Despite still being a playoff regular, and having a slew of young talent the Dallas Stars’ window for a Stanley Cup championship is slowly closing. This is due to a mix of internal, and external matters in such a competitive league. The slightest miscalculation from a coach, general manager or a player on or off the ice can result in a setback that’ll put you out of the championship picture.
Salary cap squeeze
Dallas nears the bottom of the NHL in terms of salary cap space. Signing Mikko Rantanen last year was so what of a nail in the coffin of wiggle room in cap space. Not to say that signing Rantanen wasn’t a mistake. But signing somebody to 12 million annually takes a big chunk out of the pie.
Tyler Seguin will be entering the final year of his contract, that’s costing the Stars almost 10 million a year. For years his contract has been a big reason why Dallas has lacked breathing space in the cap crunch, minus last year when Seguin went on LTIR. Seguin will be determined, but he’ll be going against the current. Given his health issues since 2020, and he’s also 34 years old.
Improvement from rivals
Bill Guerin constructed a Minnesota Wild team as their general manager. First off that was built to beat Dallas. It unfortunately worked out. They’re also far from the only improving team in the central division alone. Even if the Colorado Avalanche do take a step back, the Wild aren’t the only team on the upswing.
The Utah Mammoth might’ve been able to upset the Vegas Golden Knights in round one. Were it not for the self inflicted wounds; turnovers, and penalties cost them a second round matchup vs the Anaheim Ducks. The St. Louis Blues have made noise this past week too with a trade, and at the draft.
For the Pacific division, that’s another layer of a problem for the Stars if they can get back to the central’s best. The Vegas Golden Knights, and the Edmonton Oilers have been the best in the west since 2023. Trumping the Stars, and Avalanche over the past four years. Both Edmonton, and Vegas are strategizing to reign supreme in the west.
Let’s not forget about the California teams either. The Anaheim Ducks showed they have arrived. They knocked off Edmonton before losing a hard fought battle against Vegas. As the Ducks improve on the fly, expect them to be playing for a Stanley Cup very soon.
Macklin Celebrini, and the Sharks are knocking on the door. It’s only a matter of time before the Sharks are back to being playoff regulars like they were in the 2000s, and 2k10s. The Los Angeles Kings, and all their recent draft picks, haven’t quit after losing arguably the best King of all time in Anze Kopitar to retirement.
The east is a beast
8 of the last 11 years, the eastern conference has taken the Stanley Cup. Dallas already has it’s hands full with the central division alone. With the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and the somewhat faded Pittsburgh Penguins repeating as champs in that time. Oh yeah, the Carolina Hurricanes are also the defending champs and will be doing everything they can to try and defend their title.
Obviously it’s not just the west that is seeing teams bolster their lineups. Nobody has made bigger headlines this summer than the Panthers signing Brady Tkachuk to play with his brother Matthew. Alongside Vegas, Florida has been accused of going the “superteam” route to build their team. Much like the Detroit Red Wings did back in 2001.
Photo credit: Jerome Miron/Imagn Images
With the Stars not knowing yet whether or not Jason Robertson is staying or going, exploring what they can get from a trade (from a team such as the Penguins), the Stars will need to play their cards as carefully as possible if they want to be playing past April 2027.
Featured photo: Nick Wosika/Imagn Images
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Categorized:Stars