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Fantasy hockey preview: Dallas Stars

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Fantasy hockey preview: Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have struggled mightily over the past two seasons, having missed the play-offs on both occasions. Nevertheless, the Stars made it clear over the 2010 off-season that they are moving towards youth and a new core. Although they are still a
couple years away from the play-offs, the Stars should have an improved season in 2010-11.
In the fantasy world the Stars have a number of big performers on offence, but lack any real fantasy punch in the defensive end. The Dallas forward core is filled with high draft choices, late round steals and bounce-back players. When drafting your front
three keep the Stars in mind.
Forwards
The Stars have a plethora of forwards to choose from, and as a high scoring team, they should serve you well. With a number of sleepers and the possibility of a couple of bounce-back seasons up front, the Stars are worth keeping an eye on.
The Stars have two guaranteed early round picks in Brad Richards and the often underrated Loui Eriksson.
Richards has gone through something of a resurgence in Dallas, which was capped off by an impressive 2009-10 season. He was able to tally 14 goals and 91 points last season while gathering 13 power play points (PP). Strong at the offensive end of the ice
and solid on the power play Richards is a great second-round selection. However, watch for his plus-minus as he went minus-12 last season.
Eriksson has consistently been underrated for the past two seasons. However, those days are behind the left-winger as he posted 29 goals and 71 points last season to go along with six PP and four game-winning-goals (GW).
The Stars have a couple of bounce-back candidates in Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow, who play together on the team’s second line. Ribeiro suffered an injury last season that limited him to 66 games. However, the pass-first centre was still able to accumulate
53 points and eight PP. Morrow played in 76 games last season and only managed 46 points. However, he is capable of 70 points and can rack up the penalty minutes (PIMs).
Youngsters Jamie Benn and James Neal are worth keeping in mind as both had outstanding breakout seasons last year. Expect Neal to add to his 27 goals, while Benn is likely to come close to the 60-point plateau.
Defence
On defence the only player that is worth drafting is Stephane Robidas. Robidas is a consistent performer and should be chosen in the mid to late rounds, depending on the depth of the draft. The veteran is a fairly consistent performer across the board, scoring
41 points, 70 PIMs and seven PP last season. However, like most of the Dallas side his plus-minus will hurt you, as he went a minus-10 last year.
Goaltending
The real question for Dallas lies in the goaltending position. The Stars chose to part ways with long time net-minder Marty Turco this off-season. Instead the club is going with volatile youngster Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen has struggled to remain consistent
throughout his entire career. Lehtonen’s inconsistencies should keep him off your radar, unless you are in the final rounds and in need of another starting goalie. Although the 26-year-old performed well in his 10-game stint with the Stars last year, he is
simply too erratic to put stock in.
Backing up Lehtonen will be Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft came over from Vancouver and will certainly garner more time playing behind the young Finn than he did with Roberto Luongo. Raycroft could be interesting to keep an eye on as he could begin to pick up
more starts if Lehtonen falters.

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