The final team to be eliminated from the race to the Stanley Cup Final, the Dallas Stars. After an impressive run, knocking out the Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken, the Stars fell short to the Vegas Golden Knights in a pretty demanding 6-0 loss in Game 6. Disappointing end aside, the Stars took a step in the right direction after being a first round exit last season and missing the postseason altogether the year before. Of course, they still fall short from where they were in 2020 when they made it all the way to the Cup Final, but the good news is they aren’t in a bad position at all moving forward. While the era of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Joe Pavelski might be nearing an end, they’ve managed to quickly retool with Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and the best goaltender they’ve had in a while, Jake Oettinger. That being said, are the Stars in a good position to run it back or is there concern that their window could be closing? Let’s dive into it!
The Stars didn’t have the easiest start to the postseason as they kicked it off with a double overtime loss to the slight underdogs, Minnesota Wild. They came back with a demanding 7-3 win in Game 2 but fell back in the series after a big bounce-back win from Minny. The Stars went on to win three games in a row to take the series and then battled their way through seven games in Round 2 to put an end to Seattle’s impressive run. Considering the road they took to get to the Conference Final, it’s reasonable to see how Vegas had the edge. They took care of Winnipeg with ease in Round 1 and managed to take down Connor McDavid and the Oilers in six games. Big picture, I wouldn’t say the Stars over or underachieved this season. However, you have to think that the goal within this franchise is to win the cup so looking at it through that scope, this season may go down as more of a failure than not.
The real game changing moment in the series against Vegas was the Jamie Benn cross-check that led to a game misconduct and two game suspension. The Stars were down two games in the series going into their first home game of the Conference Final when less than two minutes in, Captain Jamie Benn cross-checked Mark Stone on his way down to the ice. Now before I get into my overall thoughts on the matter, I want it noted I’m all for playing the game with an edge. I’m all for keeping fighting in hockey, I’m all for the big hits and to an extent, I’m all for letting the team’s play in the postseason. However, Jamie Benn’s decision to cross check Mark Stone in such a vulnerable position was cowardly, idiotic, and frankly embarrassing when you account for how he handled everything afterward.
Let’s quickly summarize the context of that bone head move from a guy who is supposed to be the leader of the team. Your team is down two games to none in the Conference Finals. Not only are you putting your team at a disadvantage by potentially taking a penalty, but now it's a major and you’re banned for two games. This not only puts the Stars in an awful position to get back in the series but now your team is facing elimination and there’s nothing you can do about it. To make matters worse, you refuse to speak to the media following your game misconduct and have the nerve to suggest you were “trying to break your fall” when speaking about it days later. I get you have to watch what you say when you have a hearing pending with the department of player safety but come on, really? I’m sure there are tons of Stars fans who might back their Captain and that’s fine but historically speaking, Benn doesn’t have the most respectable track record to begin with. Regardless of how you feel about him and how that all played out, there’s no denying it had an impact on the series given how early it happened in Game 3.
Had the Stars not had to begin Game 3 with a five minute penalty kill, their chances at turning the series around could’ve been much better off. Against all odds, Dallas did manage to stick around for another two games but got blown out in Game 6, showing little to no signs of life. Jamie Benn’s first game following suspension should have led to him being an X-Factor and instead, he was out there for a pair of goals against. Obviously it’s a team game and the Stars efforts or lackthereof don’t all fall on Benn, but he is their Captain so it is relevant to the big picture. That Game 6 was for sure the low moment for the Stars as they had such a lackluster showing and could not generate any offense whatsoever.
The Stars will have some decisions to make this off-season with Max Domi being one of the bigger ones. Of all the pending UFA’s, Domi probably has the best chance of re-signing and there has already been some apparent interest in him coming back. The still young forward has bounced around a ton throughout his early career in the NHL, could he have finally found a home in Dallas? In theory, it sounds like a great idea but Dallas only has about $7 million dollars in cap space to work with and re-signing Domi could take at least five of that. The Stars do have some young talent in the system that they could look to fill some of the holes Luke Glendening, Joel Kiviranta, Evgenii Dadonov and Joel Hanley are expected to leave and there’s always the chance of finding cheap depth in free agency. Dallas will also have to consider what an extension could look like for Ty Dellandrea, who is their lone RFA heading into the summer.
Frankly, I have the feeling that Dallas will be fine to run it back with this group and can get away with making minimal changes. Letting Domi walk would give them some cap flexibility but then you have to worry about finding someone to fill that role. I can see Domi sticking around and can even see Dallas being one of the least busy team’s this summer. As long as they have the same kind of regular season as they did last year and buy at the trade deadline again, they’ll be among the top teams in the West looking to continue contending for their first championship since 1999. You know they’ll get the bulk of their contributions from Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, you can look to young guys like Wyatt Johnston, Ty Dellandrea and Nils Lundkvist to take next steps, the big question will revolve around their veterans and if they are able to continue contributing at the level they have been for the majority of their tenures in Dallas.
Chris Feldman
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