The Hockey News PREDICTION | 1ST IN CENTRAL
AFTER LANDING MIKKO Rantanen and Mikael Granlund before the trade deadline, Dallas looked like the best team on paper going into the post-season. Instead, the Stars made it to the Western Conference final but no further for a third consecutive year, losing to the Oilers in five games.
The disappointment of the loss, along with the way the final game against Edmonton was handled, led to the ouster of coach Peter DeBoer and the hiring of Glen Gulutzan - who led Dallas 12 years ago but was fired by Jim Nill in one of his first moves as GM. It is a risky move to change coaches when you've been one of the league's best teams for half a decade. The Stars are confident they have the core to win now. They just need the extra degree to get themselves into the final fight and emerge victorious. Anything less than the Stanley Cup will be a disappointment.
OFFENSE
Any conversation about the offense has to start with Rantanen - who lit it up for the Stars in the playoffs. Now with an eight-year deal in Dallas, he will get a chance to mesh with his team for a full year. But losing Granlund, Mason Marchment and Evgenii Dadonov will hurt the team's overall offensive output. Big years from former 109-point scorer Jason Robertson - who is in a contract year - and Matt Duchene will be crucial. Dallas has an enviable offensive unit, but the question will be the team's consistency in the later rounds of the playoffs, where they have been challenged over the past few vears.
DEFENSE
Dallas did not make any big splashes in free agency for defensemen, choosing to stay the course with the core group that subtracts Cody Ceci and reinserts Nils Lundkvist - who ended the season injured.
The Stars have to be very happy with their top three, but it's unclear how they will deploy the collection of younger players and veterans Ilya Lyubushkin and Alexander Petrovic for spots four through six. A step-up year from Lundkvist and Lian Bichsel to form a solid third pairing would be a welcome bit of news. Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell were relied on too much in the critical moments by a club that could not always trust its bottom pair.
GOALTENDING
With Jake Oettinger leading the way, there is no question about the crease now and for many years to come. Oettinger has something extra to fight for early in the season: the starting role for the U.S. at the Olympics. To unseat Connor Hellebuyck, he needs to have a truly outstanding first half. Dallas hopes to benefit from the motivation. Casey DeSmith, entering the second year of a three-year deal, serves as a solid backup.
SPECIAL TEAMS
With many of the same players returning, the attention turns to the coaching moves. Alain Nasreddine - who runs a penalty kill that finished fourth last season - is the lone assistant still on staff. Neil Graham, promoted from AHL Texas, will help run the power play, which finished 17th last year and had significant ups and downs under Steve Spott. Even if Gulutzan plans to give Graham full control, additional confidence can be placed in the power play as Gulutzan himself ran one of the league's best in Edmonton.
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