Headlines

  • Mike Babcock Expected To Be Named Blue Jackets Head Coach
  • Pittsburgh Penguins Name Kyle Dubas President Of Hockey Operations
  • Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Brad Treliving
  • Nashville Predators Expected To Fire John Hynes, Hire Andrew Brunette
  • Washington Capitals Name Spencer Carbery Head Coach
  • Calgary Flames Name Craig Conroy General Manager
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Dallas Stars

December 5, 2018 at 7:40 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Dallas Stars.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Stars most thankful for?

Having a top line that is among the top number one units in the league.  Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Tyler Seguin have combined for an impressive 72 points in 74 games, a point-per-game rate that is even better than last season (0.97 vs 0.93).  They are the backbone of the attack in Dallas and will be for the foreseeable future.  Radulov has three years left on his deal after this one, Benn has six more following 2018-19, and Seguin inked an eight-year extension that kicks in next season just before training camp started.  Suffice it to say, the Stars won’t have to worry about their top line for a while, a luxury many teams don’t have.

Who are the Stars most thankful for?

Beyond that top line, defenseman Miro Heiskanen was hyped up as a potential number one blueliner when Dallas picked him with the third overall pick back in 2017.  In his first NHL season, the 19-year-old is already showing glimpses of that potential and has improved as the year has gone on while establishing himself as one of their top blueliners already; he’s averaging just shy of 23 minutes per game.  Not many teams have a young franchise defenseman in their system but the Stars are one of the ones that do and he’s already making a considerable impact.   That’s a huge piece of the puzzle in place for the long haul as he’s under team control for at least the next six years.

What would the Stars be even more thankful for?

Some secondary scoring beyond that top line.  Jason Spezza has rebounded fairly well after a bad 2017-18 campaign but it drops off considerably after that.  Beyond their top three forwards, no one else has more than five goals through 28 games so far this season.  Mattias Janmark scored 19 times last season but has just one this year.  Valeri Nichushkin hasn’t scored yet in 22 contests.  Blake Comeau is logging over 15 minutes a night of ice time and has just two goals in 27 games.  Getting some of these players going would go a long way towards bolstering their offense.  They’re one of the top teams in the league in terms of fewest goals allowed so if they can get a second line scoring consistently, Dallas could move up the standings pretty quickly.

What should be on the Stars’ Holiday Wish List?

If their current depth players can’t pick it up offensively, a scoring winger will be at the top of the list before too long.  On top of that, they’ll likely want to add some defensive depth given the uncertainty surrounding Stephen Johns and Marc Methot.  However, cap space is limited thanks to all of their injuries on the back end so GM Jim Nill may have to wait until closer to the trade deadline to make some moves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Dallas Stars| Thankful Series 2018-19

Pacific Notes: Coyotes Goaltending, Frolik, Caggiula
Main
Metropolitan Notes: Flyers, Sorokin, Rangers Injuries
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Mike Babcock Expected To Be Named Blue Jackets Head Coach

    Pittsburgh Penguins Name Kyle Dubas President Of Hockey Operations

    Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Brad Treliving

    Nashville Predators Expected To Fire John Hynes, Hire Andrew Brunette

    Washington Capitals Name Spencer Carbery Head Coach

    Calgary Flames Name Craig Conroy General Manager

    Kyle Dubas Will Not Return As Toronto GM

    Arizona Coyotes Expected To Remain In Tempe For 2023-24

    Gabriel Landeskog Unlikely To Play Next Season

    Chicago Blackhawks Win 2023 NHL Draft Lottery

    Recent

    Free Agent Focus: New Jersey Devils

    Free Agent Focus: Nashville Predators

    Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens

    Minor Transactions: 06/04/23

    Free Agent Focus: Minnesota Wild

    Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars

    Bettman Presser Notes: World Cup, Senators, Relocation, Nichushkin, Front Office

    PHR Playoff Primer: Florida Panthers vs Vegas Golden Knights

    Blues Not Planning To Use A Buyout This Offseason

    East Notes: Killorn, Orlov, Rangers

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version