The Dallas Stars have put together a perennial powerhouse of a team, and general manager Jim Nill deserves all of his flowers for the two-steps-ahead tweaks he’s made over the years to get them to this point.
Still, especially with Tyler Seguin out, they needed more scoring and stronger overall defense on the right side. Nill acquired Michael Bunting for the scoring depth issue and Tyler Myers for the defense. These were solid moves considering the barren market, but both players have been taking a concerning amount of time to adjust.
Bunting had one (power-play) goal, one assist and a rough minus-seven rating through his first 11 games with the Stars. Now he’s on the bench with a lower-body injury sustained March 29, and his return for the playoffs is questionable.
Myers hasn’t been trusted in a big role, mostly playing low minutes on the third pairing next to Lian Bichsel.
Perhaps the star power Dallas does have—along with a career performance out of Jake Oettinger—will be enough for the team to finally get it done this year.
If they do win the Stanley Cup, though, this year’s deadline will have had little to do with it.