The Dallas Stars' Stanley Cup Window Could Be Closing Faster Than Expected
The Dallas Stars are one of the NHL's most-competitive teams – at least, when it comes to regular-season performances. Stanley Cup playoff success has been another story for Dallas. Is the Stars' competitive window going to close soon?
Video Transcript
There's no team in the NHL more in favor of the conference playoff format than the Dallas Stars because of the way that their division is.
It's unfair that every year they have to play Minnesota or Colorado in the first round.
It pretty much eliminates any opportunity to them to win the Stanley Cup.
By, by the time they get to the Western Conference Final, they're gassed.
You're right, they didn't do much in the off-season.
In fact, they traded Maverick Bourque, who scored 20 goals for them last year.
Age is starting to creep in, not only with the, the veteran guys like Duchene and Seguin and Benn, but you know, Rob- the Robertsons and the Roope Hinzes are getting into their mid to late 20s.
They're in their, their prime, and they haven't won yet, and Jake Oettinger hasn't stolen a playoff series when it really counted in the Western Conference Final.
So yeah, I think the window is closing, and I don't know how much they can really do about it.
And I think this is, much like the Oilers, maybe not necessarily the same exact situation, but I do think this is kind of a make it or break it year for them.
Because, I mean, beyond the fact, I know a lot of people were talking about the Jason Robertson situation, him signing to that one-year deal rather than signing long-term.
I think there's a reason for that other than giving them more time to work out a long-term extension.
I mean, I think he wants to stay in Dallas, but I think it's also worth noting that, like Mike said, this team is starting to age out a little bit.
They have a lot of unrestricted free agents next season.
And also too, some of these guys that are aging out still play key roles in their lineup, and they're not gonna be easy to replace.
And they're gonna be faced with the decision on whether or not they're gonna bring some of these guys back and try to run it back with an older core or older players on the periphery of the roster, or if they're gonna try to swap them out for younger guys.
And th- that's the whole catch here.
Do they have the Again, they're a team that doesn't really have much going for them in the asset pool.
So, trading is gonna be a little bit difficult without moving some talent out, in the future.
So I do think this is kind of a make or break year for them, and it could determine what Robertson decides in January and if he's gonna stay long-term with the Dallas Stars.
Do I think they're gonna be in the playoff picture?
Absolutely.
I don't think this team is gonna suddenly regress and not be a playoff team.
But it's worth considering what those next years look like and, you know, where they go from here.
And I do think that this might be the last legitimate season of their contention window, their Stanley Cup contention window, and they're gonna have to get over that Colorado hump, just one time.
They're gonna have to hopefully get a quicker series or two leading up to the conference final, in order for them to, to go all the way.
But, yeah, I do, I am concerned about the age of this roster and how they kinda work around that, starting next season.
