Shooting Stars: Offseason Wish List

The Dallas Stars had some success under first year head coach Jim Montgomery last season, but there is still work to be done. The Stars may have lost in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, but there are still improvements that need to be made to the current roster to get even further. They have the goaltenders covered with the duo of Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin. There is plenty of room for improvement on the offensive and defensive side of the puck.

Here is my offseason wish list for the Stars:

1) Re-Sign Mats Zuccarello

The Stars acquired Mats Zuccarello on Feb. 23, 2019, prior to the NHL’s trade deadline. The forward blocked a shot in his first game with his new team and went on to miss about four weeks of action. Zuccarello came back for the playoff-clinching game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Apr. 2, and then sat out until the playoffs. The downside of not playing was that he didn’t get to know his teammates’ on-ice habits.

Zuccarello brought a balance to the Stars’ lineup that was lacking all season. He could play up or down in the lineup, producing wherever he was slotted to play. The winger seemed to form chemistry with his teammates, no matter what line he was playing on. The Stars had more than one scoring line and this helped them to defeat the Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Zuccarello brought speed and consistency to a top line heavy offense.

2) Depth Scoring

The Stars relied too much on the top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov. The trio combined for 89 goals, 116 assists and 205 points during the regular season. The next three leading scorers on the team after them were the defensive trio of John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell. This is a major part of the reason why the Stars were inconsistent and streaky at times last season. There was a major lack of depth scoring from the forwards.

There are some free agent options that may not be costly, but the Stars could also explore some trade options. The team has already signed forward Mattias Janmark to a one year contract extension. One free agent option could be Thomas Vanek. Yes, he is 35-years-old but he manages to produce and chip in offensively no matter where he is playing. Another option could be Derick Brassard, but he could come at too big of a cap hit. Joonas Donskoi and Ryan Dzingel have the potential to be cheap, yet effective, options in free agency.

3) Top Six Help

If the Stars can’t get a deal done with Zuccarello then they are going to need to add someone else who can play in the top six. The emergency of Roope Hintz is an option, but can he sustain the level of play from the playoffs throughout a full NHL season. The Stars can’t live-or-die by the production of one line so a top six forward is necessary if this team wants to take the next step.

There are a few options still available in free agency. The first option is Gustav Nyquist. The 29-year-old had 22 goals, 38 assists and 60 points in his time with the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks last season. The second option could be Anders Lee, who has a 40-goal season under his belt. Lee knows what it takes to score goals and doesn’t have a problem going to the net to get some of his goals.

4) Julius Honka Decision

The Stars need to make a decision on whether the 23-year-old defenseman has a future with the team. Julius Honka was the odd man out last season with the emergence of rookie, Miro Heiskanen. Esa Lindell also improved his game playing with John Klingberg. The Stars also reacquired Jamie Oleksiak and signed him to an extension. The Stars had a crowded blue line last season, but even when injuries happened, Honka couldn’t manage to get into the lineup.

The health of Stephen Johns, who is still recovering from a concussion last preseason, will factor into what happens with Honka. If the Stars decide to put Honka on the trade block, he could get them something in return since right-handed defensemen seem to be in high demand this offseason. Honka is a restricted free agent so another team could sign him to an offer sheet to force the Stars’ hand. The team currently has five defensemen on the roster for the 2019-20 season.

5) Depth Defensemen

The Stars defense did a decent job as a whole last season and it helped to have both Bishop and Khudobin make saves to cover up some of the mistakes. The six defensemen on the roster are younger in age, but have some experience. The oldest blue liner is 33-year-old Roman Polak, who has already signed a one-year, $1.75 million extension for next season. The team could use a veteran blue liner to play third pairing minutes or be an option as the seventh defenseman in case of injuries.

The team could bring back Ben Lovejoy since he is familiar with the team’s style of play since he was on the Stars’ roster last season. They could also bring back 31-year-old Taylor Fedun on a cap friendly contract. Fedun played decent when he was in the lineup last season. The third option is a long shot, but Michael Del Zotto could fit this role pretty well.