A Look At The Dallas Stars Roster And Projected Lines
By Cole Mentzel
The Dallas Stars had another productive summer that ended with more good players coming to Dallas. After picking up Antti Niemi and Patrick Sharp in trades plus adding Johnny Oduya via free agency, they have a complete lineup and they’re set to be one of the better teams in the West next season.
The Stars still had some business to take care of regarding their 2014-15 players that hit free agency. That’s exactly why they re-signed guys like Patrick Eaves, Patrik Nemeth, Curtis McKenzie and Jamie Oleksiak before they made all the trades and extra signings. Sometimes your most important players are the ones that return with chemistry and knowledge of the system.
So let’s take a look at what the Stars game night roster should look like for next season:
Forwards:
Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky and Valeri Nichushkin should be the top six forwards on the team. Besides Sharp, of course, the other five players were consistently on the top two lines last season and though there may not be a lines set in stone yet, we know that Benn and Seguin will be on the top line while Spezza and Hemsky will most likely work together on the second line.
A top line of Benn, Seguin and Sharp would be very intriguing, however, head coach Lindy Ruff may decide to start Sharp off on the second line due to the fact that Benn and Seguin played with Nichushkin whenever he was healthy last season.
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The last two lines are where things will get tricky. Cody Eakin and Antoine Roussel lost their lineman, Ryan Garbutt, in the Patrick Sharp trade so they will most likely be joined by Curtis McKenzie or Colton Sceviour, although McKenzie makes more sense due to his rough style of play. The Stars also seem to be more invested in his talent at the moment, which is why he got plenty of playing time last season.
The fourth and last line will feature a mixture of Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Eaves and Travis Moen seeing as they are the last remaining forwards and have some chemistry from last season. Watch for Eaves though, as he could end up on the top line with Benn and Seguin at times. He played there a few times last season and was very effective on the power play.
Defensemen:
With Trevor Daley on his way to Chicago, Alex Goligoski suddenly becomes the most seasoned Stars player on defense. Expect him to be matched up with John Klingberg as I would assume Klingberg will make more strides towards becoming the Stars number one defenseman after an incredible season last year as a rookie.
The next line, as hinted at by Lindy Ruff, will feature Johnny Oduya and Jason Demers. That gives the Stars another left-right combo. This one could start on certain nights as well. This combination just fits and it feels right and should provide very solid defense for the Stars next season.
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The last defensive line is one that will be worked out during training camp. Patrik Nemeth seems like one player that will definitely make it but if that happens, it leaves you with players like Jordie Benn, Jyrki Jokipakka and Jamie Oleksiak all fighting for a roster spot and there’s no way of knowing who would win that battle but it would be a lot of fun to watch.
For once, the Stars might not be in trouble on defense. They got younger and will be doing some developing this next season but they have plenty of options to choose from if someone isn’t playing up to their potential.
Goalies:
This one is a no-brainer since we know Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi will share time in between the pipes in 2015-16. I think the bigger question deals with which one will be starting on opening night against the Penguins although I assume it will be Lehtonen since Niemi is a newcomer to the team.
This is another battle that will be very intriguing during the season. It will be interesting to see how often each one gets to play and how Lindy Ruff uses them.
Putting It All Together
In summary, the Stars are set to be competing at the top of the Central Division and the Western Conference. Sharp, Oduya and Niemi all have Playoff experience and have all won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks. Experience was a major thing that the Stars lacked in recent years and with a new player at every major position, they should be able to improve.
Jim Nill continues to work wonders with this team and he has them in prime position to take a big step forward this year. There is optimism in Dallas that this might be the year that the Stars finally get back to their winning ways!