Jim Nill has done an amazing job this offseason for our forward core. Lost Domi, but got Duchene who’s cheaper and arguably better. Got rid of the bad 4th liners to bring in players who have the potential to be better/cannot be worse (from Kiviranta and Glendening to Steel and Smith), PK will probably take a hit from losing Glendening, but Dellandrea can fill that role quite easily. Powerplay stays the same as no significant changes were made (Duchene takes Domi’s place).
Goaltending hasn’t changed (good move), only thing is that hopefully Wedgewood can stay healthy this season. If not, they’d better get a cheap NHL 3rd string as opposed to calling up an AHL goalie who’s not ready and burning out Oettinger by playing him almost every game (saw the effects these past playoffs).
Defence also saw no changes, which can be worrying as it’s their weakest position. Heiskanen’s an elite defensemen, top 3 in the league for sure (I’m extremely high on him), but it’s the rest of the guys that worry me. They don’t have a true number 2. Lindell is good, but has shown to not be as consistent as he should be and doesn’t have a good offensive game. Harley was fantastic these past playoffs, but the number of games he played are very low, so we don’t know if he can maintain this quality of play. Suter has regressed and will continue to regress, imo they should’ve bought him out this past offseason, but Nill still believes in him. If they can limit his TOI, I don’t think he’ll be a major problem, but over time, we’ve seen him drop the quality of his play drastically (consistency issues). I’ll take these playoffs as an example, during the Minnesota series, he was a pest, didn’t cause any errors, and was a positive contributor. During the Seattle series he was alright, no complaints. But when they faced Vegas, he cost them the series, made many obvious errors, and contributed to about half the goals Vegas scored. Now obviously the better teams can expose players more easily, but if you want to win the cup and be the top dog, you can’t allow that to happen. So limiting his ice time could be majority beneficial to the team, him, and the development of players like Harley. Lundkvist hasn’t shown me enough to make me believe he’s a top 4 dman (scratched all playoffs), but I do think he’ll have a breakout season this year and will be a permanent starter, they just need to play him with the right guys (Miro or Lindell). Hakanpaa is a shutdown defensemen who’s good on the PK and that’s about it, does a couple of mistakes, but nothing outer worldly, he’s the definition of a 6th defensemen. Hanley has proven to be a perfect number 7 and can perform consistently when in the lineup.
Now where do I see this team finishing, good question. They’re cup contenders, but to win the cup, nothing has to go wrong. I’m speaking: no major regressions from anyone, Oettinger entertaining the playoffs well rested and not burned out, and Suter not making many grave mistakes to cost us games. I don’t see Nill making any big trades, many one to bolster the defensive core at the deadline (like a Chris Tanev). So I do think they can win it all, but I also do see them losing any round these playoffs if they don’t play well.
I like the analysis, pretty much how I view it too. I just wish we'd have someone else on Suter's place...after the Vegas series I don't trust him at all.
Also I got to think Duchene plays ahead of Dadanov, no?
For the start of the season, he'll be on either IR or LTIR, not sure yet, but it's been reported that he'll be starting the season injured.
Duchene is better than Dadanov, yes, but the chemistry between the lines are perfect this way. The second line has played well together, and Duchene's fast pace will hold up well compared to Marchment and Seguin who're both more on the slower sides of things. Seguin also played some considerable time on the wing, so with Duchene, it allows them to rotate from time to time (that or Duchene plays center for the whole year).
I like the analysis, pretty much how I view it too. I just wish we'd have someone else on Suter's place...after the Vegas series I don't trust him at all.
I feel the same way, but every Stars fan knows deep down, even though it hurts to admit it, he's staying whether we like it or not. Limiting his minutes is the safest alternative because he'll have fewer chances of f*cking up.
I feel the same way, but every Stars fan knows deep down, even though it hurts to admit it, he's staying whether we like it or not. Limiting his minutes is the safest alternative because he'll have fewer chances of f*cking up.
Nill's gonna get railed if he costs us another chance at the cup.
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