The Stars are back.
The Stars are back for training camp beginning on Thursday morning, sure, but the Stars’ stars are back. Tyler Seguin is back after missing all but three games of last year. Roope Hintz is back after undergoing offseason groin surgery. Alexander Radulov and Joel Hanley are back after core surgeries.
Radulov, John Klingberg, Joe Pavelski, Andrej Sekera and Rick Bowness could be back at Dallas training camp for the last time, as each one enters the final year of their contracts.
It’s safe to say there are plenty of questions facing the Stars, both during training camp and during the 82-game regular season. Here are 10 of them.
Who is playing goalie?
What was the Stars’ biggest strength from 2018-20 has now become their greatest unknown. When Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin shared the net, they formed one of the league’s best goaltending tandems, leading Dallas to Game 7 of the second round in 2019 and Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.
But, this year, the Stars have four NHL-caliber goalies on the roster with varying degrees of health and ability, making the forecast cloudy in the crease.
It is unclear when (or if) Bishop will play because of knee surgery that also kept him out all of last season. Khudobin struggled last year during the shortened season after he had a bout with COVID-19 at home in Russia. Jake Oettinger played well in his rookie season last year, but has never played more than 42 games in any of the last five seasons. Braden Holtby posted back-to-back sub-.900 seasons before signing a one-year contract in Dallas.
Who’s in net and how they play will go a long way in determining the success of the Stars this season.
Is this John Klingberg’s last season in Dallas?
Klingberg is entering the final year of a seven-year contract that carries a $4.25 million cap hit, a figure that pales in comparison to what top pairing defensemen get paid now on the open market. With Dougie Hamilton ($9 million average annual value), Darnell Nurse ($9.25 million AAV) and Seth Jones ($9.5 million AAV) setting the market for defensemen, the Stars may not be able to afford Klingberg’s next contract.
Klingberg has been a core piece of the Stars since he debuted in 2014-15, a key part of the team’s offense both in transition and in the offensive zone, plus a wizard on the power play. During the run to the Cup Final, Klingberg was an important component of the attack.
Since Klingberg entered the league, he ranks ninth among defensemen with 327 points.
With Dallas signing Miro Heiskanen (eight years at $8.45 million), Esa Lindell (four years remaining at $5.8 million) and Ryan Suter (four years at $3.65 million), re-signing Klingberg would give the Stars one of the most expensive blue lines in the league.
Is Tyler Seguin back to being the Tyler Seguin of old?
Tyler Seguin hasn’t been completely healthy since before the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020, battling through a torn labrum during the playoffs in 2020 and recovering from hip surgery in 2021. Now, almost a year removed from surgery, Seguin is ready again.
It will be interesting to see how Seguin returns to the ice this season. When he came back briefly in the spring, he did so fantastically, with two goals in three games before Dallas was eliminated from playoff contention.
After six straight seasons of being about a point-per-game player in Dallas (464 points in 469 games), Seguin’s productivity waned in 2019-20, when he had 50 points in 69 games. If Seguin can again resemble the point-per-game player he has been, it will provide a big boost behind Roope Hintz. If not, the Stars’ scoring issues may continue.
How often does Jamie Benn play center?
Captain Jamie Benn finished last season in the middle, shifting from left wing to center when the Stars were in a crunch for centers, and staying there after he played well at the position. During exit interviews, both Benn and coach Rick Bowness said the plan would be to keep Benn at center in 2021-22.
Benn played 19 games at center last season, which will be different from maybe playing there all 82 games of this coming season. There is more skating involved with playing center and more defensive responsibility as well, something that could mean an added workload to the 32-year-old power forward.
Should Benn play center, there’s a trickle-down effect for the rest of the lineup. Tyler Seguin or Radek Faksa may shift to wing, and perhaps the signature line of Benn, Seguin and Alexander Radulov might not be available with Benn at center.
Can Miro Heiskanen become a true Norris Trophy contender?
After breaking out with one of the best playoff runs ever by a defensemen, Miro Heiskanen saw his offensive output decline last year, even if his overall usage jumped to almost 25 minutes a game.
In the offseason, Heiskanen signed a massive eight-year contract extension worth $67.6 million, the third-biggest deal in franchise history and one that will keep him in Dallas through 2028-29. The deal pays him like one of the best defensemen in the league, and the Stars are hoping this season can be another step toward Norris Trophy candidacy.
Heiskanen will have a new partner (whether it’s Ryan Suter or Esa Lindell remains to be seen) after the departure of Jamie Oleksiak to Seattle. He’ll still be behind John Klingberg in the power play pecking order. But Heiskanen should draw the other team’s toughest assignments, and will likely be asked to kill penalties, as well.
Which defenseman is the best fit for Ryan Suter?
Veteran defenseman Ryan Suter was the Stars’ biggest offseason signing, bringing in the 36-year-old after he was bought out of his contract by the Minnesota Wild. Suter is a left-handed defenseman who defends well with his positioning and stick, kills a lot of penalties and can contribute on the second power-play unit.
In Minnesota, Suter was paired with Jared Spurgeon, a right-handed, offense-first defenseman that could make a partnership with John Klingberg an easy transition. The other option will be putting Suter with Miro Heiskanen, something Bowness may give a look at during preseason games.
How do Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson fare in a full season?
Despite the condensed schedule and COVID-19 and the overtime losses and the injuries, the Stars found something great last season: a new first line. Joe Pavelski has shown he can be a top-level forward in the NHL, but Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson did that last season, too.
Robertson (45 points) and Hintz (43 points) were second and third on the team in scoring and spent the second half of the season pinned together on Dallas’ top line — when Hintz wasn’t sidelined by an avulsion injury of the left adductor tendon. Robertson finished the season second in Calder Trophy voting, and Hintz had offseason surgery.
Now, they will be tasked with duplicating their performances across an 82-game season, and while other teams put them at the top of the scouting report.
Is Denis Gurianov in line for a bounce-back season?
While Hintz and Robertson enjoyed breakout years, Denis Gurianov took a step back from 2019-20, when he led the team with 20 goals. Last season, he was held to just 12 goals in 55 games and will look to up his production in the final year of his contract this season.
With the emergence of Hintz and Robertson, plus the returns of Seguin and Radulov, Gurianov may find himself on the third line. If he can provide scoring from the third line, a deeper Stars lineup will be tougher to contend with.
Who makes the case to be the first call-up?
This training camp is devoid of much drama outside the goaltending position. The Stars have 12 forwards who have roles (and contracts). They have seven defensemen who have roles (and contracts).
That doesn’t leave room for prospects like Thomas Harley, Ty Dellandrea and Riley Damiani to make the NHL out of training camp. But camp does allow those players to battle to be the first recall from AHL affiliate Texas. When an injury happens, is it one of those three players who gets the call, or others like Tanner Kero, Nick Caamano, Rhett Gardner or Joel L’Esperance? Perhaps Swedish imports Oskar Bäck, Fredrik Karlström or Jacob Peterson can work their way to the NHL.
What does the trade deadline look like for the Stars?
This year’s trade deadline will be one of the most telling for Dallas.
With expiring contracts like Klingberg, Pavelski and Radulov, they will have the pieces to deal should they be out of the playoff race when the deadline rolls around. But if the Stars are close, they might not have enough cap space to provide reinforcements to the roster.
Either way, it will be one of the final markers in the ever-present question: Do you move Klingberg, Pavelski or Radulov at the deadline, or do you risk losing them for nothing?
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