The Dallas Stars are now a full season removed from revamping their defense, but Dallas still might not have solved their biggest issue.

Having defenders that can skate the puck in transition from defense to offense is more critical than ever in today's NHL, and Dallas still struggles mightily with doing that outside of Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley.

So, looking forward to what next season's defense pairings could be, there is no sign of improvement in one big aspect - the second pair.

Heiskanen and Harley were supposed to be broken up on the first and second pair this season with the addition of Matt Dumba. Initially Dumba slotted in on the top pair with Heiskanen, but that didn't last long. And by the end of the season, Dumba wasn't in the picture at all.

Harley, meanwhile, proved that he was a top pair, minute eating defenseman while Heiskanen was injured. As much as Dallas has been begging for a right handed blue liner to put next to Heiskanen, Harley has proven he belongs nowhere else but as a top pairing player.

On the third pair, Lian Bichsel has seemingly cemented his spot moving forward. The youngster is thriving with big hits and continually improving defensive skills. Now, look at the playoffs and it seems completely logical that Alexander Petrovic should slot right back next to Bichsel moving forward. Petrovic is signed for one more year at $775,000, and Dallas would welcome that cap relief from having such an affordable third pairing. It works, it makes sense, and there is no reason to change it now.

It's a third pairing, so there's definitely not as much of an emphasis on that puck movement. Neither player are a fully offensive defenseman, but Bichsel could still develop into a puck carrier if that is something the coaches want him to focus on.

That leaves the second pair. Esa Lindell just inked a new five year deal last season, and he has been a stalwart on that middle pair for a while now. His defensive capabilities have been instrumental for Dallas now for quite some time. Everyone knows what he means in that regard.

Now let's consider who is left. Dumba has a year left on his $3+ million contract and Ilya Lyubushkin has two years left on his $3+ million contract. Both are right handed and would logically slot in.

But both have proven they are not the puck mover that Lindell needs beside him. Nils Lundkvist is a restricted free agent and could return to Dallas, but that means he would have to play over a combined $7 million of right handed defensemen. It seems hard to believe that would happen if one or both were still on the team. But logically it is Lundkvist's skill set that the team needs the most.

Without Lundkvist, Dallas is left with one pair with two elite puck movers and two pairs with zero puck movers. The results of that were shown this season and even more in the playoffs. Dallas could not generate enough offense and it started from the blue line forward. They couldn't control possession in the offensive zone and struggled to get in the offensive zone. It was all on the forwards to do the work.

The two teams in the Stanley Cup Final are one and two in goals by defensemen. Edmonton added Jake Walman and John Klingberg to address their issues with moving the puck from their blue line forward. It has done wonders to their offensive game.

If Dallas wants to take the next step, they need to address who exactly is going to help move the puck in their defensive core six. Without addressing it, the team will be left stuck in the defensive zone and most likely stuck watching the Stanley Cup Final on TV once more.

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