It’s been a difficult offseason for the Dallas Stars. They have had to deal with financial issues and the loss of their best player, Brad Richards. Of course, those issues are related.
The Stars tried to mend the loss of Richards by signing players such as Michael Ryder, Sheldon Souray and Vernon Fiddler in the offseason. They also promoted Glen Gulutzan to Head Coach. Dallas may have trouble competing in the ultra-competitive Western Conference next season without Richards’ help.
Let’s see how it all boils down for the Stars next season starting with the forwards.
Forwards
Dallas has a respectable top six forward group even without Richards. Captain Brenden Morrow and Steve Ott will man the left wing. Morrow is coming off a season that saw him score 33 times. He, along with Ott, will bring grit and a scoring touch game in and game out.
Centre Mike Ribeiro isn’t the toughest player alive, but he is slick with the puck, and is an underrated playmaker. He will likely be on a line with newly signed Michael Ryder. They hope to rekindle the chemistry they had in their days playing for Montreal. Second line centre Jamie Benn is young, skilled and getting ready to break out and have a career year.
Loui Eriksson put up the quietest 73 points in the NHL last season. He has scored at least 63 points a season the last three years, and at 26, he’s only going to get better.
Vernon Fiddler, Radek Dvorak and Adam Burish highlight the bottom six.
Defense
Many see the Stars defense as their weak link.The solid, but unspectacular Stephan Robidas and the offensive Alex Goligoski, will lead it.
Sheldon Souray is the biggest question mark. He has been plagued with injuries the last few seasons and toiled in the minors last year. Still, if he can get close to the form from he had in his days in Montreal, it would be a huge boost to Dallas’ power play.
Trevor Daley will provide reliable minutes on Dallas’s blue line. Niklas Grossman and Mark Fistric will round out the defense for the Stars.
Goaltending
Kari Lehtonen was drafted second overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2002. In four seasons with Atlanta, he couldn’t seem to stay healthy and they sent him to Dallas. With the injuries now behind him, Lehtonen has revitalized his career. He played 69 games for Dallas and earned 34 wins last season, along with three shutouts. There’s no reason for him not to continue to provide solid goaltending and give Dallas a chance to win every night.
Andrew Raycroft should be able to provide 15-20 games of reliable goaltending as Lehtonen’s back up this season.
It may be hard to find positives in a team that got worse after missing the playoffs. The playoffs may not be in the cards this season, but that doesn’t mean the Stars aren’t on the right track. They have some promising young talent, and should be contending again in a few years.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/824209-dallas-stars-previewing-the-upcoming-season
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