Day one of the Dallas Stars training camp is underway in Frisco, and already there are some surprising line combinations for the Stars.
The team split into two groups, with the top two lines of each group essentially representing the NHL squad and the bottom two lines filled with AHL players looking to make their mark. In the NHL lines, some familiar combos from last season look to be back together again, albeit in a bit of a surprise given how certain players performed at the end of the year.
The top line of Group A featured Jamie Benn paired up with Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen, which was a combination that former head coach Pete DeBoer used when Rantanen was not playing on the all-Finn line with Roope Hintz and Mikael Granlund.
Johnston could not seem to make as much of an impact during the playoffs as he certainly would have wanted, and Benn's play earned him a team friendly, but also somewhat warranted, 1 year deal worth only $1 million base salary. Putting Rantanen on this line rather than on the top line with Hintz and Jason Robertson might be wise for the overall depth of the lineup, but also risky given how Benn ended the year.
Rantanen needs to have an elite season in year one of his $12 million per year deal, both to prove any doubters wrong and for the team's success. It may not be permanent, but it definitely seems like new head coach Glen Gulutzan is hoping to get production from every line and to spread the wealth evenly among the team, something Dallas was extremely successful with over the past two years.
Also stepping into a much more important role in Group B was Mavrik Borque, getting a chance at right wing next to Hintz and Robertson on the top line. Borque has had the highest success at the AHL level but still must prove he can be a top-6 winger in the NHL. Finally, with the depth signings to round out the fourth line, that means Sam Steel elevates to take the place of Mason Marchment, who was traded to the Seattle Kraken, next to the familiar pair of Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin.
Rounding out the last line was Oskar Back, Radek Faksa, and a rotating duo of Nathan Bastian and Colin Blackwell.
With this combination of forwards, Dallas is relying heavily on three players to play above what they produced last season. Benn, Borque and Steel will have to contribute a much higher point production than in the past for the Stars depth to remain as strong as before.
Gulutzan has a lot of time to figure things out before the playoffs come back around, but in the meantime, Dallas will have to hope these combinations get them the same early season success as the past few years.
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