The Dallas Stars are a team on the rise and are looking to build on their 8th seed from last year. The additions of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky should help them move up the standings.
Use the below Tabs to view Stars info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.
2013-14 Record: 40-31-11, 91 points
Where they finished: 5th in the Central; 8th in the Western Conference; 16th in the NHL
Player Salaries: $57,808,333
Cap Payroll: $63,633,333
Bonuses: $1,200,000
Cap Space: $5,366,667
Forwards: $ 42.53 milllion (13)
Defensemen: $ 14.28 million (5)
Goalies: $ 6.83 million (2)
Source: CapGeek.com
In: Ales Hemsky RW, Anders Lindback G, Brendan Ranford LW, Jason Spezza C, Jussi Rynnas G, Ludwig Karlsson LW, Patrick Eaves RW
Out: Alex Chiasson RW, Alexander Guptill LW, Chris Mueller C, Cristopher Nilstorp G, Dustin Jeffrey C/LW, Nicholas Paul C/LW, Toby Petersen C/W
2014-15 Team Outlook:
Since taking over as general manager in 2013, Jim Nill has turned a mediocre hockey team into a legitimate contender that should be a threat for the foreseeable future.
Top-6 centers are almost impossible to acquire any other way than through the draft and, after trading for Tyler Seguin last season, Nill managed to trade for another high-end center this summer in Jason Spezza.
While Nill gave up several assets in the deal, he didn’t have to move any of his top-tier prospects, and Alex Chiasson was the only roster player Dallas lost in the deal.
Adding Spezza alone while returning the rest of their core is enough to get excited about, but when you factor in the addition of Ales Hemsky, who tore it up with Spezza in Ottawa late last season, it’s not hard to see why many think the Stars can compete with anyone.
Seguin and Spezza combine to be about as good of a 1-2 punch down the middle as you’ll see. When you throw Jamie Benn, Valeri Nichushkin, who I think is going to be an elite player, Hemsky, Antoine Roussel and co. it’s easy to get excited.
Their defense is still a bit of a question mark, but it’s serviceable.
With one of the league’s best duos in Benn/Seguin, an elite group of forwards surrounding them, a very good goaltender in Kari Lehtonen mending the crease, and Lindy Ruff as head coach, the Stars should be a force.
I don’t know if they’ll beat out Chicago, St. Louis and, to a lesser extent (at least in my opinion) Colorado to win the Central, but I think they’ll be in the thick of things until the end of the season, and could make some noise come playoff time.
Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.
The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30.
FORWARDS
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin
Erik Cole – Jason Spezza – Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff – Vernon Fiddler – Colton Sceviour
Patrick Eaves – Rich Peverley
DEFENSEMEN
Alex Goligoski – Trevor Daley
Brenden Dillon – Jordie Benn
Sergei Gonchar – Jamie Oleksiak
Kevin Connauton
GOALTENDERS
Kari Lehtonen
Anders Lindback
| Forwards | POS | HT | WT | DOB | BIRTH PLACE |
| Jamie Benn | L | 6′ 2″ | 210 | 18-Jul-89 | VICTORIA, BC, CAN |
| Erik Cole | L | 6′ 2″ | 210 | 6-Nov-78 | OSWEGO, NY, USA |
| Cody Eakin | C | 6′ 0″ | 190 | 24-May-91 | WINNIPEG, MB, CAN |
| Patrick Eaves | R | 6′ 0″ | 187 | 1-May-84 | CALGARY, AB, CAN |
| Vernon Fiddler | C | 5′ 11″ | 205 | 9-May-80 | EDMONTON, AB, CAN |
| Ryan Garbutt | L | 6′ 0″ | 190 | 12-Aug-85 | WINNIPEG, MB, CAN |
| Ales Hemsky | R | 6′ 0″ | 185 | 13-Aug-83 | PARDUBICE, CZE |
| Shawn Horcoff | C | 6′ 1″ | 210 | 17-Sep-78 | TRAIL, BC, CAN |
| Valeri Nichushkin | R | 6′ 4″ | 205 | 4-Mar-95 | CHELYABINSK, RUS |
| Rich Peverley | C | 5′ 11″ | 195 | 8-Jul-82 | KINGSTON, ON, CAN |
| Antoine Roussel | L | 6′ 0″ | 200 | 21-Nov-89 | ROUBAIX, FRA |
| Colton Sceviour | C | 6′ 0″ | 200 | 20-Apr-89 | RED DEER, AB, CAN |
| Tyler Seguin | C | 6′ 1″ | 195 | 31-Jan-92 | BRAMPTON, ON, CAN |
| Jason Spezza | C | 6′ 3″ | 220 | 13-Jun-83 | TORONTO, ON, CAN |
| Defensemen | HT | WT | AGE | DOB | BIRTH PLACE |
| Jordie Benn | 6′ 2″ | 200 | 27 | 26-Jul-87 | VICTORIA, BC, CAN |
| Kevin Connauton | 6′ 2″ | 200 | 24 | 23-Feb-90 | EDMONTON, AB, CAN |
| Trevor Daley | 5′ 11″ | 195 | 30 | 9-Oct-83 | TORONTO, ON, CAN |
| Brenden Dillon | 6′ 3″ | 225 | 23 | 13-Nov-90 | NEW WESTMINSTER, BC, CAN |
| Alex Goligoski | 5′ 11″ | 185 | 29 | 30-Jul-85 | GRAND RAPIDS, MN, USA |
| Sergei Gonchar | 6′ 2″ | 210 | 40 | 13-Apr-74 | CHELYABINSK, RUS |
| Goalies | HT | WT | AGE | DOB | BIRTH PLACE |
| Kari Lehtonen | 6′ 4″ | 210 | 30 | 16-Nov-83 | HELSINKI, FIN |
| Anders Lindback | 6′ 6″ | 210 | 26 | 3-May-88 | GÄVLE, SWE |
A look at the Dallas Stars top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.
| RK | NHL.com | ESPN Corey Pronman |
Dobber Prospects | Hockeys Future | The Hockey News |
| 1 | Brett Ritchie | Brett Ritchie | Brett Ritchie | Jack Campbell | Jamie Oleksiak |
| 2 | John Klingberg | Jamie Oleksiak | Julius Honka | Julius Honka | Brett Ritchie |
| 3 | Devin Shore | Julius Honka | Jack Campbell | Brett Ritchie | Julius Honka |
| 4 | Jason Dickinson | Jason Dickinson | Devin Shore | Jason Dickinson | Jack Campbell |
| 5 | Jack Campbell | Patrik Nemeth | John Klingberg | Jamie Oleksiak | Brett Pollock |
| 6 | Radek Faksa | Brett Pollock | Colton Sceviour | Devin Shore | Radek Faksa |
| 7 | Julius Honka | John Klingberg | Kevin Connauton | Philippe Desrosiers | Devin Shore |
| 8 | Patrik Nemeth | Devin Shore | Matej Stransky | Brett Pollock | John Klingberg |
| 9 | Jyrki Jokipakka | Jack Campbell | Jason Dickinson | Patrick Nemeth | Jason Dickinson |
| 10 | Philippe Desrosiers | Radek Faksa | Radek Faksa | John Klingberg | Patrik Nemeth |
* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.
Dallas Stars Draft History from the past five years
| 2014 Draft | ||||||
| Rd. | Draft # | Player | Pos. | Team | Ht. | Wt. |
| 1 | 14 | Julius Honka | D | Swift Current (WHL) | 5’10” | 178 |
| 2 | 45 | Brent Pollock | LW | Edmonton (WHL) | 6′ 2″ | 182 |
| 3 | 75 | Alexander Peters | D | Plymouth (OHL) | 6′ 3″ | 207 |
| 4 | 105 | Michael Prapavessis | D | Toronto Lakeshore (OJHL) | 6′ 0″ | 173 |
| 4 | 115 | Brent Moran | G | Niagara (OHL) | 6′ 3″ | 186 |
| 5 | 135 | Miro Karjalainen | D | Jokerit U18 | 6′ 5″ | 205 |
| 6 | 154 | Aaron Haydon | D | Niagara (OHL) | 6′ 2″ | 197 |
| 6 | 165 | John Nyberg | LW | Frolunda Jr. (SWE) | 6′ 2″ | 180 |
| 7 | 195 | Patrick Sanvido | D | Windsor (OHL) | 6′ 5″ | 218 |
| 2013 Draft | ||||||
| 1 | 10 | Valeri Nichushkin | LW/RW | Chelyabinsk (RUS) | 6′ 4″ | 202 |
| 1 | 29 | Jason Dickinson | LW | Guelph (OHL) | 6′ 1″ | 180 |
| 2 | 40 | Remi Elie | LW | London (OHL ) | 6′ 0.5″ | 203 |
| 2 | 54 | Philippe Desrosiers | G | Rimouski (QMJHL) | 6′ 1″ | 184 |
| 3 | 68 | Niklas Hansson | D | Rogle (SWE) | 6′ 0″ | 175 |
| 4 | 101 | Nicholas Paul | LW | Brampton (OHL ) | 6′ 2″ | 202 |
| 5 | 131 | Cole Ully | LW | Kamloops (WHL ) | 5′ 11″ | 164 |
| 5 | 149 | Matej Paulovic | LW | Farjestad Jr (SVK) | 6′ 3″ | 190 |
| 7 | 182 | Aleksi Makela | D | Ilves Jr. (FIN-JR. ) | 6′ 1″ | 195 |
| 2012 Draft | ||||||
| 1 | 13 | Radek Faksa | C | Kitchener (OHL) | 6′ 2″ | 183 |
| 2 | 43 | Ludvig Bystrom | D | Modo (Swe) | 6′ 0″ | 185 |
| 2 | 54 | Mike Winther | C | Prince Albert (WHL) | 6′ 0″ | 170 |
| 2 | 61 | Devin Shore | C | Whitby (OJHL) | 6′ 0″ | 184 |
| 3 | 74 | Esa Lindell | D | Jokerit Jr (Fin) | 6′ 3″ | 194 |
| 4 | 104 | Gemel Smith | LW | Owen Sound (OHL) | 5’11” | 165 |
| 5 | 134 | Brendan Troock | RW | Seattle (WHL) | 6′ 2″ | 190 |
| 5 | 144 | Henri Kiviaho | G | Kalpa Jr (Fin) | 6′ 1″ | 167 |
| 7 | 183 | Dmitry Sinitsyn | D | U Mass-Lowell | 6′ 2″ | 200 |
| 2011 Draft | ||||||
| 1 | 14 | Jamieson Oleksiak | D | Northeastern ( H-EAST ) | 6′ 7″ | 244 |
| 2 | 44 | Brett Ritchie | RW | Sarnia (OHL) | 6′ 3″ | 210 |
| 4 | 105 | Emil Molin | C | Brynas Jr (Swe) | 6′ 0″ | 170 |
| 5 | 135 | Troy Vance | D | Victoriaville (QMJHL) | 6′ 5″ | 203 |
| 6 | 165 | Matej Stransky | RW | Saskatoon (WHL) | 6′ 2″ | 195 |
| 7 | 195 | Jyrki Jokipakka | D | Ilves (Fin) | 6′ 3″ | 190 |
| 2010 Draft | ||||||
| 1 | 11 | Jack Campbell | G | USA U-18 NTDP | 6′ 2″ | 175 |
| 2 | 41 | Patrik Nemeth | D | Aik Jr. | 5′ 9″ | 162 |
| 3 | 77 | Alexander Guptill | F | Orangeville | 6′ 3″ | 175 |
| 4 | 109 | Alex Theriau | D | Everett | 6′ 2″ | 189 |
| 5 | 131 | John Klingberg | D | Frolunda Jr. | 6′ 0″ | 158 |
| Player | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| Tyler Seguin | 80 | 37 | 47 | 84 | 16 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 294 | 12.6 |
| Jamie Benn | 81 | 34 | 45 | 79 | 21 | 64 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 279 | 12.2 |
| Alex Goligoski | 81 | 6 | 36 | 42 | 9 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 4.3 |
| Alex Chiasson | 79 | 13 | 22 | 35 | -21 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 144 | 9 |
| Cody Eakin | 81 | 16 | 19 | 35 | -9 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 161 | 9.9 |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 79 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 128 | 10.9 |
| Ray Whitney | 69 | 9 | 23 | 32 | -6 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 7.3 |
| Ryan Garbutt | 75 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 10 | 106 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 165 | 10.3 |
| Rich Peverley | 62 | 7 | 23 | 30 | -3 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 122 | 5.7 |
| Erik Cole | 75 | 16 | 13 | 29 | -17 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 139 | 11.5 |
| Antoine Roussel | 81 | 14 | 15 | 29 | -1 | 209 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 113 | 12.4 |
| Trevor Daley | 67 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 10 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 107 | 8.4 |
| Vernon Fiddler | 76 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 109 | 5.5 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 76 | 2 | 20 | 22 | -12 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 2.2 |
| Shawn Horcoff | 77 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 1 | 52 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 10.3 |
| Jordie Benn | 78 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 3.3 |
| Brenden Dillon | 80 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 9 | 86 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 97 | 6.2 |
| Colton Sceviour | 26 | 8 | 4 | 12 | -3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 69 | 11.6 |
| Kevin Connauton | 36 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 1.8 |
| Stephane Robidas | 24 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 11.4 |
| Dustin Jeffrey | 24 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 9.5 |
| Lane Macdermid | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Maxime Fortunus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Rome | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Travis Morin | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Chris Mueller | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Cameron Gaunce | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Patrik Nemeth | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jamie Oleksiak | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Goalie | GPI | GS | MIN | GAA | W | L | OT | SO | SA | GA | SV% |
| Kari Lehtonen | 65 | 64 | 3804 | 2.41 | 33 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 1888 | 153 | 0.919 |
| Dan Ellis | 14 | 11 | 690 | 3.04 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 349 | 35 | 0.900 |
| Tim Thomas | 8 | 6 | 364 | 2.97 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 184 | 18 | 0.902 |
| Jack Campbell | 1 | 1 | 60 | 6.00 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 6 | 0.872 |
| Cristopher Nilstorp | 1 | 0 | 39 | 4.62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0.824 |
Performance and Usage Charts for the Dallas Stars from last season, from Extra Skater.
