams are going to be some of the top teams in the league, there really is no in-between here. Even the very next game, we will be playing a Winnipeg Jets team that is only one point out of a playoff spot, and is largely the same team as the President’s Trophy winners of yesteryear. I could go over the minutiae of strength of schedule, and matchups, and all of that nonsense, but what it really boils down to is that the Stars need to find it within themselves to reignite the team. This is a time when guys like Benn and Duchene need to step in and tell their guys that the playoffs don’t start in a few weeks, they have started already. Not for playoff seeding, but for finding their bearings in general as a cohesive hockey team. Stop allowing guys to tip-toe past the blue line, stop letting guys pitch a tent in front of the crease, and stop being passengers on defense. The reality is that the Stars are one of the clear cup contenders coming out of the Western Conference, and don’t need to rely on what other teams do, they need to just play their game. If the Stars can manage to get back to basics and just play their style of hockey, there is not a team that can beat them once they get going.

The guys will get a day off before heading back home for the contest against Winnipeg. You can guarantee a do-or-die type of game from the Jets, considering they are knocking on the door of a Wild Card spot and are 6-2-2 in their last 10, coming off of back-to-back wins, one of which coming against the Avalanche. The Jets are basically going to be as tough as any other team tomorrow night, and it will be a great opportunity to instill some confidence back into the locker room as we near the end of the regular season. I know that this article has not been as fun and happy as most of my others, but it is time to start being a bit more critical, because come playoff time, there will be no room for error from the jump.

Taming The Wild

The Stars will likely have to go through two 100-point teams in the first couple of rounds, one of which has been weaponized and built specifically to counter the Dallas Stars. The Wild have added some big guys to their blue line, creating a much heavier style of hockey, and have some legit goaltending to back it up. Oh, yeah, they also added a guy named Quinn Hughes to their blue line, a Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen-level game breaker with a sickening hockey IQ and playmaking ability. Another guy to consider is Matt Boldy, who is kind of an anti-Dallas Stars weapon who has 14 points in 16 games against Dallas, 9 of those points come from his last 5 games against us. Dallas also isn’t the only team with two 40-goal scorers, Kirill Kaprizov (39) and Matt Boldy (38) both will most definitely hit the 40-goal mark this season. This Wild team is not the same Wild team of the past, this Wild team should scare you. Are they Colorado? No. They are a very different team from Colorado, but they are stronger in certain areas than the Avs, notably the physical nature and defensive prowess of their game. Bill Guerin, for all of his “faults” (I still disagree with the roster makeup of Team USA, but I can’t disagree with results) has done an exceptional job of building this team over the past couple of seasons. I think most fans and analysts would still take Dallas in a 7-game series with home ice in the AAC, but I do not want to think about how hard it is going to be to get through this team in less than 7 games. This is tough, heavy, and skilled team that the Stars and Jake Oettinger will absolutely have to be prepared for.

We will be playing the Wild for the final time on April 9th, in the AAC. A crucial measuring stick game, hopefully with a few forwards back on the ice, notably Roope Hintz. I am sure I am not alone in hopes that he can come back a bit before the playoffs and get back up to speed before being thrusted into a high-intensity series. The good news is that, like I stated yesterday, he began skating on Sunday (and possibly as early as Saturday per Owen Newkirk), and is mainly trying to get back up to game speed and fitness before coming back fully. Radek Faksa also began skating this past weekend and hopefully things continue to progress for him as well. While not as important as Hintz, Faksa is an excellent PK’er who does add an important edge to the Stars’ bottom-6 Forward group. We will possibly have some of our wingers back by that time as well, as well as Myers, who is still day-to-day.

Well, there you have it. A pretty pessimistic article, I must say. Quite the contrast to my usual optimistic, glass-half-full mentality when it comes to covering this team. I just really feel like the past couple of weeks have looked like a different team, and I am hoping that a win against Winnipeg can get them back on track and playing well ahead of what is going to be a grueling playoffs. Until next time, thank you so much for reading, and as always, go Stars.

Currently the Dallas Stars sit right in-between the Avalanche and Minnesota, 6 points up on Minnesota, and now 8 points back from Colorado. While the Wild enjoy their 4-day break (a luxury that has not been afforded to the Stars this season) the Stars are playing against some really tough Eastern Conference teams. The Flyers, while not a playoff team, are 8-1-1 right now, playing some of the best hockey of their season right now. That makes total sense considering a lot of these guys are playing for their jobs right now. Teams that have nothing to lose tend to be some of the toughest matchups for teams like Dallas and Minnesota. Look no further than the Devils game, that was a quintessential trap game, much like the game we played against Philadelphia. I get that the guys are tired, but so was Philly. It is frustrating watching points get left on the table against teams that, on paper, should be speed bumps for Dallas, but that is why they play the games.

The game diagnosis from me is that we just ran into a hot team, and the fatigue and wear and tear of the season is just starting to get to them. I won’t spend a lot of time talking about the loss to the Flyers, because to me, this game is a blip on the radar of the season. We still got a point, and still have some tough games ahead of us. The contest against Boston specifically will prove to be a tough one. The thing about these Eastern Conference teams is that each and every one of them that we have played is vying for a playoff spot. Every point matters a lot more to them than they do to us. While they are worried about gaining or losing ground in their packed divisions, the Stars are thinking about staying healthy and maintaining home ice against Minnesota. Boston heads into tonight 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, as a wild card team with 92 points. A loss for them could potentially put Philly, Ottawa, and Detroit all within 2 points of taking their playoff spot. The Bruins need to collect as many points as possible, while we are sitting here with two games in hand and a 6 point lead on Minnesota. Yes, it is important for Dallas to win, but what I am more concerned about is health and just playing consistent hockey over the final stretch of games.

Hard To Fly With Broken Wings

The Stars have lost 3 wingers in 3 games, Steel, Bunting, and Bastian all are now considered day-to-day and won’t be playing against Boston. While it is great that Rantanen is back, it stings a bit to lose guys like that. While not huge point producers, they all add valuable depth to the lineup. The unfortunate thing about Bunting is that before his injury, he looked pretty good on the top line during that period. Glen Gulutzan, when asked about Steel, Bastian, and Bunting, had this to say,

“It’s not going to be for a bit… I would be an optimist if I said maybe we could get one of them back in the next 10 days. That would be an optimistic outlook for them.”

Regarding Hintz, he started skating on Sunday, so while he is moving forward with his recovery, we still won’t see him for a bit. Radek Faksa’s mystery injury still has no real timetable either. The Stars’ forward depth is going to be greatly challenged in the final couple of weeks of the season. We have seen Arttu Hyry’s number get called as well as Cameron Hughes from the Texas Stars for the near future. To add to the revolving door of injuries, Lyubushkin will be trading spots with Tyler Myers for tonight as well. The Texas Stars are probably not going to be too happy considering they are also making a playoff push late in the season.

Jim Nill Inks 2-Year Extension

Jim Nill’s contract was due to be up at the end of this season, and to the surprise of absolutely nobody (except maybe some delusional Maple Leafs fans) Nill will be with the Stars for at least a couple more years. All of Stars media believe that Nill will stop being the GM for the team when he decides to retire, which hopefully won’t be for another 100 years. The thought of him retiring any time in the near or distant future begs the question, who would be his successor? Stars insiders and staff all point to the recently promoted Rich Peverley. For those of us that are longtime Stars fans, we all remember his career with us and the abrupt end after a cardiac event sent him from the bench to the hospital. His post-NHL playing career has seen him go from the Stars’ Director of Player Personnel for 11 years to now the Assistant GM of Player Personnel. According to Nill himself, Peverley “has become an invaluable part of our hockey operations team over the last decade.” Peverley officially retired from professional hockey in 2015, and immediately joined the team’s front office as the Director of Player Personnel. Until he eventually succeeds Jim Nill and tries to fill the massive shoes that will be left behind, the future of the Stars organization will, at the very least, still be run by Nill for at least 2 more years.

At this point in the season, it almost feels like we are all just sitting and waiting for the season to end so that we can get to playoff hockey. The seeding in the Central is basically set, barring a substantial swing in the standings. The Avs have pretty much locked up 1st place, having an 8 point lead with 2 games in-hand will do that. The Stars have a 6 point lead on Minnesota with a game in-hand, and could expand that to 8 points this evening with a win in Boston. The Stars currently have the edge in the head-to-head matchups against both teams, with a single game left against each of them. Those games may not even be consequential in the standings by the time they are played, but it will be the final remaining measuring stick for the Stars, who are destined to play one of, and probably both if they are to make it back to the Western Conference Final for the 4th time in a row. The Stars would be the only team since the Conference Finals Era came into the league in 1982 to make it to four-straight. History will be hard to make, but the Stars absolutely have made it clear that they are a team that has the capability to win it all, even if it means going through Minnesota and Colorado (again).

On A Personal Note

That just about wraps it up for this edition of Hockey Tonk, and with that, I would like to do something a bit unusual, and talk to all of you directly. In the past few months, I have been traveling a lot for work, and as a result I have not been as consistent with my writing as I would like to be. The good news is that I am currently changing jobs, and will have much more time to watch, analyze, and write about our favorite team in the coming weeks after starting my new position. I will be back on it tomorrow morning, as I write another article for you guys, as well as for NBS media, where I cover the entire NHL. Schedules can get a bit hectic when you work nights and weekends and write for two publications. I love doing this, and will continue to write and get better, so that I can cover the team more thoroughly and provide better content for all of you. Sincere thanks to everyone who reads these, as it has become my favorite thing to do throughout the week. This started as an excuse to talk about hockey, and really was just me writing diary entries about the Stars until recently. I don’t have a huge following on here, but there are 40 of you. I really can’t believe 40 people liked my stuff enough to subscribe and read my ramblings about the games and opinions about what’s going down in Dallas. I truly appreciate you all, and I absolutely love seeing comments and notifications when you guys engage with me here. The Stars community is an awesome one, and I am so glad to feel like I am becoming a (small) part of Stars media. Looking up to people like Gavin Spittle, Robert Tiffin, and Lia Assimakopoulos, I try every day to be like them by giving you a unique voice and perspective on what I see going on. Anyways, thank you all so much, and I will see you on the next one. As always, go Stars.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

If you look back at last season, at this time, it seemed like, for a second, the Stars would catch up to Winnipeg for 1st place in the Central and take the President’s Trophy. The Stars rode a 10-game point streak up to the 76th game of the season, and then decided to lose the remainder of the games in the regular season, dropping 7-straight contests before backing into a playoff matchup against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. The Stars inevitably lost Game 1, and boy, if you were on the internet at that time, the vibes could not be lower. Fast forward to this year, the Stars rode a 15-game point streak for some time and collected points in 17 of 18 games before now dropping four-straight games, three of which were in regulation. Are the Stars proverbially cooked? Is the locker room falling apart? Of course not.

Injuries

The Stars have been notably missing two of their best players in Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen, and as a result, the depth scoring has dried up. Dudes like Nathan Bastian and Mavrik Bourque just are not guys that you can rely on on a nightly basis to replace or replicate the kind of things those two guys do. The well has dried up, y’all. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston are great, but the offense simply needs those two Finns in order to operate at the level it has been able to for most of the season. To add fuel to that fire, our PK has suffered a bit without Radek Faksa to play in the middle for them and cause chaos on the 4th line. Adding salt to the wound, the team’s swiss army knife just went down for an undisclosed injury as well. Sam Steel left the game against the Islanders in the 2nd period and was not seen on the bench for the remainder of the game. Sam Steel has since flown back home, and will not be rejoining the team on the road trip. The outlook is that he is day-to-day, but he will definitely be missing for the next few contests at least.

So we look at what has been going on, and we see that the Stars are down 4 forwards right now, and are now taking on a lot of water. The good news, if you haven’t heard, is that Mikko has rejoined the team and has been a full practice participant, and will rejoin the action tonight against the Penguins. Getting your best player back is definitely something that can help get a team out of a funk. Clearly the injuries have been hurting us, but really, is that even a valid excuse? The Avalanche have lost Landeskog for lots of games this season, as well as Arturi Lehkonen and Val Nichushkin for extended periods of time. The Wild have been without large parts of their D-core throughout the year as well. The injury argument simply doesn’t hold up very well when you consider that the rest of the league has dealt with them at a very similar rate. Other teams lost guys during the Olympics from injury, and other teams are playing the same schedule as the Stars.

What’s The Diagnosis?

I think the Stars have a mild cold, but nothing serious. They are ailing from a grueling stretch of the season, a ton of travel, and are missing key guys down the stretch. The past few games, what I have noticed is that the defense has not been as stout as it had been, specifically in the Devils loss. Lots of 2-on-1 chances and allowing guys to just casually skate around unchallenged, getting into the crease and not being punished. There has been a noticeable downtick in physicality as well, not that they are getting out-hit, but they are not quite commanding the game and forcing the other team to play Stars hockey. The stats show that they were outhit pretty heavily against Colorado and Minnesota, and only slightly against Vegas. Of course, that doesn’t paint the full picture. The pace of play has not been something that has fallen in the Stars’ favor over this small stretch. Really, though, have the Stars been playing “bad” hockey? I mean, the game against New Jersey was not pretty, but they clawed back a couple of times, and definitely showed a good bit of fight back in that game. The Islanders game was a 2-1 goalie fight between Otter and Sorokin, who really could end up winning the Vezina this season. The only really bad game, by my eye test, was the contest against Vegas, even that one was a 1-goal contest. The Stars are slumping, but are getting Mikko back, and are even playing some easier teams down the stretch; only half of the games left this season are against playoff teams.

Playoffs?

The matchup in the 1st round is most definitely going to be the Wild, barring some kind of ridiculous turnaround by the Stars and subsequent collapse from the Avs. The Stars have not had it easy at any point in the last 3 seasons when it comes to playoff matchups. Last season was a round 1 matchup against Colorado without Robo or Miro, and then a face off against the President’s Trophy winning Jets. The year before that? Vegas then Colorado, the previous 2 Cup winners. The year before that? The Wild and then Seattle before being beaten by the eventual Cup-winning Golden Knights.

The Stars match up against Minnesota will not be like the matchups of old. This Minnesota team is a very good defensive team, and now has nearly elite-level goaltending to back them up. Wallstedt is a phenom and Gustavsson is capable of stealing a series just like Jake Oettinger can. Home ice will be crucial in a close series like this, both barns are very loud, and very passionate. The Stars and Wild matchups are pretty much dead even, the goal differential sitting at only +1 for the Wild. This is looking to be a grueling 6-7 game series, so buckle up. The Stars’ focus at this time should be to use rest days wisely and get as healthy as possible going into this series. Currently the Wild sit 3 points back, and have won 4-straight.

Tonight’s Tale Of The Tape

The Penguins, much like Dallas, have had their share of injury troubles, recently losing Sydney Crosby yet again for what looks like the remainder of the season. The Penguins are currently sitting at 2nd in the Metro, with Columbus and the Isles hot on their tail. This is a game that will mean a lot for both teams standings-wise. Both teams also are pretty predicated on relying on special teams, the Penguins boasting the 3rd-best PK in the league and 7th in PP%. I am definitely sensing that neither team wants to go on the PK in this one, so I am expecting a pretty clean game considering. We are enjoying an earlier puck drop and another back-to-back, likely seeing Otter tonight and DeSmith tomorrow against Philadelphia. The biggest piece of this roud trip is getting 96 back. Try to enjoy watching our guys dig themselves out of the small rut they have found themselves in, I don’t think they will be there for much longer. As always, go Stars.

History for WyJo, and A Bit About Dino Ciccarelli

Wyatt Johnston has scored 9 goals since the Olympic break, 5 of which have come on the power play. His ability to sneak into the dirty areas on the bumper and near the netfront are every bit as impressive as his scoring ability. Johnston is adept as slipping into these dangerous parts of the ice, aided by the gravity of players like Moose and Robo and exacerbated by his shot accuracy. Wyatt was picked 23rd overall in the 2021 NHL Entry draft. If the league were to do a re-draft, he absolutely would be going 1st overall, he is a brilliant hockey mind and playmaker that fits in incredibly well with cerebral guys like Robertson and Rantanen. Jim Nill and his cabinet of scouts were able to notice not only how talented Johnston was at the time, but also knew how undervalued he was by other teams, and even traded down a few spots knowing he was going to fly under their radar. Watching his rise to superstardom in victory green has been an absolute treat.

Now, what about this Dino Ciccarelli guy? If you’re like me, you aren’t someone who was even alive when the North Stars existed, and didn’t know much about him growing up. With all of the hype around everyone’s favorite new Star, Justin Hryckowian, I have seen people ask the question, is Hryckowian the best undrafted player in Stars history? I laughed. First off, Ed Belfour was undrafted, and is much more recent in Stars fans’ memory banks, and he got us to our lone Cup win in 1998-99. Secondly, Dino Ciccarelli was a player that played in Minnesota from 1980-1988, his (until recently) franchise-record PPG season was in 1986-87, a season in which he didn’t even score a power play goal in the final 15 games of the season. Ciccarelli was an Ontario-native who began his professional career at just 15 years-old, collecting 45 goals and 43 assists in his first season of professional hockey with his hometown Sarnia Bees Southwestern Ontario Minor Hockey league “B” team. He continued his career with the London Knights of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and played there for 3 seasons, his 3rd season being derailed by injuries.

At age 20, he would get the call to play in the NHL with the North Stars, playing in 32 games and notching 30 points. The North Stars would go into the playoffs that season, and Dino would become the record setter for Goals and Points by a rookie in Stanley Cup Playoff history, with 21 Points (Now tied with Jake Guentzel and Ville Leino) and 14 goals. These records still stand the test of time, 45 years later, nobody has bested these numbers. The next season, Dino would play his first full season with the North Stars, scoring 55 goals and tallying 106 points. At only 21 years old. He also became the franchise’s only player to have 100 points and 100 penalty minutes. Can you guess who was on pace for that this season before being derailed by injury? 3…2…1… If you guessed Mikko Rantanen, your guess was correct! Now imagine if Moose had slightly more of a scoring touch and was 20 years old, then you have Dino Ciccarelli’s 81’-82 season. Ciccarelli would go on to play for the North Stars for 8 seasons, totaling 653 points in that time. Dino is currently in the Hockey Hall of Fame, elected in 2010. He stand tall as a monument of gritty goal-scoring and overachieving.

He was overlooked for his size and injury history, and is now 21st all-time in goal scoring and 11th in Power Play Goals after all this time. Once a 5’10” Right Winger with a dream, 1,232 Games, 1,200 points, and 608 Goals later, a hockey Hall of Famer with his name in the record books. You simply cannot tell the story of the Dallas Stars, or Texas Hockey without mentioning his name. The fact that Wyatt Johnston was able to pass his franchise mark is nothing short of incredible, and should absolutely not be overshadowed by the fact that we lost a regular season game to the Golden Knights by a single goal. Thank you WyJo, and thank you, Dino.

The Sky Is Not Falling, It Just Got Bigger

In order to win it, you have to be in it. Your Dallas Stars have made it to the show once again, the 5th time straight exactly, and are doing so as a team who will (likely) have home ice through every round except for the one we may have to play against Colorado. Yes, we “backed into” a spot via another team’s win, but we actually did so by getting 97 points in 70 games. We did this without (but not limited to):

• Matt Duchene (30 Games)

• Jamie Benn (22 Games)

• Mikko Rantanen (16 Games)

• Lian Bichsel (31 Games)

• Thomas Harley (12 Games)

• Tyler Seguin (Only played 27 Games before SELTIR)

• Roope Hintz (17 Games)

I am not discounting anything some of these depth pieces have done, but we have achieved this with depth guys like Hryckowian, Bastian, Petrovic, Lyubushkin, Capobianco, Blackwell, Hyry, Bourque, and Bäck. Like I said, nothing against these guys at all, but are they a Tyler Seguin or a Matt Duchene? Are they the Captain of the freaking team??? The answer is clearly not, yet, here we are, with 97 points in March, enjoying the beautiful (x) next to our name. Most seasons, nobody has 97 points by now. Had it not been for the torrid start by the Avs, the Stars would be firmly in 1st place in the President’s Trophy race at this point considering there are 12 games left and the President’s Trophy winner, on average, has 112.5 points in a season. The Stars need only secure 7/12 more wins to hit that mark, something that is well within their grasp at this junction in the season.

Let us all look at this from another lens. After listening to DLLS Stars’ show, it reminded me, the job of a GM is to keep their team relevant and profitable. Clearly, we all want a Stanley Cup, and to see 14 hoist it above his head (I would fall apart if this happened). The thing about the Cup, especially in this era of playoff format shenanigans, is that it is incredibly difficult to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. It is a 6-week long slog in which you play 4 seven-game playoff series’ against the best teams in the league, and in the Stars’ case, the toughest competition in the NHL. Just look at 2023-24, we had to play Vegas in round 1 (The previous Cup-Winner) and then the Avalanche (The pervious-previous Cup-Winner). Your job is to get your team in a position in which they have a chance to win it all, and Nill has done so. His trade deadline antics and “bad GM’ing” (his words, not mine) have gotten us into the Final Four of hockey 3 years running.

This is all just to stay relevant in North Texas. Of course, these days, if you hit Deep Ellum or Greenville Ave after a game, you will run into Stars jersey after Stars jersey. You will meet people excited about hockey, people who love to hit up a game while in downtown during the Stars’ reign as the supreme professional team in the metroplex. The thing is this, the Dallas Cowboys are king, and they suck, yet they still draw ~60% of the media coverage despite the Stars “deserving” the spotlight. In the grand scheme of things, “staying relevant” is not a luxury when it comes to hockey in North Texas. It is a necessity. Jim Nill’s job in Texas has been so well-executed that Houston just added a minor hockey team and the NHL is considering bringing a franchise to South Texas. The Stars’ story of survival has been one of being competitive nearly year-in and year-out. Housing Hall of Fame players like Modano, Zubov, and Belfour, and staying relevant despite the small hockey market. The AAC has become one of the loudest, rowdiest, and best barns in the league through constant attrition and effort, through war and siege from the once-friendly Mavericks, and from the constant influence from the indomitable reach of Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.

I grew up playing hockey in the Dr. Pepper Stars Center in Duncanville (now a Bob Knight’s Field House), as well as in Frisco and others, much like Stanley Cup Champion Blake Coleman and Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Bilka. We skated in the same metroplex, on the same ice, and watched the same #9 jersey flapping in the wind growing up. Hockey is clearly here to stay, but is nothing to be taken for granted, the long tendrils of football ever-planting itself into the soil of Texas. As the Stars make yet another trip into the post season, try to remember this; hockey is not guaranteed. I remember reading a Sports Illustrated magazine in 2017 (The Bryce Harper “Chosen One” Issue, so nostalgic), and they had interviewed Gary Bettman, asking about smaller markets. He had mentioned that teams like Arizona, Dallas, and Nashville would be the first teams to go if they eyed relocation. “Non-traditional hockey markets”. Since then, St. Louis, Tampa, and Florida (Miami/S. Florida) have won Stanley Cups, so maybe not as much as in 2017, but hockey is not to be taken for granted in Texas. All I ask is that you all be as thankful as I am for this amazing hockey we get to experience in North Texas.

Injury Updates

Mikko Rantanen

Jim Nill recently announced that he would be joining the team on the road trip, skating in full-practice with the boys, and could even play in the final 2-games of the road trip. Incredible news considering the recent power play woes, including 2 fruitless 4-minute power plays.

Roope Hintz

The prognosis is still that he will be ready by playoff time, hopefully a few games before, but the team expects him to be back by the time the 1st round starts.

Radek Faksa

Faksa has recently been spotted in a boot as well as the team’s communal scooter. His injury is one that “we have not seen before” per Jim Nill, which does not inspire confidence in his return. With what is seemingly a foot injury, it is really tough to know when exactly he will come back, even for a podiatrist, let alone a journalist. I know grammar rules, not tarsals and metatarsals. The expectation in hopefully by the 1st round and probably by the end of the 1st round. While it does hurt the center depth of the team, specifically on the PK, this is the least “harmful” of the recent injuries to the forwards. While it certainly sucks (I love Radek Faksa a whole lot), it is not game breaking in the same way as half of our power play forwards going down.

So no, the sky is not falling, and while the dreaded Jason Robertson defensive misplay (it was genuinely terrible to watch live) sucked, look at the bigger picture. We have a lot to celebrate as Stars fans, and have become the dreaded “spoiled” fans. Just don’t let me see you leaving a game early, no matter what. I don’t care how bad the I-35 traffic is. Please, I implore you to enjoy the game this evening against a non-playoff team, as our guys try to get it back on track after a couple of tough losses. Otter is on a heater, WyJo is historic, and Mikko will be back soon. Until then, as always, go Stars.