Head coach Pete DeBoer says they're important pieces of the puzzle.
The Stars added several new faces to the mix this season, including forward Matt Duchene and assistant coach Misha Donskov.
Head coach Pete DeBoer praised them both during his media availability on Wednesday.
The veteran bench boss believes they can be major difference-makers.
“I’ve known Matt Duchene since he was a teenager. I had him at a World Championship. He’s an elite player. You don’t go in the top two or three overall of an NHL Draft unless you’re one of the elite players in the world, so we’re adding elite skill,” said DeBoer on Wednesday at Comerica Center in Frisco. “I think he’s a great person. We got a chance to go up, Steve Spott and I, and visit him at his house in the summer in Canada. We spent the day with him and met his family and his kids, and his mom and dad were there. It’s a quality person that we’re adding to the organization and a really, really good hockey player that’s going to hopefully create those mismatches for us in the depth of the lineup that determines games.”
Duchene, who registered 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) with Nashville last year, was the Stars’ most notable offseason acquisition after signing a one-year, $3 million contract on July 1.
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Donskov, meanwhile, is also a known commodity to DeBoer.
He was thrilled that Donskov chose to make Dallas the next stop on his hockey journey after winning the Stanley Cup with Vegas this past summer.
"Misha’s a guy I got to know at Hockey Canada when I did a World Championship. He’s one of those special coaches. His skill set goes way beyond coaching. He’s worked in analytics, he’s worked in management, he’s worked in scouting, he’s worked in coaching, he’s kind of a jack of all trades, and he’s very good in all those areas," explained DeBoer. "I got to work with him really closely in Vegas for the three years I was there. When he became available this summer, we had a conversation. Frankly, I didn’t know or have a real good feel that it would work out, but we just kept kind of circling back to it. He had a lot of options and a lot of different things that he was looking at doing in all kinds of different areas in the game, and it just worked out. We feel very fortunate to add him. I think he’s going to help us in a lot of different areas."
As far as Donskov's role is concerned, DeBoer explained that he will handle multiple tasks since he brings plenty of expertise to the table.
DeBoer couldn't be happier to have him on board.
"He’s going to oversee a lot of things. The one thing about coming in here last year with a new staff and new systems and getting to know the players, we didn’t really get an opportunity to get into a lot of detail, so this year I feel we’ll be able to hit the ground running and we’re going to be further ahead. It’s going to allow us another layer of communication with the analytics department - he’s got a real strong background there - and a lot more opportunity to do individual work with players," added DeBoer. "Our manpower with me, Steve Spott, Alain Nasreddine and Jeff Reese, it’s a small staff in today’s NHL to really get into the individual feedback players want, so he’s going to help us in that area, and just really support us in everything we’re doing."