Questions Remain as Stars Look To Remain a Top Western Team

Questions Remain as Stars Look To Remain a Top Western Team

Welcome back. All right, so we’re going to talk about the Dallas Stars today as I wind down uh the look at teams this off season. Uh we’ll be getting into season previews not too long from now and the Dallas Stars are still a team that I think has more work to do. I I say this because they don’t have a lot of cap space and I feel like they they might still want to add. They might still want more cap space. We’ll see how it goes. They have $1,85,084 in cap space. That’s just not enough. So, looking at this team, the Jason Robertson rumors are still out there. I think they’d be crazy to trade him. He only has a 7.75 million cap hit for this year. He’s a restricted free agent next summer. 82 games, 35 goals, 45 assists, 80 points for Robertson. Guy’s a bargain. If they trade Robertson, they have to get a scorer back. That’s the tricky part. they they can’t just trade Robertson out for futures because the scoring depth will take a huge hit if they end up doing that. Uh then you got Jamie Ben who returned on a one-year contract with a cap hit of $1 million. 80 games, 16 goals, 33 assists, 49 points for Ben this past season. He is not the offensive player that he once was. So for Dallas, you have to think that that’s going to continue. Ben’s goal totals, point totals may very well drop further. So we’ll see how things go for Dallas. But the scoring does get kind of thin after Robertson, uh you then have Beck and you have Steel projected to be on that wing according to Puckedia’s uh projections. And so while I like Beck, I like Steel, their their work ethics, you’re not going to get a ton of offense from those two players. Then down the middle, you got Roe Hints, $8.45 million cap hit till 2031. Uh I think Hint is a bargain as well. Uh he played 76 games this past season, 28 goals, 39 assists, 67 points for Rope Hints. I think he’s capable of more. We’ll see if he gets there this year. I think Morrope Hence could be a player that’s routinely above a point per game. Uh Matt Duchain had a really good season and he parlayed that into an extension that pays him $4.5 million in terms of the cap hit until 2029. Uh, it’s pricey because if you look at the playoffs, he did have his struggles, but it’s a bargain if you look at the regular season numbers. 82 games, 30 goals, 52 assists, 82 points. So, as long as the struggles in the playoffs aren’t a precursor to issues he may have with scoring this season, as long as that’s not the case, everything’s pretty good. Uh, we’ll see. Uh, Johnston, I don’t think he’s going to be on the third line. I’m going out on a limb here. Uh, $8.4 million cap hit until 2030. 82 games, 33 goals, 38 assists for 71 points. Uh Wyatt Johnston is a star player in the NHL and I think that his best days are still ahead of him. Uh then they’ve brought back Bradock Foxa to likely play on that fourth line down the middle. So down the middle, there’s tons of depth there. And then you get over to the right side and Miko Ranton. And on that first line, he has a $12 million cap hit till 2033. Uh 20 games during the regular season after the trade from uh Carolina. Five goals, 13 assists, 18 points for Ranton and in those 20 games. However, in the playoffs, he was fantastic through the first two rounds. A big part of how Dallas gets all the way to the conference final this past spring. Uh then you got Tyler Sean. He has a 9.85 million cap hit until 2027. I think that’s the contract that if Dallas could move it, I think they would. That being said, that $9.85 million cap hit, it’s not likely anybody’s touching that. Uh 20 games for Sean this past year because of injury. nine goals, 12 assists for 21 points. Maverick Bourke, there’s an expectation that he takes that next step this year. Uh 73 games, 11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points, and they have Blackwell on the right side as well. Now, depthwise, a couple of names that I’m going to do my best on here. Uh Fritzcowian uh Fritz Kovian Fritzovian close uh Huru uh Hughes Lind and Strangest uh for depth up front. So uh Hitzkovian I’ll I’ll figure it out. Uh Huru did get into five games each for Dallas this past season. They both recorded an assist. I seem to remember struggling with uh this long name here. Not it’s not the regular season yet. I’m not going to, you know, bend over backwards to get that all figured out. All right. And then on the blue line, uh, so the depth up front, I I do have some concerns to be honest. Uh, looking at Dallas, this was one thing I said this off season with the cap situation being as it is. I was worried they’d lose some depth. I do feel like they have. So, the blue line becomes a little more important with that revelation. Uh, Essa Lindell, $5.25 million cap hit till 2030. Perfectly reasonable for Lindell for what he provides. 80 games, five goals, 21 assists, 26 points for Lindell. Uh Hastenan $8.45 million cap hit till 2029. That is a bargain. Uh but Hastenan’s got to play more games. He only played 50 because of injury this past season. Five goals, 20 assists for 25 points. Uh Harley, he has a $4 million cap hit. He’s a restricted free agent next summer. He’s going to get paid. 78 games, 16 goals, 34 assists, 50 points. Uh Harley had quite the coming out party this past season. Uh, I don’t think he’s going to sneak up on anybody uh this upcoming season, but yeah, Harley is the real deal. Uh, Labouchkin has a $3.25 million cap hit till 2027. Bishel Bishell’s the next big one for the Dallas Stars at least potentially. 38 games, four goals, five assists, nine points for uh for Bitchell. And then Lquist is there as well. I have nothing but respect for Niels Lungquist. uh two seasons ago. He’s a regular on the healthy scratch list and there was definitely some frustration there between the team and the player. He stayed. He stayed when other players would want to go and so I I give him full credit for that. We’ll see if he gets more ice time under a new coach this season than what he did last season under Pete Dbor. They’ve also added Kolia Chonic. Uh I do like Kiachonic as an addition. He may push Lungquist out of the lineup here and there. Petravic has proven himself over the last couple years as a very good option uh when the team has injuries on the blue line and Capo Biano is there as well. So a Dallas team that watched uh the Texas Stars get all the way to the semifinal, they may have a good team again this year. Uh then you get to the goalending and I mean Oudder is not a question mark. The interesting thing is Auter’s numbers aren’t as good as Smiths. Strange. Uh Auter 8.25 $25 million cap hit till 2033. Uh 3618 and for record 909 safe percentage. So Audgers numbers good. I do think he can be better. I do think he can get a little more into the cons a little more consistency than we’ve seen so far. But Casey to Smith had an amazing season. He only has a $1 million cap hit till 2027. That is one of the biggest bargains in the league. Uh 148-2 record for Smith. Uh 915 safe percentage. So, does Smith and Auter are the goalies that, you know, one of the best tandemss in the NHL. I haven’t ranked tandemss. I might at some point. Haven’t done that yet. Uh, and then they’ve got Porier as well in the AHL, uh, who had a good run for them in the, uh, Calder Cup playoffs up until they ran into Abbottzford. And of course, they’ve made the change behind the bench. So, one thing to keep an eye on is with Glenn Gullson now behind the bench, there’s some pressure oner to have a good year, especially after the way things ended between Pete Dbor and the Dallas Stars. Uh, this is a team that I think will still score okay. I don’t think they’re going to be a top team in the NHL scoring wise. And one one thing I will say is this. Last year, uh, Dallas was my pick for the Stanley Cup during the regular season. Uh, I did change that pick going into the playoffs. And didn’t I? I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t. Doesn’t matter. They didn’t win the Stanley Cup either way. But the blue line and the goalending, I think, are what’s going to decide whether or not Dallas is really and truly a Stanley Cup contender. They can’t go to another conference final and lose. They need to get to that next level. Uh, the good news is Dallas should still be good enough to be a top three team in the Central. Uh the bad news being I’m not sure if this team right now is better than the one that finished the playoffs against Edmonton, a team that was not able to beat Edmonton. So that’s the question mark and that’s the question that I will pass off to Dallas fans. As I said earlier, I will be talking about Dallas later on today as well. Uh but I wanted to get this video out of the way and discuss the Dallas Stars and what the future looks like uh for this team at this point in time. And by the future, I mean the 2025 2026 squad. So, uh, do they trade Robertson? They might. Uh, they might trade Robertson. I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out. And I would think they might do that in order to get themselves a some more cap space, but b they need I think they need a little bit more depth. But let me know your thoughts. And I am aware of how crazy it sounds to trade Robertson when you need depth. I’m aware. I’m just trying to wrap my head around why he’d still even be available. But that’s what the rumors have been and that’s where we’re at. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. As always, hit like and subscribe in the event you may not have done so already. Thank you guys so much for all your support. I will talk to you again soon.

Hey all and it’s time to talk about the Dallas Stars.

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