The Dallas Stars were Western Conference finalists for the second straight season, but that didn't stop Stars GM Jim Nill from significantly remaking his team's defense corps. And writer Adam Proteau begins the process of analyzing Dallas' changes by breaking down the new-look collection of blueliners.

We’re deep in the heart of the NHL’s 2024 off-season, and that makes it as good a time as any to begin exploring the state of the Dallas Stars’ roster. After making the Western Conference final for the second consecutive season – and after winning the Central Division for the first time since 2015-16 – the Stars made significant changes to the lineup.

We'll begin exploring those changes in this column, which will zero in on the alterations Stars GM Jim Nill made to his defense corps. (And all financial information comes via Puck Pedia.)

RETURNING STARS DEFENSEMEN: Miro Heiskanen; Thomas Harley; Esa Lindell; Nils Lundkvist

EXITING STARS DEFENSEMEN: Ryan Suter; Chris Tanev; Jani Hakanpaa

NEW STARS DEFENSEMEN: Ilya Lyubushkin; Matt Dumba; Brendan Smith

THE LOWDOWN: The Stars had one of the deeper and more balanced group of defensemen this past season, with superstar blueliner Heiskanen (45 assists, 54 points in 71 games) leading the way, followed by up-and-comer Harley (15 goals, 47 points in 79 games), and the dependable, if unspectacular Lindell (21 assists, 26 points in 82 games). Youngster Lundkvist also contributed significantly, posting a career-best 17 assists and 19 points in 59 games. But with salary cap constraints limiting Nill to what he could offer trade acquisition Tanev, the Stars had to move on from Tanev, and they also allowed big-bodied veteran Hakanpaa to leave via free agency. Meanwhile, veteran Suter was bought out of the final year of his contract, meaning half of Dallas' top-six defensemen were moved on from in one way or another.

To replace them, Nill used free agency to sign the 30-year-old Lyubushkin, the 29-year-old Dumba, and the 35-year-old Smith. Dallas’ blueline loses a bit of size in the tradeoff of talent, but Lyubushkin is an above-average contributor, and Dumba and (shot-blocking expert) Smith bring a physical element that Stars coach Peter DeBoer will welcome. All things considered, Dallas’ back end will be a strength yet again, and star goalie Jake Oettinger’s life will be made easier because of the defenders in front of him.

Harley is currently a RFA who will eat up a good deal of the $6.24 million the Stars presently have in available salary cap space, and at this time next year, Lindell and Smith will be UFAs. Nill will have to be careful and deliberate to keep the defense corps together, but if the signings of Dumba, Lyubushkin and Smith pan out and Dallas gets at least to the Stanley Cup final, Nill will be happy to try and figure out how to retain all the talent on ‘D’.

In the final estimation, the Stars’ new-look defense corps is well above-average. Having a superb anchor in Heiskanen sets the bar extremely high, and the rest of Dallas’ defensemen have shown they can raise their games accordingly. The Stars still rely quite a bit on their deep and skilled collection of forwards, as well as the rising star that is Oettinger. However, this team is one of the best on the planet in no small part because their back end gives them a chance to win games every night. And that’s not going to change anytime soon.

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