The 2024-25 NHL season is just around the corner, which means Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back! In this series, we dive into each team’s current outlook and storylines to watch as the season unfolds. Here is our Puck Drop Preview on the 2024-25 Dallas Stars.
The 2024-25 Dallas Stars
Looking Back on the 2023-24 Season
The Dallas Stars began the 2023-24 NHL season with high expectations after making a surprise run to the Western Conference Final during the previous season. General manager Jim Nill laid out his expectations before the year, saying it was time for the team to take the next step in the process of its championship pursuits. The Stars signed several veteran free agents, led by forward Matt Duchene. All went well during the regular season as the Stars won the Western Conference and finished as the second-best team in the NHL. Plus, young contributors like Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Logan Stankoven continued to develop into star players.
The Stars’ defence had some holes that affected the team’s outlook, but Chris Tanev seemed to stabilize the backend. However, as the post-season went on, injuries to the defence impacted the team. Unfortunately, the season ended in the same spot as the previous one: Game 6 of the Western Conference Final.
2023-24 Offseason
Dallas did not have much cap space this offseason but still managed to make some additions with shrewd maneuvers. The Stars bought out defenceman Ryan Suter. They then traded Tanev’s free agent rights, along with forwards Radek Faksa and Ty Dellandrea. Those moves allowed the Stars to bring back Duchene on a one-year deal, solidifying their top-six forwards. Sam Steel returns on the fourth line, and some depth forwards like Colin Blackwell have joined the team.
Most free agent additions came on defence as only half of last year’s unit returns. Veteran Mathew Dumba was probably the most notable addition and will likely play with Brendan Smith, another veteran signee who is familiar with GM Jim Nill from their years in Detroit. 30-year-old Ilya Lyubushkin also joins the blue line, and Casey DeSmith replaces backup goalie Scott Wedgewood. The Stars also saw Joe Pavelski depart via retirement.
Puck Drop Preview Projected Lineup
Robertson – Hintz – Johnston
Marchment – Duchene – Seguin
Benn – Bourque – Stankoven
Dadonov – Steel – Blackwell
Top Six
The Stars’ top six is as strong as any in the league. While some line combinations will have changed, all of them have produced at high levels. Robertson has been the most consistent of the bunch, leading the team in points each of the last two years and being one of its top-two point producers four years in a row. He remains next to Roope Hintz, who is seeking his fourth-straight, 30-goal season, and Wyatt Johnston is expected to jump up to fill out the first line after leading the team in goals during his sophomore campaign last season.
The second line is full of successful veterans. Duchene finished his first season in Dallas with 25 goals and tied with Hintz and Johnston for the second-most points on the team with 65. Seguin continues to keep up scoring-wise, although his point totals from the last three seasons have not been on par with what he has put up during the bulk of his career. Mason Marchment emerged with his best season as an NHL player and could become the X-Factor for the Stars going forward. There is plenty of scoring prowess in this group, and it comes from a mix of aptly skilled veterans and emerging young stars.
Bottom Six
We can expect there to be some movement here. The final forward spot may not necessarily be Blackwell’s, but he gets penciled in there for now. Blackwell’s best season came in in 2020-21 with the New York Rangers, and he spent the last two years with the Chicago Blackhawks. He seems to be the frontrunner for the final forward spot, but others may have something to say about it. Whoever gets that spot will play alongside Sam Steel and Evgenii Dadonov. Dadonov has 48 points in 74 games with Dallas. Steel had one of his best seasons as a pro last year.
The third line is almost an additional second line. Benn has spent the majority of his career as a top-six forward for the Stars but is now the veteran presence on the third line alongside two rising youngsters. Bourque and Stankoven spent most of last season in the AHL. Stankoven appeared in 24 regular season games with 14 points and added 8 points in the playoffs. Bourque has only played one NHL game, but Dallas has high hopes for what he can be, especially alongside Benn and Stankoven.
Defence
Harley – Heiskanen
Lindell – Lyubushkin
Smith – Dumba
Top Four
Harley and Heiskanen will be the top pair, but the second pair may fluctuate. It appears Lyubushkin is more of a third-pair defenceman, but the contract he was given says otherwise, and projections have him listed on the second pair. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Dumba or Smith on the second pair eventually, but this is what we will go with for the Puck Drop Preview.
Harley and Heiskanen have demonstrated excellent offensive skills during their careers. Heiskanen is much more sound and polished on the defensive end at this point and is clearly the top defenceman on the the team. Harley will be in just his second full NHL season and struggled down the stretch, even riding the bench during some key playoff games. He will have to put that behind him and continue to prove he is a legitimate top defenceman.
Lindell is also very skilled offensively and fits perfectly on a second defence pairing. Looking at this more closely, it makes plenty of sense to put Lyubushkin next to him as the former Anaheim Duck is about as defensively focused as they come.
Bottom Pair
Smith and Dumba were top-pair defencemen at the peak of their careers. Therefore, having them as a third pair could be a huge advantage for Dallas. At 35, Smith is the elder statesman of the group, while Dumba brings 11 years of NHL experience. Plus both players have seen plenty of playoff hockey in their careers.
Having said that, Smith and Dumba are both offensively driven defencemen. In fact, Smith has even been known to fill in at forward when the situation calls for it from time to time. Maybe that’s another advantage. And maybe Dumba’s heightened sense of physicality, with which Dallas fans are all too familiar, can make this a great third pair.
Nil Lundkvist, Lian Bichsel, and possibly Alexander Petrovic will also compete for roster spots and potentially fill in on the third pair.
Goalies
Oettinger is one of the faces of the Stars’ core and has performed admirably throughout his career, particularly in the playoffs. He has a 2.51 goals-against average and a .913 career save percentage in the regular season despite putting up career-worsts in those categories last season. He was also still voted into the NHL All-Star Game. Oettinger returned to form in the playoffs with a 2.24 GAA and .915 SV%. If that carries over into the new season, the Stars will be in tremendous shape.
There is a new backup in Dallas. Scott Wedgewood could not come to an agreement with the club, so Casey DeSmith will dispel Oettinger when needed. DeSmith has put up very similar numbers to Wedgewood in recent seasons and even has better career numbers overall.
Players to Watch
Jason Robertson
Robertson is arguably Dallas’ best player, especially considering all he has already achieved in his career. He has led the team in scoring in each of the past two seasons and is just a year removed from a 109-point season, one that included more that 40 goals. At just 25 years old, he has an extremely bright future ahead of him and could become one of the franchise greats at his current pace.
Playing alongside Hintz and Johnston will make it tough for opponents to defend the Stars’ top line, and that could lead to plenty of scoring chances for all three players. Robertson has proven he can produce when the opportunities come and has become a reliable star for Dallas.
Wyatt Johnston
Johnston has played most of his career between the second and third lines for Dallas, but it hasn’t held him back. In two years in the NHL, the 21-year-old has score 56 goals and accumulated 106 points while playing alongside some of the best veterans available. Those guys have also helped develop him off the ice, and it should be expected that he continues to excel as he moves up the lineup.
Like Robertson, there is a little uncertainty in terms of how many chances he will get on a stacked first line, but Johnston is one of the up-and-coming stars in the NHL. He should be able to seize the opportunity.
Puck Drop Preview Prediction
The 2024-25 Dallas Stars will try to finally take the next step in their championship arc and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the 2019-20 season. While there may be some regression defensively, they still boast possibly the deepest lineup in the NHL, can score with anybody, and have elite goaltending. All of these features make them a contender in the Western Conference once again, despite losing some key veterans.
They have the talent to make a deep playoff run, but can it all come together? Other teams in the West will have plenty to say about it. Still, Dallas’ bottom six gives it a true advantage over most other conference contenders, and the Stars have proven they can go toe-to-toe with elite teams in crunchtime. They just need to find a way to come out on top at least one more time after coming so close in recent years.
Puck Drop Preview Prediction: Stanley Cup Final
Main Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
