We’ve been previewing the Blackhawks’ competition in the Central Division over the past week, looking at what each team has added and lost over the summer. With training camps opening this week, it’s a good time to get a refresher on how other teams have tweaked/overhauled their lineups to improve in the coming season.
Thus far, we’ve previewed:
Arizona Coyotes
St. Louis Blues
Nashville Predators
Winnipeg Jets
Minnesota Wild
We’re nearing the end of our Central Division road trip. Today we head south to Big D, where the Dallas Stars feel they’ve got a roster that’s good enough to win it all this year. And they should after making it to the conference final last season.
Head Coach: Pete DeBoer
2022-23 Record: 47-21-14 (108 points — 2nd in the Central)
2023 Playoffs: D🐼ef. Minnesota ꦐ4-2, Def. Seattle 4-3, Lost to Vegas 4-2 in Western Conference Final
2022-23 Offensive Leaders
Goals: Jason Robertson (46)
Assists: Robertson (63)
Points: Robertson (109)
Current Cap Hit: (-$317,829 available cap space)
Roster Additions: Matt Duchene, Craig Smith, Gavin Bayreuther, Sam Steel, Joel Hanley
Roster Losses: Max Domi, Rhett Gardner, Luke Glendening, Ben Gleason, Ryan Shea, Riley Tuf💜te
Prospect Pool Rank (The Athletic):
Key Rookies/Prospects: Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Thomas Harley, Mavr꧑ik ꧟Bourque
Outlook
When you look back at last year’s stats, it’s a surprise Dallas didn’t win the division. They ranked seventh in the league in offense (3.43 goals/game), third in defense (2.62 goals against/game), fifth in power play (25 percent), third in penalty kill (83.5 percent) and first in faceoff percentage (54.8). They’re a wagon, folks.
They had some losses this summer, but they were able to poach Duchene (and his 22 goals) off the scrap heap after Nashville bought him out and also added a couple forwards in Smith and Steel who could provide nice depth. Add to that Jake Oettinger being one of the best young goaltenders in the league — on a hilariously underpaid $4 million deal for two more years — and this team has legit Stanley Cup aspirations.
