NHL Awards: Dallas Stars Edition

During the lull of the All Star break, here's The Hockey News comprehensive look at what Dallas Stars players would take home the end of season NHL hardware at this point in the season.

The Dallas Stars have had a successful first half of the season and sit comfortably in the playoff picture and one point back of first place in the Central Division at the All Star break.

With the break in action, it is a perfect moment for The Hockey News to reflect on individual performances and hand out NHL awards to each team. Below are the Dallas Stars team winners of each league-wide end of season award.

At this point in the season, Jason Robertson is leading the Stars in points with 50 points in 47 games. Comparatively to last year, Robertson is having a "down" season, but is still on pace to record 87 points.

However, with the switch of line mates from Joe Pavelski to Wyatt Johnston, there could be an uptick in scoring for him as that line has really been on fire as of late. The back-to-back 40 goal scorer has another level to reach. 

Roope Hintz leads the team in goals with 22, despite missing two games thus far. Hintz is by far the most well-rounded player on the Stars, but this year, it seems that his offensive game has reached a new level.

He is on pace to score 38 goals, which would be a new career-high for him. Like with Robertson, the addition of Wyatt Johnston to the top line could cause a jump in his production and keep him on top for the race for most goals on the team.

There is an argument for Matt Duchene being the best free agency signing of the 2023-24 season. He has fit like a glove and was the missing piece Jim Nill has been trying to find for the past few seasons.

Duchene currently has 17 goals and 45 points through 48 games played. He is on pace to pass his numbers from last season in Nashville, but his impact doesn't stop there. His play-making skills has helped elevate the games of line mates Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment.

Seguin is on pace for 28 goals and 65 points, which would be his best numbers in the past five seasons. And Marchment is already close to hitting career-high numbers and it's only halfway through the season. This line has given Dallas the edge of essentially having two first lines to create mismatches against other teams.

Miro Heiskanen has always had the defensive abilities to win the Norris, but unfortunately for Heiskanen, this award has always been about offensive numbers. And for reasons that span from defensive partners to coaching systems, Heiskanen's offensive game was held back for the first few years of his career.

However, last season, he was finally able to break through that part of his game and his a career high of 73 points. But as fate would have it, Erik Karlsson put up a whopping 101 points last season. Though Heiskanen wasn't exactly in the running, his best shot would have been last season. 

Heiskanen has missed ten games this season due to an injury, but is on pace for 63 points. It's not a career-high but the next closest defenseman is Thomas Harley, who is on pace for 51 points. The two have recently been paired together and the results looking promising, as Harley has racked up some serious points as of late. Harley could give Heiskanen a run for his money if his game continues to flourish and gives the team a true 1B defenseman to join Heiskanen in the elite category.

Oettinger has gone through injury problems this season, missing four weeks due to a groin injury suffered in December. While Scott Wedgewood kept the wins flowing for the Stars, he was able to get offensive support even when three or more goals went in against him.

It can't be understated how crucial it was to have timely saves from Wedgewood when there basically wasn't another option to play in net, but Oettinger still takes this award for how critical he is to the Stars.

The Minnesota native got off to a fantastic start to the season, making sure the team banked plenty of points early on and established themselves at the top of the Central Division. While he was on a bit of a slide before his injury, he has come back and looked much closer to the elite goaltender he has proven himself to be in the past few years. Plus, Oettinger is the only All Star representing the Stars in Toronto.

Much like Heiskanen, Hintz has been snubbed of serious Selke consideration for quite some time. Although he usually earns a few fringe votes every season, his offensive game and speed get a lot of credit but his defensive game shouldn't go unnoticed.

His current line with Robertson and Johnston are out-scoring opponents nearly 7 to 1.5. He is an integral piece for the penalty kill and leads the team in short-handed goals with three. Robertson's defensive game has recently gotten more attention, but Hintz is always right there next to him ready to use his size and speed to help the Stars play in the offensive zone and minimize their time defending near their own net.

Maybe Thomas Harley doesn't exactly fit the parameters to be in the running for the Calder, but the Stars don't currently have a rookie making any impact at the NHL level. So of the young players, Harley currently runs away with this award. 

Harley got his chance to shine at the end of last season, getting called up late in the season to play in six regular season games before being a trusted piece in a deep playoff run.

This is Harley's first full season and he has been thrown in every situation he could imagine. He has been given chances at quarter-backing the power-play, he is getting more opportunities at 3v3 (he went into the All-Star break with back-to-back overtime game-winners), but most importantly, he stepped up in Heiskanen's injury absence. He went from consistently getting 18 minutes a night to 22+ and didn't miss a beat. Now paired with Heiskanen after his return, Harley has recorded multiple multi-point nights.

He is among the top players in the NHL in even strength scoring and goals by defenseman, and he is on pace to record 51 points on the season.

Mason Marchment had a break-out year with the Florida Panthers at 26 years old, with 18 goals and 47 points. However, he was a casualty of their tight cap situation, leaving Marchment to hit the free agency market. The Stars signed him to a four-year deal on July 13th, 2022, just one week after his father Bryan Marchment passed away.

The 2022-23 season for Marchment did not go the way most predicted it would after his career year in Florida. Some wondered if he was just the product of a high-scoring offense of Florida. That team won the President's Trophy that season and scored goals with ease under coach Andrew Brunette. Coming to Dallas, it just didn't seem to click like anyone wanted last season.

This season, Marchment just looks like a different player. He is playing with more confidence and patience. His two best assets are his passing ability, and his penchant to get under the opponent's skin, causing him to draw a lot of penalties. He is on pace to score 27 goals and record 63 points, blowing his previous highs of 18 goals and 47 points out of the water. 

Matt Duchene is the definition of a happy hockey player. Often during warmups, Duchene is busy making faces at his children in the stands, always keeping the mood light and happy with a smile on his face.

On the ice, he is rarely a part of any scrum, and he doesn't really have much of a snarl to his game. For some players, that could be a detriment, but Duchene has earned respect throughout the league for his skill and demeanor, and it doesn't seem like many opposing players feel the need to pick a fight with him.

Combine this with his ablility to avoid the penalty box, and it is the perfect description of what a Lady Byng candidate would be across the NHL. Duchene has only sat in the sin bin for eight total minutes this whole season, letting his skills do the talking on the ice and keeping himself out there for the most important situations. He can rely on Marchment to be the agitator and focus on being himself.

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