Dallas Stars Offseason Review

Dallas Stars General Manager CJO remembers exactly where he was when he got the news. Both cheeks planted on porcelain, staring at his phone in horror as he dropped a scary something off: “Oh, shit.” 

Dallas Stars captain Nikita Kucherov will undergo hip surgery that could end his season. No sooner than he processed this news did CJO get to work on his roster response. Fast forward a couple weeks, and CJO inked his top prospect to an ELC: Kirill Kaprizov was finally coming over from Russia.

Kaprizov comes over as a top KHL contributor after originally being drafted by CJO in the the 5th round of 2015. But he has giant shoes to fill and can’t be expected to produce at the same level as RHL’s 2019 Hart Trophy winner. It’s a tough break for Dallas, who faced a similar situation with Dustin Byfuglien two years ago when he missed the entire season, then ultimately retired, due to major surgery.

Major Moves

D Jared Spurgeon, who stepped into Byfuglien’s #1 defenseman role, will take on even more responsibility: he was named Captain of the Dallas Stars for 2021-22. Spurgeon re-signed on a 3 year, $23.25M contract in the offseason, saying “I’m here to win a Cup. We have the talent and I’m ready to be a leader here.” 

RW Alex DeBrincat also inked a bridge deal with the Stars, landing a 2 year deal at $6.5M AAV. He’s one of the players that coach Gerard Gallant expects to have a bigger role on the top line with Kucherov out. The Stars also made an upside signing in free agency by signing LW Jeff Skinner to play a bottom six role for the team. After struggling mightily the last two seasons, Skinner is looking for a reset. He may see his role expand throughout the season, maybe even getting another sniff at the Eichel Bump.

One of the major question marks surrounds C Jack Eichel, the other half of the Dallas Dynamic Duo. Will he be able to shoulder a major scoring load after it was revealed he played through a lingering neck injury during the 2021 playoffs? The performances of Eichel, DeBrincat, Skinner and Spurgeon will play a crucial role in the Stars’ pursuit of an 8th consecutive playoff appearance and 1st RHL Championship.

Blueline Dancing

Kucherov wasn’t the only major injury for Dallas in the offseason; veteran D Erik Johnson was also lost for the season. He’s anchored the Stars top pair for the last three seasons but was scheduled to be a UFA. In response, the Stars brought on another grizzled vet in D Alexander Edler for 2 years and $6M. He’ll be paired with Spurgeon as a shutdown defenseman who could rediscover his offensive game in Dallas. 

GM CJO brought in more veteran leadership with D Anton Stralman joining the team for three seasons. He’ll compete for Top 4 minutes with two other defensemen the Stars re-signed to multiyear deals this offseason: Philippe Myers and Ryan Murray. It’s a battle to join longtime Star Calvin de Haan on the second pair, and also replace departing D Patrik Nemeth. 

Goaltender Shakeup

Despite G Jimmy Howard retiring earlier than expected, the Stars are deep in goal. Ilya Sorokin will join Kaprizov as a Russian import with high expectations. He’ll compete with Chris Driedger, a longtime Stars farm goalie, for the backup spot behind Robin Lehner. Goaltenders are voodoo, so watch out for Robin Lehner potentially losing ice time if either Driedger or Sorokin show well in preseason.

G Kevin Lankinen, an intriguing young goalie who came over from Finland last offseason, was the odd man out in Dallas. He was swapped for promising D Henri Jokiharju, who joins Jacob Bryson and Victor Mete as depth options for the Stars who could take on more minutes down the road. 

Other Notes

F Aleksi Heponiemi is the only forward who’s a similar spot to earn a pro role midseason if things go well. With so many prospects graduating to the farm, the Stars lack depth behind 2020 1st round pick C Brendan Brisson. It didn’t help that CJO traded literally every draft pick in 2021’s draft 😊 he’s added 5 late round draft picks to up his total to 12 and is looking to add picks or move up. 

Dallas is about to get tougher to play as the Stars also brought on F Scott Sabourin as an enforcer. He’s a strong physical presence who’s defense and discipline make him a good candidate for the Stars 4th line. He’ll draw into the lineup during rivalry games in the division against teams like the Jets and Avalanche. He’s ready to be the team’s goon and has a Danbury Trashers mentality when it comes to fighting. Expect Stars games to be a lot more fun next season!