Stars align- year in review

[yave1964]

PRESEASON OUTLOOK  tWO YEARS removed from a cup final appearance, the Stars were hoping that they would be young enough to provide a spark while at the same time old enough to have a stabilizing influence and the hope was they could contend for a playoff spot.

 

FINAL RECORD 46-30-6 98 points 4th place in the lost to the Flanes in a spirited seven game series.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR The thought was with Holtby/Bishop/Khubodin they would have veteran goalies to steady the team, instead Bishop was forced into retirement, Khubodin was lousy and banished and Holtby continued to regress, Oettinger was recalled Mid November when the team was sitting at 5-6-2 he put the team on his back and carried them going 30-15-0 with a sparking 2.53 goals against with a .914 save pct. and damn near carried them to a upset over the Flames. Recalling Oettinger and telling him that it was his team WAS the high point of the year.

 

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR They picked the wrong time for a three game losing streak in Mid April when Western Canada clubs swept them outscoring them 15-6, They righted the ship going 3-0-1 to finish the season and make the playoffs, Oettinger winning all three.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT Pavelski had a career year in scoring.... Oettinger as mentioned elsewhere carried the team and was the most valuable player to his team possibly in the entire league. Roope Hintz has developed into a top line scoring threat on every shift and has barely scratched the surface of his talent. Jason Robertson was a goal scoring machine with 41 including 13 on the power play. Seguin had a great comeback year after missing all but three games the year before. Heiskanen continues to perform as a defensive specialist who can score a bit. Klingberg had a good to very good year. Benn and Suter provided veteran timely play. More was expected from Gurianov but he stepped up with late in the year timely goals. Rookie Jacob Peterson quietly had a solid year with 12 goals out of nowhere.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG The initial trio in net, Bishop/Holtby/Khubodin were God awful and the Stars would not have made the playoffs if they had counted on any of them. Radulov may have slipped more than any other forward in the game this year. With scoring up everywhere, he managed only 4 goals, two of them empty netters. Esa Lindell who was counted on to step up equally took a big step backwards. Kiviranta was another who was expected to be a solid middle sixer he managed one measly goal. Rounding out the dissapointing bunch is enigmatic Radek Faska who only scored 5 goals and 19 points after spending most of the first half as the second line center. Stick a fork in Andrej Sekera, he is done just stealing money at this point. I listed Benn in the what went right category but he went loooong stretches of zero production. 

 

FREE AGENTS AND DRAFT PICKS They have all their own draft picks as Jim Nill is not a fan of trading futures for today. As for Free agents, Radulov comes off the books and wont be back, Raffl and Namestnikov might return as veteran depth (see cheap, affordable) forwards. Sekera will be quickly forgotten, the big name and biggest decision they have other than who will be the coach is what to do about Klingberg who is an UFA. In many ways he has been surpassed by Heiskanen but Klingberg is still the better puck carrier and point man, they hope to retain him but he is set to test the market and will draw tons of interest.

 

TOP PROSPECTS Thomas Harley will stick around this year likely in the middle pair on defense as a puck mover with skill. Riley Damiani had a solid season in the AHL and hopes to stick as a bottom six forward and energy guy. Really the Stars are hurting for true 'ready now' prospects, but for good reason, they ahve graduated Lindell, Hintz, Peterson, Oettinger, Robertson, Kiviranta and Gurianov in recent years, so if the cupboards are bare it is because so many picks developed and are already playing key roles. 

 

STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR  When you think of the top centers in the game nobody on the Stars comes to mind, when you look at the team down the middle they dont scare anyone with Benn/Seguin/Glendening/Hintz/Faksa/Pavelski running a committee in the dot and yet somehow they were the second best team in the NHL in faceoff percentage just barely behind the Leafs for the top spot.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS Who will coach? not certain who is going to take over in big D, David Quinn is the name I have read several places. Can they/Will they resign Klingberg? He needs to be brought back if at all possible unless they believe that Lindell is ready to move into his role. Bess/Seguin need to be better at their current contracts they arent earning their money. This is a team, as currently assembled that could finish second or sixth. The right coach and spending wisely will determine their fate.

[Otter]

This team is full of potential. They are in a division that is also very strong as well. There are 6 teams that are very strong including the Stars in the division. 

 

This team is strong everywhere on the ice and that could not be said coming into the 21/22 season. The Goaltending issue was very murky to say the least heading into the season. but has become a lot more solidified with the emergence of Jake Oettinger and a capable back up in Scott Wedgewood. I think Holtby is gone. The defense is one of the most physical defenses in the league, but could easily improve with their offense with the likes of Heiskanen and Klingberg. I am not sure if Klingberg will return next season or if he will choose to go to another team. 

 

The offense was very erratic at times during the season and Benn, Seguin, and Radulov did not perform up to par. Then the younger players in ROBO and Hintz were really good and are the future of this offense. Veteran Pavelski was also fantastic as well and will return next season. 

 

With Oettinger having more experience and possibly the addition of Mavrik Bourque the team should once again make the playoffs again next season. They should also try and add another defense to the club in the off season as well. 

[yave1964]

5 hours ago, Otter said:

This team is full of potential. They are in a division that is also very strong as well. There are 6 teams that are very strong including the Stars in the division. 

 

This team is strong everywhere on the ice and that could not be said coming into the 21/22 season. The Goaltending issue was very murky to say the least heading into the season. but has become a lot more solidified with the emergence of Jake Oettinger and a capable back up in Scott Wedgewood. I think Holtby is gone. The defense is one of the most physical defenses in the league, but could easily improve with their offense with the likes of Heiskanen and Klingberg. I am not sure if Klingberg will return next season or if he will choose to go to another team. 

 

The offense was very erratic at times during the season and Benn, Seguin, and Radulov did not perform up to par. Then the younger players in ROBO and Hintz were really good and are the future of this offense. Veteran Pavelski was also fantastic as well and will return next season. 

 

With Oettinger having more experience and possibly the addition of Mavrik Bourque the team should once again make the playoffs again next season. They should also try and add another defense to the club in the off season as well. 

I didnt mention bourque because he probably will not be with the Stars full time until 23-24. I think he is a very good prospect just not for the coming year, but I agree the big reason the farm system is in flux right now is because all the best prospects have graduated to solid NHL performers.

[Otter]

9 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

I didnt mention bourque because he probably will not be with the Stars full time until 23-24. I think he is a very good prospect just not for the coming year, but I agree the big reason the farm system is in flux right now is because all the best prospects have graduated to solid NHL performers.

I expect Bourque to be a back end of the year player next season. He will show the Stars what he can provide and then in 23-24 will put on a full time show. The future of this team is ROBO, Miro, Otter, Gurianov, Hintz. The future is very bright for this team. They also have players I think in their prime like Namestnikov whom I really like and also Esa Lindell. 

[Math]

Thanks @yave1964, I was waiting for you to write the post-mortem so I can sneak in.

 

I'm more seeing the glass half empty honestly. The high point was for sure two big question marks: Öttinger and Robertson, along with Pavelski's best season. Öttinger was terrific and improved a lot compared to last season, especially on breakaways and SO. The top-line was on fire and this was the tree that was hiding a bad-looking forest.

 

About goaltending, Holtby wasn't that bad. He had a couple of good games before his injury and his tandem with Öttinger was good. For the rest, the lack of depth was blatant. Faska, Benn, Radulov, Gurianov, Seguin, they all had a season largely beyond expectations, not to say "putrid". Klingberg was in full Jekyll & Hyde mode, Suter proved to be a terrible signing, even Lindell showed some unused downs in his game. Let's be honest, the 98-point season was misleading. The Stars got their postseason berth only due to an oulying record on OT/SO. With a more average .500 efficiency they'd have been out. And thanks also to the Vegas dissolution.

 

The off-season will be interesting with Bowness gone. Here's my takes with the RFA/UFA:

 

Klingberg: gone. With the Suter contract, the maths just don't work. We'll lost a good puck mover but also a turnover machine who was awful in the playoffs. The Stars will definitely need another RH D-man, but please no Petry.

 

Radulov, Sekera, Holtby: gone. No brainer there.

 

Hintz: that's a question mark. Early this season I'd have traded him. Very efficient but injury-prone but the Stars just can't move part ways from a 80+ point scorer and he's a fantastic finisher that finally found chemistry with Pavelski and Hintz.

 

Gurianov: He had a very short leash with Bowness but let's face it, his time is up. Very fast, good one-timer but a very low hockey IQ and he never grabbed all the chances he's been given. The Stars should try to move him.

 

Suter: his contract is the most horrible signed by GM Nill. Buy him out and free some space for Harley before he contaminates the whole locker room.

 

Raffl, Namestnikov, Glendening: I don't think all three will be back, but I'd favor Raffl, then Namestnikov.

 

Finally, I'd try to move Lindell as well. He's a good Defensive D-man but widely overpaid. I think the Stars can find another chaper guy who does the same job. Maybe package him with Gurianov to get another experienced player and picks/prospects.

 

Overall, the Stars have a good young core and will build their future on Öttinger, Robertson, Hintz, Heiskanen. Unfortunately they will have to deal with Benn until the end of his albatross contract that was made to be buyout-proof. At some point Seguin will go to the LTIR and the Stars will likely send his contract to Arizona. I don't blame him: with his injury record, it's a miracle that he can still walk and he's trying his best every day as opposed to Benn. I also like the prospect pool. Bourque, Stankoven, Johnson and Stranges have the potential to step up and make it to the big league.