Dallas Stars: poised for a break out?
The Dallas Stars have suffered through two very difficult seasons, finishing 12th in both 2008-09, and 2009-10. Nevertheless, Dallas general manager Joe Nieuwendyk seems to be slowly building towards the future, while at the same time maintaining the team’s core of skilled players.
In 2007-08 the Stars shocked fans by getting all the way to the Western Conference Finals, before losing to the eventual Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Since then they have taken a nose dive to the bottom of the Pacific Division, and Western Conference. However, the 2010-11 season looks promising, as a group of youngsters emerged last season, and now looked poised for a break-out.
Roster Changes
Sticking with concept of a slow re-build Nieuwendyk let lifetime Star Mike Modano leave the club in order to sign a contract with the Red Wings, veteran tender Marty Turco has also left signing with the Chicago Blackhawks, and long-time Star Jere Lehtinen has called it quits.
Instead of going out and acquiring veterans, the Stars’ brass has elected to fill the holes with youth, thus introducing a new generation of Stars.
Forward
The Stars have a promising future upfront. Nevertheless their main scoring unit will still be made up of franchise veterans.
The first line will feature familiar names such as Brad Richards at centre, captain Brenden Morrow on the left wing, and Loui Eriksson patrolling the right side.
The second unit will be chalked full of youngsters as Mike Ribeiro will centre 2009-10 standouts Jamie Benn and James Neal.
The third line meanwhile will house tough guy Steve Ott, and one of Tom Wandell or Brian Sutherby at centre, while Toby Petersen is likely to fill the other wing position. The fourth line is up for grabs in camp, however newly acquired Adam Burish is expected to garner a wing position.
Defence
Like the forward core, the backend features several recognizable names scattered between young skaters.
The first pairing should contain Stephane Robidas, and Trevor Daley. The second group can be expected to be filled by Matt Niskanen, and Karlis Skrastins, while the third and final pairing looks to be up for grabs, with a battle between Nicklas Grossman, Brad Lukowich, and Mark Fistric.
Goalie
With the departure of Turco, newly acquired Kari Lehtonen will be filling the number one role for the Stars. Lehtonen was taken second overall in the 2002 entry draft and has yet to live up to his potential. The Stars are hoping the 26-year-old Finn will be able to find his game in Dallas, something he was never able to do in Atlanta with the Thrashers.
Lehtonen will be backed-up by journeyman Andrew Raycroft, who spent last season playing behind Roberto Luongo in Vancouver.
Can the Stars get back to the post-season?
Upfront the Stars top two scoring lines can go head-to-head with the best in the Western Conference. Richards is a bona-fide all-star centre, who scored 91 points last season, while Eriksson has been one of the most underrated wingers in the conference, and continues to improve year-after-year. The second unit should be vastly improved after both Benn and Neal spent a full season in the NHL.
On defence the Stars still have some question marks. Nieuwendyk is hoping that Robidas is a number one defenceman, and that his youngsters are able to improve after a tough season in 2009-10.
In net the Stars are a fragile club. Lehtonen has not been highly successful as a full time starter, and Raycroft is not able to handle a large workload. If the Stars hope to make it back to the post-season it will hinge on above par goaltending.
Expect the Stars to improve on their totals from last season. Nevertheless, with an improved division it will still be a struggle for them to make the play-offs. However, if they defence and goaltending comes through, look for them to make a push for seventh or eighth.
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