The Dallas Stars return to the ice next week with their 2025-26 campaign beginning on the road at Winnipeg on Oct. 9.
While there were some significant changes to the coaching staff, the Stars returned the bulk of their core from last season’s roster, especially at the forward position.
At the same time, Dallas does have to replace a few key goal scorers, who departed in the offseason.
Here is a breakdown of the 2025-26 Dallas Stars forwards.
Sports Roundup
Returners
Oskar Bäck, Jamie Benn, Colin Blackwell, Mavrik Bourque, Matt Duchene, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin, Sam Steel
Additions
Nathan Bastian (free agency), Radek Faksa (free agency)
Departures
Evgenii Dadonov (free agency), Mikael Granlund (free agency), Mason Marchment (trade)
Strengths
Dallas may have some of the top high-end talent in the league and can anticipate the best from each of those players this year.
The Stars will have Mikko Rantanen on the roster for the entire season, as the elite scorer overcame being traded twice last season and has found stability in Dallas on a new eight-year deal beginning this fall.
Jason Robertson also enters a contract year and Olympic year, so the Stars expect his best when the stakes are the highest. After an injury-riddled year last season, Robertson is fully healthy entering this fall.
Players like Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz have the chance to produce even better numbers in 2025-26, as the two could play on a line with Rantanen, who showed in the playoffs he can elevate his linemates.
Finally, some of the more veteran players like Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene are eagerly chasing the Stanley Cup before their careers wrap up.
Weaknesses
The Stars’ lines will look different this year, so unlike last season, many of their top forwards will have to get used to playing with new players.
Glen Gulutzan said he likes to work in pairs, so expect Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin to be two of Dallas’ top pairs. Besides that, forwards may shift up and down the lineup.
Sam Steel and Mavrik Bourque, who spent most of last year on the fourth line, could play in the top six. And the fourth-line rotation welcomes two new players in Radek Faksa and Nathan Bastian.
It could take these new combinations some time to find chemistry in the first few weeks, and Dallas’ schedule doesn’t do it any favors early on.
The Stars will also be without their captain to start the season after Benn underwent surgery for a collapsed lung.
Question: How will Stars replace production of departed forwards?
The Stars parted ways with three players in the offseason who accounted for 49 goals last regular season.
Mason Marchment and Evgenii Dadonov, who had both been in Dallas for multiple seasons, had standout seasons, with each exceeding 20 goals on the year. But Marchment was traded to Seattle to clear some cap space, and Dadonov left for New Jersey in free agency.
The Stars also couldn’t bring back Mikael Granlund, whom they traded for ahead of the deadline. While Dallas would’ve liked to have Granlund back because of his versatility and success last postseason, it couldn’t afford the three-year, $21 million deal he signed with Anaheim.
Granlund totaled 22 goals between his time in Dallas and San Jose last season. He also had strong defensive instincts.
The Stars will need players like Mavrik Bourque to step up to fill those gaps, while also seeing increased production from some of their top scorers.
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