Dallas Stars Year in review

[yave1964]

I am going to be doing a write up on all 30 teams again this year, going through their season, and looking ahead to the offseason ahead. One a day, give or take, by the time that the 14 teams that missed the postseason eight others will be eliminated and then I will start on them. So anyway, the 2014-15 Dallas Stars:

 

PRESEASON OUTLOOK:

 

Rosy. The Stars made the playoffs last year, led by Benn and Seguin, Spezza and Hemsky were brought in to add secondary scoring, a glaring weakness from the year before. Dallas hoped to not only make the postseason but to make a run.

 

FINAL RECORD: 41-31-10 92 POINTS, 10TH in the Western Conference.

 

STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR:  Dallas finished second in the league in goals scored, only one goal behind the league leader and fourth in goals against.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR: They started off slowly and took two steps forward one step back all year, in Mid-February they won four of five culminating in a 4-1 win over the Blues to get 5 games over five hundred and only two points out  of a playoff spot.

 

 LOW POINT: right after, they went on a six game losing streak, giving up 5,7,6,4 and 5 goals in consecutive games, essentially ending their season.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Jamie Benn led the league in scoring (35-52-87) and his running mate, Tyler seguin finished in the top ten with 77 points including 37 goals. Trevor Daley (16-22-38) had a huge year on the blueline. Jason Spezza was as good as advertized (17-45-62) Cody Eakin 19-21-40 had a solid season. Rookie John Klingberg 11-29-40 had a huge rookie year. Patrick Eaves (14-13-27) had a good year when healthy.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG: The list starts with Keri Lehtonen who was plain awful for large stretches of the season and no suitable backup was ever established. The rancid netminding cost this team their season. Alex Hemsky was wrretched. Bright prospect Valeri Nichuskin lost most of the season to injuries. Alex Goligoski was very inconsistent.

 

MVP: Gotta be Benn who has turned into an elite player, maybe the best player who toils in obscurity.

 

UFA'S Patrick Eaves, Jhonas Enroth, Shawn Horcoff

 

TOP PROSPECTS FOR NEXT YEAR: Brett Ritchie is going to get every opportunity to play top six minutes next year as a big tough power forward. Nichuskin was favored to win the Calder going into this year in some circles, big things will be expected next year. Those two are expected to team with Benn, Seguin and Spezza to form a solid core. Defensive prospect Julius Honka is expected to make his NHL debut next year and could play big minutes.

 

OFFSEASON OUTLOOK:

The team obviously has enough offensive firepower to win, only one goal off the league lead. The big questions are how to fix a defense that was soft and easy to push around and seemed out of sync all year. Do you trade one of the young kid forwards for a defensive d-man?

 But more than that, what do you do with Lehtonen? with good netminding, regardless of the defense they would have been a playoff team. Do you replace him or do you simply add a veteran backup to push him?

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

This Stars team simply gives up too many damned goals. 

 

If that can get remedied somehow this off season, while still maintaining the kind of offense they showed, then this team is easily a playoff regular.

Not kidding. They are THAT close.

 

Now, whether the goal prevention is more the fault of a sometimes inconsistent Kari Lehtonen, the lack of a solid shut down D-man or two, or a combination of the two is the question the Dallas FO has to answer.

 

Personally, I think the Stars DO need a bit more size on defense....and not just big guys, but big guys who are positionally sound.

I've watched a number of Stars games this season and while I understand the team identity seems to be one of 'all in' on offense, SOMEBODY has to be defensively responsible....and all too often, Dallas defensemen, would not be in proper positions, the team makes a mistake on offense, and off goes the other team with speed and no resistance towards Kari Lehtonen.

 

Which brings me to goaltending.

I happen to think Kari Lehtonen is a solid goaltender. Really, he is.

But I DON'T think he is Stanley Cup solid.

 

He is that "B+" type goalie.

The one that you are glad to have while your team tries to find its way, while you develop an overall continuity to your team....but one that you would want to move on from when you feel just about everything else on your team is set and ready to make serious runs at Lord Stanley's hardware.

 

As good as Lehtonen can be, he also is subject to soft goals, to making that one mental mistake that sees him not quite ready for a shot, and also perhaps making that ill advised playing of the puck when it should best be left to his defensemen.......oooops, wait, but his defensemen right now are often way out of position and not normally around to help him out.

 

My apologies, Kari...perhaps that last point isn't your fault after all.

 

Sure, you can argue that because his defense is under sized and not particularly solid in coverage that is why Lehtonen lets in so many goals.....but really, I can't fault him on giving up goals on breakaways, 2 on 1's, or 2 on 0's......but its those little lapses that he seems to suffer chronically that I do fault him on.

 

Again, good solid, B+ goaltender (much like Nik Backstrom was/is for his career with Minnesota), but NOT the guy, it seems, you ride to a championship.

 

But at three more years and a $6M cap hit, the Stars are stuck with him.....unless they can find a lesser team who would love to have his services in the off season while that other team sorts itself out...AND if the Stars can find an upgrade (via trade most likely), without messing up too much of what they have going on offensively.

 

Size and smarts on defense and Grade A goaltending.

Fix those, don't mess with what is already working, and this team is back in the post season and can be damned dangerous.

[radoran]

The Stars - oddly enough - finished with a better record this season than last, but missed the playoffs.

 

Lehtfourin was never the answer - for anybody. $6M+ cap hit? Jeebus - when did Holmgren GM Dallas?

 

He's a competent (I think "B+" is being far too kind) goalie who, as has been noted, has a tendency to give up softies - and that has never gone away during his career.

 

If Dallas can tighten up the defense and get some better play from Lehtfourin (or a backup that can outplay him like Backstrom's been succeeded in Minny) they should be in good shape.