Quoting: abennett1284
That's the thing. If healthy, this roster is ready to compete. If you don't believe that, then what was our cup run just last year for? What does it even mean? Over valuing prospects is why we are where we are. Just my opinion though. Nill most likely agrees with you.
That Cup run was arguably the worst thing that could have happened to the Stars, because it gave the fanbase unrealistic expectations & a false sense of how good this team is. That Stanley Cup Final Stars team was a team that is not a top-3 seed in the central if a full season is played (they were absolutely abysmal right up to the Covid stoppage).
Calgary series - Good series that Dallas deserved to win.
Colorado series - The Avs were playing with an AHL goalie & missed 2 of their 3 best players for a majority of the series
Vegas series - Khudobin played on an unsustainable level during that series. Something he won’t be able to do again.
Looking at the Western Conference right now, skill-wise Dallas is behind Colorado, Vegas, Minnesota, Edmonton, and probably Winnipeg as well. They are in the same tier as teams like Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago and Calgary. Trading for Palat does not move them up into that top tier of Western Conference teams.