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.
3. Can Roope Hintz step up and fill the void left by Seguin?
Tyler Seguin underwent hip surgery during the offseason and will be out until at least early April, which is a crushing blow to the Dallas Stars, especially in what will be a shortened, 56-game season.
It only gets worse too when you consider that the Stars struggled to light the lamp in 2019-20, ranking 26th in the entire NHL (2.58) while Seguin was the only player on the roster to crack 40 or more points.
So, to be without your top points scorer for a large chunk of the season is enough to hurt any team, but especially one in Dallas that really relied on their star center for offense because of the struggles of the rest of the roster.
Therefore, Head Coach Rick Bowness will need someone to step out of the shadows and really put this team on their shoulders, and Roope Hintz seems to be a pretty likely breakout candidate.
Hintz really came into his own in 2019-20 and impressed with 33 points (19 G, 14 A) in 60 regular season games, while he was also a consistent offensive threat in the postseason with 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points 25 Stanley Cup Playoffs games.
Likely to start the 2020-21 season on a top line with Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov, Hintz will be the go-to guy for the Dallas Stars and he certainly has the ability to both score and create on a regular basis.
He will be playing alongside two elite playmakers and, with his shooting percentage spiking up to 15.8% last year, expect that to jump up again in 2020-21 and Hintz to provide the scoring punch this team desperately needs in Tyler Seguin’s absence.
And, if Roope Hintz can indeed carry the load until Seguin is back, then don’t be surprised if they emerge as a real threat in the postseason yet again.
2. Can Anton Khudobin stand on his head again?
Anton Khudobin has always been a reliable backup in the National Hockey League, but he really elevated his stock in 2019-20 after earning hero status in Dallas for his performances inside The Bubble.
With Ben Bishop ruled unfit to play, Khudobin really carried the load with 24 starts and, at times, single-handily led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final.
He went 14-10-0 with a .917 Save Percentage and a 2.69 Goals Against Average, particularly coming up huge and standing on his head time and time again in the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
While the Tampa Bay Lightning proved a bridge too far in the end, Khudobin had proved that he’s got what it takes to be a high-end starter in the NHL and he will be key once again for the Dallas Stars in 2020-21.
With Ben Bishop out until March after undergoing knee surgery, which is a long time in a shortened season, Khudobin will be relied on heavily once again by this Stars team that win more thanks to their defense rather than their less-than-explosive offense.
Yes, the Stars do feel as though they have something in young netminder Jake Oettinger, but the 22-year-old has only appeared in two postseason games and has yet to play in an actual NHL regular-season game.
So, while most teams will rely on a goalie tandem in what will be sprint to the postseason this year, the Dallas Stars may well have to lean on Anton Khudobin once again, who will have to deliver a repeat of his postseason heroics from last year if his team are to stay afloat in the early stages of the 2020-21 NHL season.
1. Can Jamie Benn enjoy a resurgence?
Not only is Jamie Benn the Captain and the leader of the Dallas Stars, but he’s also a pretty damn good hockey player and probably one of the best 50 forwards in the NHL.
He’s certainly one of the best power forwards in the game, as backed up by the 167 hits he dished out during the 2019-20 regular season, in addition to the 86 hits he piled up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, as good a two-way forward as the 31-year-old is, he has regressed offensively over the past couple of years and that will be a concern for the Stars heading into the 2020-21 NHL season.
After putting up 79 points (36 G, 43 A) in 2017-18, Benn’s production dipped to 53 points (27 G, 26 A) in 2018-19 and then it dropped dramatically to 39 points (19 G, 20 A) in 69 games last year.
Benn did enjoy somewhat of a mini revival in the postseason with 19 points (8 G, 11 A) in 27 games, but his struggles throughout the regular-season were a huge factor in why the Stars ranked 26th in the entire NHL in Goals For Per Game (2.58).
And, with No. 1 center Tyler Seguin out until at least early April, much of the goalscoring burden will fall on the shoulders of Benn, who will need to step up and really lead his team as they aim to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss in the Stanley Cup Final without two of their biggest stars in Seguin and goaltender Ben Bishop.
Benn is certainly capable of being a high-end points scorer as proven by his 79 points just two years ago, while he has also recorded 80 or more points twice in his career.
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With the Dallas Stars needing to see a dramatic improvement in their offense in order to ease the pressure and the workload on Anton Khudobin, Jamie Benn will have to carve out a huge bounce-back year offensively in order to avoid his team getting hit with an ugly Stanley Cup Final hangover in the 2020-21 NHL season.