The Dallas Stars up and down season

It has been a wild season to this point and I have no doubt there are still many twists and turns still to play out but I thought I would take a look at how the team has done on the year so far and what impact all of those free agents have had on a team that started the yeah with no owner, few fans and in the eyes of most, no hope.

I would like to cast your minds back to the summer of 2011. All of the talk (well lets say 99% of it) revolved around a Stars player but for all the wrong reasons. Nieuwendyk had chosen not to trade Brad Richards at the 2011 trade deadline instead hoping to make a push for the playoffs. As we all know the Stars missed out on the last day and that was that. Now the Stars had to cope with what all the fans feared as Richards would hit the free agent market and the Stars got bugger all in return.

Joe did not dwell on this however and went out and made a number of splashes despite having little to no budget to do so besides getting above the cap floor. He made a number of understated acquisitions that would forge the immediate future of the Dallas Stars. The players signed...

Michael Ryder, 2 years at $3.5m per.
Vernon Fiddler, 3 years at $1.8m per.
Radek Dvorak, 1 year at $1.5m.
Jake Dowell, 1 year at $0.8m.
Adam Pardy, 2 years at $2m per.
Sheldon Souray, 1 year at $1.65m.

Six players of whom many had a lot to prove. Also once the season got going the Rangers sent Avery down to the AHL early which once again put the Stars below the cap floor so they made a move to acquire Eric Nystrom simply to keep their numbers legal. So lets have a look at their performances as of today (prior to tonights game against the Wild).

Michael Ryder
Ryder has played in all 69 games scoring 30 goals and 23 assists. His 53 points are tied for 3rd on the team while his 30 goals sits top. A lot has been made of the goals but what doesn't get mentioned is that he sits with a +19 rating, 2nd on the team and 1st among the forwards. He also has a team leading 6 PP goals and 5 game winners that sit 2nd. One more stat, his 175 shots are also a team high.

Vernon Fiddler, Radek Dvorak and Eric Nystrom
Along with Nystrom and Dvorak, Fiddler has helped to create possibly the best checking line the Stars have had in a very long time. Sure they don't score a ton of goals but they do what you want from any 3rd line, keep the opposition off the scoresheet and spend most of their time on the ice cycling in the offensive zone. The chemistry between them has seen the line seldom broken up even when injuries have claimed some of the top 6 with guys from the AHL tending to fill in there. Gulutzen has been wise to keep this line together.

Fiddler has played in all 69 games putting up 7 goals and 13 assists and has been a staple on the penalty kill.

Dvorak has also played in all 69 games and has scored 4 goals along with 17 assists and also has proven a valuable asset on the penalty kill. Not to mention he has been an excellent mentor for young Vincour.

Nystrom, picked up out of necessity, came onto the team eager to prove the Wild wrong for letting him go and boy did he come out firing. His early season scoring pace has tailed off now but his numbers are still solid and he provides a lot of energy. He quickly became a fan favourite. His 16 goals are still good for a 4th place tie on the team.

Jake Dowell
Dowell has played in 44 games on the 4th line and has added 1 goal and 5 assists. Nothing spectacular but a solid addition.

Adam Pardy
Pardy has struggled getting himself into a team that was finding some depth on D and still has failed to put his mark down. He has appeared in 27 games putting up 1 point and a -6 rating.

Sheldon Souray
Souray has been a fantastic signing. Most fans would have been happy for him to simply have not been a liability but when healthy he has been a force. He still has a cannon of a shot and is very very good in his own end to which his team leading +20 rating will prove. Staying healthy has been the issue to a degree as he has been out of the lineup on 3 different occasions. In all he has appeared in 55 games putting up 6 goals and 14 assists.

So all in all some pretty solid pickups.

Another player much attention was paid to was Loui Eriksson. People were saying that without Richards the young Swede would see his performance drop. Loui has proven that he doesn't need anyone to make him better as he has been a solid contributor all season long no matter who he has been put with. He started the year off alongside Jamie Benn and has recently been teamed up with Mike Ribeiro and Michael Ryder to form a very dangerous line. Gulutzen has paid a lot of attention to his system and giving these guys the chances they need to score goals and it is paying off big time.

Possibly the biggest impact player on the Stars this year however has been Kari Lehtonen. Unlike the rest of the team, Kari doesn't seem to have gone into any kind of slump whatsoever. Even when the team has been bad he has been spectacular and given the team a chance to win every single night. If this team makes the playoffs then a ton of praise needs to go his way and even if they don't, none of the blame can be placed at his feet.

Overall the season has had its shares of ups and downs. The Stars came out on fire, vaulting them to the top end of the conference and had people talking of the Stars as one of the surprises of the season. On the bad side the fans were still not interested. Many had left due to the teams performances over the last few years and many didn't want to put money into something they feel was still lining the pockets somehow of Hicks (not sure where they got that idea but anyways). As the season went on we got the news we had all been waiting so eagerly for, the Stars had a new owner! Gaglardi was our saviour and the team looked forward to a brighter future, all was good in Stars land.

However it didn't last. The team started slumping and began to slide down the standings. Amid a horrid run towards the all star break, the Stars found themselves on the outside looking in and possibly becoming sellers at the deadline. Even Gaglardis reduction in ticket prices didn't seem to be taking effect in any meaningful way as attendance was still struggling. Most of the talk revolved around what the Stars could get for Steve Ott, Sheldon Souray and Mike Ribeiro. This talk only intensified after Grossmann was traded to the Flyers for a pair of picks and the Stars fans began to panic it was a sign of a firesale.

The sale never took place and although the team did not add any pieces, Nieuwendyk and Gaglardi decided they were on the same page and the prices out there were too high so they would give the guys they have a chance and address it in the summer. A relieved Ott and Souray took to Twitter to display this relief and attention then turned to if this was the right move or not. Many fans were calling for Nieuwendyk to be fired if the Stars fail to make the playoffs because he failed to improve the team in some way at the deadline. People were getting tired of mediocre play and the team showed no signs of developing any form of consistency. Solid effort was being out done by bad mistakes and inconsistent play.

Then, out of no where, the team banged off a dominating performance in Montreal, beating the Habs 3-0. The win gave the team some confidence and they took it and ran. Even without the teams leading point scorer at the time out to injury (Jamie Benn) and Captain Morrow, the rest of the team slugged it out, played with all their hearts and showed that this team can find its early season form again. Since that game the Stars have gone 9-0-1 and have done so with everybody contributing. Bachman has given the team the confidence it needs to win when Lehtonen (the teams MVP) is resting for a game or so.

That record, coupled with the recent collapse of the Sharks and Coyotes has seen the Stars vault from sitting outside the playoffs with potentially no hope to contending for a division title and a top 3 seed in the playoffs. And most importantly, the fans are beginning to return. This recent run has had a few sellouts and more importantly than that, the atmosphere has been intense, not a million miles away from the feeling had when the Stars were last in the playoffs.

The recent additions to the lineup from injuries of Jamie Benn and Brenden Morrow only seems to have strengthen the team and given them the belief they need to see this thing through to the end.

There is still a long hard road to go and those slumps from the Sharks and Coyotes show that things can change in a heartbeat so they are far from done yet. Although successful last time, I don't expect the next trip through Western Canada to be quite as smooth and two more games against the Canucks as well as another two against the Sharks and Flames cannot be over looked. All three teams will want revenge for the recent defeats and there is the little matter of ending the season with a game against the current #1 team in the league the St Louis Blues. The Stars still only sit 4 points clear of the 9th place Sharks so anything can happen yet.

Will this team make the playoffs or will they stumble and fall out at the last minute again? I am not getting my hopes up and expecting them in yet but I am quietly confident they can see this thing through.

Watch as they go on a 10 game losing streak now.....

Thank you for Grossmann

Never heard of the Dallas Stars

Can we have Ryder back please?

Our DTD list is longer than our active players list

You are welcome Jonzee, as I said before I am glad he is doing well in Philly.

Buff..... we are the team the Leafs modelled themselves on in the early goings only to fall behind the pace

CJ.....one word....NO!

mc_homer wrote:
Buff..... we are the team the Leafs modelled themselves on in the early goings only to fall behind the pace

Don't know what you are talking about- we are only 1 point off 3rd

Haha touche

So 2 straight losses and it is squeaky bum time again!

Division standings (with conf position) are as follows
Stars (3rd) 83 pts
Coyotes (7th) 83 pts
Sharks (9th) 82 pts
Kings (10th) 82 pts
Ducks (12th) 71 pts

Ok so the Ducks are just about out of it at this point but when you throw in the Avs (83 pts) and the Flames (81 pts) it is going to be a tense finish!

I am hoping the Stars and Avs make it (go young teams!) and can see the Sharks making it too otherwise heads will roll in San Jose.

Yeah I would be interested to see what happens to the Sharks if they fail to qualify! People already talk about it being blown up if they don't win a cup soon but to miss the playoffs all together? That is a thought they would never have even entertained at the start of the season....

I personally would like to see the Avs make it again, Duchene is awesome! As long as it isn't at the Stars expense of course

I like Duchene, mainly because I met someone that played with him at juniors! Shame he has been hit by the injury bug this season, would have been interesting to see how he developed this season when you look at how well Tavares, Eberle, Seguin and Hall have done. Given a full and healthy season I reckon he can hit 30 goals and 82 points next season.

Ugh we need the Ducks to win tonight..... yucky!

6 teams separated by 2 points playing for 3 play-off places. Now that is a good competition. Shame the East is not the same, 3 teams, 2 points, 1 place.

Not good for my health!

mc_homer wrote:Ugh we need the Ducks to win tonight..... yucky!

Can't blame the players for coasting a little now...

mc_homer wrote:Ugh we need the Ducks to win tonight..... yucky!

Bit like me cheering for the Leafs against the Sens on Saturday night. Ick.

Normal service will be resumed tonight as the B's try and make it six out of six against Toronto.

Well that was............ depressing

I actually wonder how many goals the Bruins have put past us this season? Must of been around 30 mark.....

How long until the Leafs coach is fired?

rugby-leafhockeyrocker wrote:Well that was............ depressing

I actually wonder how many goals the Bruins have put past us this season? Must of been around 30 mark.....

You're not far off. We outscored you 36-10

Thank you Kessel

Yay Ducks Now as CJ stated...normal service resumes, screw the Ducks

8-0, 7-0, 6-2, 6-3, 4-1, 5-4 those were the scores between the Leafs and Bruins this season. That is shocking- just the one competitive game. The Leafs highest score in a game was 4, the Bruins lowest score in a game was 4.

At one point I thought the Leafs were going to ask Turco if he fancied suiting up for them

NAH!!!! we will give you a first round pick before hand......

Now got an image in my head of Burkie working in MacDonald's and asking "would you like a first-round pick with that?"

mc_homer wrote:Yeah I would be interested to see what happens to the Sharks if they fail to qualify! People already talk about it being blown up if they don't win a cup soon but to miss the playoffs all together? That is a thought they would never have even entertained at the start of the season....

Sharks are currently playing what I like to call "heart attack hockey". I am spending most of my days rocking gently back and forth while hugging my knees close to my chest and mumbling incoherently.