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STARS YEAR IN REVIEW


yave1964

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PRESEASON OUTLOOK The West is much weaker than the East, most considered it wide open with half a dozen flawed teams all in the mix including the Stars.

 

FINAL RECORD 37-24-8 3rd in the Central. Beat Calgary in six games, then moved on and stunned the injury depleted Avalanche in 7 then won the West by shutting down the Knights in six games. Lost the SCF in six games to the Lightning.

 

STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR Maybe not that strange but Khubodin led them to a 5-1 record in the postseason in overtime. He usually saved most of his big game heroics for OT. The funny part is he lost his last four regular season OT games. Roope Hintz was a true road warrior with 13 goals away and only a meager 6 at home. Radulov was the opposite, he was the teams leading scorer at home but was 10th in team scoring away. Khubodin was brilliant at home (6-1 with a 1.44 goals against) but ordinary on the road (10-7-3 with a 2.55 goals against).

 

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR Oh God it was the postseason. A lot of folks had Calgary primed for an upset but the Stars simply ground them down. Then Colorado was so beat up by the Stars pressure they could barely ice a roster by the end of the series then they dominated and shut down the favored Knights. Winning game one against Tampa probably would be the high point because at that point they looked as if they had one more upset in them.

 

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR None really. After beating Calgary, Colorado and Vegas they were playing with house money. Losing in six to the Lightning was not shameful, they played hard and agressive, most nights Klingberg could be argued as the best player on the ice even. No low point. They did better than expected.

  Off ice, the dismissal of Jim Montgomery was a low point because of the situation but it led to the high point of hiring Rick Bowness.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT  The hiring of Rick Bowness calmed the seas and the team jelled. On the ice, Khubodin was arguably the games best backup goalie really a brilliant 1B dominating the playoffs after Bishop went down. Speaking of Bishop, he was damn good in net as well. Scoring was down but they played a physical 200 fot game and the star players bought in. Seguin led the team with only 50 points but had one of his best overall seasons, Garianov was the surprising team leader in goals scored with 20, Benn and Hintz  chipped in goals with 19 each. Radulov had his moments, Pavelski overcame a dreadful start to be solid down the stretch and downright brilliant in the playoffs. Seconary scoring from guys like Faksa, Dickerson and Janmark helped even things up a bit as all four lines could score if needed. Comeau and Cogliano provided veteran solid depth.

 

  The key to this team were their prized jewels on defnse, Klingberg, Heiskanen and Lindell all moved the puck, carried the game and made life hell on opponents. Veterans Oleksiak and Polak were shot blockers and loved to hit.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG start with Corey Perry who is done, stick a fork in him. Sekera did zip. A lot of the guys listed in the what went right category could be listed here as well, Benn, Pavelski, Radulov especially all saw their scoring rates drop off significantly. Bishop could not stay healthy.

 

FREE AGENTS Perry and Sekera were one year abysmal failures and wont be back. They would like to keep Janmark but finances probably wont allow plus Kiviraanta has stolen his spot. The big one, no the HUGE one is Khubodin who until this year was considered a top tier backup but will now likely command more money than the stars can commit to as Bishop has 3 years left at a shade under 5 million and with a flat cap signing Khubodin without moving out salary may be impossible. Adding insult to injury Hintz, Gurianov and Faksa are all RFA and expect to get paid.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTIONS So many. lets see......

 

Will Bowness, a career defense whisperer assistant coach stay in Dallas or would he prefer to go back to anonymity as an assistant elsewhere? If Bowness moves on, who comes in? Babcock and Nill have a history.....

 

Can they sign Khubodin? If Bishop is healthy he is top 7 or 8, but it is a biiiiig if. Losing Khubodin would be massive. Oettinger is a solid prospect but is very raw.

 

Have they peaked? The forwards are an aging core but the defense is young and brilliant. Do they have another run inthem?

 

 I see them exactly where they were a year ago, one of half a dozen flawed Western teams fighting for a chance to go to the SCF.  The top four or five teams are all in the East, Dallas is in that second tier and has to be considered relevant in the West.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 Great post, very well written. I will add some stuff below to emphasize some points:

 

On 9/29/2020 at 3:23 PM, yave1964 said:

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR Oh God it was the postseason. A lot of folks had Calgary primed for an upset but the Stars simply ground them down.

  

Definitely, and I also picked Calgary in 6 because the Stars were going nowhere in the last 9 games prior to this series. And here came the half-Cinderella run I'd say, because they have always been the underdog.

 

 

On 9/29/2020 at 3:23 PM, yave1964 said:

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR None really.

 

Having watched almost all games, Stars' first line (Benn-Seguin-Radulov) disappointed a lot. They production plundged drastically and Been seems like a lost zombie on the ice, playing with no emotions. There have been some flashes, but way too rare. He stepped a bit up during the series but faded again vs. Tampa. Same for Seguin but at least he was trying and constantly fought against elements. Radulov only plays with emotions and on AC, capable to win a game all by himself, but also to lose only because of him.

 

On 9/29/2020 at 3:23 PM, yave1964 said:

WHAT WENT RIGHT 

 

Oleksiak was the biggest surprise. Not only because his physical play but he showed that he could contribute offensively. Paired with Heiskanen along with Klingberg/Lindell provides you a great top-4 D.

 

 

On 9/29/2020 at 3:23 PM, yave1964 said:

FREE AGENTS Perry and Sekera were one year abysmal failures and wont be back

 

They gave Sekera a 2-yr contract at $1.5M AAV, which surprised me. Again, terribly disappointing in the regular season (he was in a rotation with Polak) but proved to be a great PK player and his experience is needed. I'm ok with this signing to help the transition with guys like Hanley and Harley in the near future.

 

Perry, well... Sure he won't be back but with his discount contract I think we was ok during the playoffs, but now he's toast.

 

With Khudobin very likely elsewhere, Stars are looking for a 1B goalie to make a transition with Oettinger. I'd love to have Lundqvist for that purpose but it's not realistic. Now they have like $10M spare to re-sign Faksa, Gurianov and Hintz, probably with bridge contract. Janmark won't be back.

 

And for the coach, I think we are leaning for a Bowness extension, but only for one year I would guess. Otherwise, Stevens will be in charge. I strongly rooted for Laviolette when he was still available, Gallant as well but seems like their demands are way too high.

Edited by Villette/Lavaux
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@Villette/Lavaux

 

Very shocked to see Sekera resigned. Even at 1.5 million it makes little sense. He has gotten a lot of mileage (and money) off his one big year with the Canes back in 13-14. 

 

 Khubodin, well tomorrow we know for sure, i was listening to a podcast two days ago stating the stars/Wings are in talks with Bishop being traded to Detroit if/when the stars resign Khubodin but he wants to see what the market has to offer him first. 

 

As for Radulov, THAT is the best description of him ever. He can single handed win or lose a game for you and you never know what you are going to get.

 

 Benn has been sliding for years, his compete level is right there but the skill is definitely dropping. 

 

Anyway, great post! Just wanted to throw a few comments back.

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1 hour ago, yave1964 said:

Very shocked to see Sekera resigned. Even at 1.5 million it makes little sense. He has gotten a lot of mileage (and money) off his one big year with the Canes back in 13-14.

 

My 2¢ here regarding this signature is towards the Seattle expansion draft. By doing so, they don't have to protect him and Sekera becomes available for Seattle who could add a veteran at a cheap price. I don't know the exact specificities of these rules, but this might be in that perspective. Otherwise I don't see another reason.

 

 

1 hour ago, yave1964 said:

Khubodin, well tomorrow we know for sure, i was listening to a podcast two days ago stating the stars/Wings are in talks with Bishop being traded to Detroit if/when the stars resign Khubodin but he wants to see what the market has to offer him first.

 

Smells like Nill's connections to his former team. Bishop's health is questionable but trading him would be dumb on a Stars' perspective. Khudobin is not a starter and that would make them find another goalie with should be only transitory, so you just push the problem to later. And Bishop's salary is still reasonable. I don't think a deal will be made in that sense. But who knows, I was mistaken about Sekera...

 

1 hour ago, yave1964 said:

As for Radulov, THAT is the best description of him ever. He can single handed win or lose a game for you and you never know what you are going to get.

 

I would trade him if possible, and if the return is decent. But again, I don't see that happening.

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