4 Big Questions for the Dallas Stars in 2020-21
There are 4 big questions the Dallas Stars will need to answer in 2020-21.
We continue with our 2020-21 NHL Season Previews and today we take a look at the Dallas Stars, who are in a strange place heading into the new season.
After suffering heartbreak in the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Stars have now seen their start to the 2020-21 season delayed thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak.
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Even before six players and two members of the coaching staff went down with COVID, it was a disrupted Training Camp for the Stars who were without injured goaltender Ben Bishop and star forward Tyler Seguin, while Anton Khudobin, hero of the 2019-20 postseason, was absent due to visa issues.
So, all in all, it has been a pretty rough period for the Dallas Stars and, as such, let’s look at the 4 Big Questions facing this team in the 2020-21 NHL Season…
4. Is a Stanley Cup hangover on the way?
Given we’ve already touched on it, let’s stay right here. It has been a messy Training Camp for the Dallas Stars, and they now won’t start their 2020-21 season until at least Jan. 19, due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Combine that with the absence of superstar forward Tyler Seguin, goaltender Ben Bishop and the fact that Anton Khudobin has yet to take part in Training Camp due to a visa issue, the Stars could well be incredibly rusty by the time the puck does eventually start on their season.
Who knows if their roster will be further depleted because of this COVID-19 outbreak too, while they also lost some depth during the offseason with veteran and gritty forward Corey Perry signing for the Montreal Canadiens in Free Agency.
They also didn’t make any major moves due to being right up against the flat cap of $81.5 million, although they did remove the interim tag from respected Head Coach Rick Bowness who played a major role in Dallas’ surprising run to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final.
Granted, there is still a lot of talent on this roster in the form of stud defensemen Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg and forwards Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov, while they will play in a Central Division that doesn’t feature too many big hitters outside of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
However, the Stars have made a habit of starting slow in recent years, including starting last season 2-7-1. And, with two of their biggest stars out to start the season coupled with all of the recent disruption, it could be another sluggish start in 2020-21 but, in a shortened 56-game schedule, it isn’t one the Dallas Stars can afford if they want to be a Playoff team again.