BY MIKE RIFKIN
The Dallas Stars were the best team in Western Conference and have a very bright future ahead of them. The Stars were ousted by the Oilers in the Western Conference Final in their second straight trip there. For Dallas having the top seed in the West was not a gift at all as they had to play the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche prior to playing the Oilers in the Conference Final. So how does Dallas get over the hump?
The Stars will have 18.4 million dollars in cap space this summer and will add to a nucleus that’s been to two consecutive conference final. GM Jim Nill will be looking to add to a nucleus that includes Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, who had a coming out party in the playoffs, Roope Hintz, Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger.
Johnston, Hintz, and Robertson are the next wave of great Stars forwards, but one player who’s production they’ll have to replace is Joe Pavelski, who said at locker room clean out day that this season was probably his last. Pavelski had 27 goals and 67 points in 82 regular season games. Pavelski had one goal and four points in the playoffs, and found himself unlucky often. But with Pavelski gone, other Star veterans Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will have to replicate what they did last season. Benn and Seguin combined for 46 goals and 112 points and you can make the case Seguin was the Stars best player in the Conference Final. One other question for the Stars is would they bring back Matt Duchene? After being bought out by the Predators, Duchene put up 25 goals and 65 points for the Stars.
Jake Oettinger is one of the best goalies in the NHL and at some point will win a Vezina trophy. Oettinger was good for the Stars going 35-14-4 with a 2.72 GAA and .905 save percentage and three shutouts. His play carried over into the playoffs, where he had a 2.24 GAA and .915 save percentage.
KEY FREE AGENTS WITH REGULAR SEASON STATS
UNRESTRICTED : MATT DUCHENE (25 GOALS 65 PTS), CHRIS TANEV (1G 5 PTS 19GP), JANI HAKANPAA (2G 12 PTS), SAM STEEL (9 G 24 PTS), CRAIG SMITH (11 G 20 PTS), Scott Wedgewood (16-7-5 2.85 GAA, .899 SAVE PERCENTAGE)
RESTRICTED : THOMAS HARLEY (15 G 47 PTS), NILS LUNDKVIST (2G 19 PTS), TY DELLANDREA (2 G 9PTS)
RE-SIGN : DUCHENE, TANEV, STEEL, HARLEY ( LONG TERM), LUNDKVIST. So I think Duchene should be a slam dunk to come back after the season he had, and there should be mutual interest in a reunion. Harley, if they sign long term can give the Stars a little discount on the AAV and with the cap rising that would be beneficial. The only question is Tanev vs Hakanpaa, but I do think the Stars should bring one back, Tanev might be the cheaper option at 34 years old.
Additions : Alex Nedeljkovic or Casey DeSmith, Kevin Labanc. Look I don’t think the Stars need a massive splash this summer. But if Matt Duchene walks, maybe Dallas enters the Sam Reinhart or Jake Guentzel sweepstakes but for now, I wouldn’t change much if I’m Jim Nill.
The Sports Insanity Network 