Adam Proteau discusses what he likes most about the Dallas Stars, New Brunswick's "good conduct clause" for Hockey Canada and Brad Marchand's good deed.
This is Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature that takes a few hockey topics and analyzes them in short bursts. As always, we’ll keep the introductory paragraph brief, and get right down to business.
The resurgent Dallas Stars are one of the NHL’s most intriguing teams this season. They’re currently the top team in the Central Division, and they’ve lost only nine times in regulation in 34 games. Only Boston (four regulation losses), Carolina (six) and Toronto (seven) have lost fewer regulation-time games this year.
Yours truly was very skeptical about Dallas this season after we touted them as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in the 2021-22 campaign. As we all know, they were defeated in the first round in a seven-game series against Calgary, and their lack of depth was readily apparent. Their highest-paid players – forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn – looked like their best days were well behind them.
This year has been a different story. First-year Stars coach Peter DeBoer has got ample production from his group: Dallas has a 3.56 goals-for-per-game average, good for fifth in the league. And that hasn’t come at the expense of their defensive game; they’re in the top 10 in their own zone, averaging just 2.79 goals against per game. This is a well-balanced squad that gets offensive production from their top three forward lines, and their defense has chipped in as well on offense.
More importantly, Stars GM Jim Nill has crafted a team with at least one star (no pun intended) at every position: up front, winger Jason Robertson has emerged as an elite winger, and he’s playing alongside another star in center Roope Hintz and longtime star winger Joe Pavelski. The line is one of the league’s most dangerous this year, but they don’t have all the pressure on them as Dallas’ second and third lines also contribute meaningfully.
That brings us to Seguin and Benn. The former has 17 assists and 24 points this season, and the latter has 18 assists and 31 points. That’s still not close to their career bests, but it’s enough for the Stars at this point in their competitive cycle. They need the two veterans to continue putting up solid numbers, and so far, they’re getting it.
Nill also has stars on defense in Miro Heiskanen and in goal in Jake Oettinger. There’s depth everywhere, which is important since they’ve got only about $290,000 in salary cap space right now, per Cap Friendly.
But why meddle with success? Nill is a savvy hockey lifer who is terrific at identifying top talent, and although every team has things they want to improve, being at the top of the Central was not something many people saw coming. But our instincts about the Stars having the potential to do big things have returned, and they should be a tougher out in the coming post-season.
New Brunswick's government has issued a “good conduct” clause in its funding contract with Hockey Canada to stage the 2023 World Junior Championship. That means Hockey Canada's representatives, from the staff to the players, "must be of good character and must not indulge in unethical conduct."
After the whirlwind of abuse claims involving previous Hockey Canada-related participants, it’s not surprising to see other hockey organizations move to ensure there will be a safe environment for all future events.
It's good that Hockey Canada now has a new board of governors, but you can't fault other hockey organizations for treating HC with a delicacy and cover-your-behind approach. Hockey Canada now has to demonstrate it's turned around before other hockey organizations have faith in them again.
Here’s an inspiring piece by the CBC on Bruins star Brad Marchand and a paralyzed player that will give you a different perspective on Marchand. He collaborated with a Halifax artist to create a painting to fundraise for the 19-year-old player who suffered a spinal cord injury in September 2021. Many people outside Boston loathe Marchand as a competitor, but this shows he's got a considerate side as well. If you can support Marchand and his cause, you should do it.