2014-15 LEADING SCORERS
LW Jamie Benn (35 G, 52 A, 87 P)
C Tyler Seguin (37 G, 40 A, 77 P)
C Jason Spezza (17 G, 45 A, 62 P)
LAST SEASON
The Dallas Stars had very high hopes heading into the 2014-15 NHL season. A previous offseason highlighted by the acquisition of Jason Spezza from the Ottawa Senators had the Stars organization reaching for the stars heading into the following season. Unfortunately, these moves would end with the Stars failing to qualify for the playoffs in the next season, despite having the services of Spezza along with Ales Hemsky on their team.
That being said, the Stars had a couple of bright spots on the team this past season. The brightest, being rookie defenseman John Klingberg suiting up in his first NHL season and recording 40 points in 65 games. No one expected a career year like this from Klingberg, but he quickly established himself as an NHL ready defenseman. The Stars' offensive charge was lead by Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn as usual, with Spezza stepping in and finishing third on the team in points.
Trade wise, the Stars made four notable moves throughout the season. They began with a trade in November 2014 that saw defenseman Sergei Gonchar shipped to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Travis Moen. A following move came a few days later when they traded defenseman Brenden Dillon to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Jason Demers and a 3rd round pick in 2016. They then acquired Jhonas Enroth from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Anders Lindback and a 4th round pick, and capped off their trades near the deadline with a deal that saw Erik Cole shipped to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Mattias Backman, Mattias Janmark, and a 2nd round pick in 2016. Needless to say, expectations weren't neccesarily met during the past season, but the Stars still had reasons to be optimistic.
OFFSEASON
IN
Patrick Sharp
Stephen Johns
Antti Niemi
Johnny Oduya
OUT
Trevor Daley
Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff
Jussi Rynnas
Perttu Lindgren
Rich Peverley
Ludwig Karlsson
Scott Glennie
Cameron Guance
Jhonas Enroth
This offseason was an interesting one for the Stars. They didn't add too many names to their roster, but when they did, they were certainly big names. They went into the 2015 NHL Draft and held the 12th overall pick, and used that pick to select Russian forward Denis Guryanov of Ladia Togliatti of the MHL. On the second day of the draft, they acquired the rights to goaltender Antti Niemi from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for their 7th round pick, whom they proceeded to sign shortly after. Heading into free agency, the Stars didn't make any moves on day one, but a few days in, they acquired forward Patrick Sharp along with prospect Stephen Johns from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt, ultimately boulstering their offense. A couple days later, they brought in another former Blackhawk via free agency when they signed defenseman Johnny Oduya to a two year contract. The Stars didn't make too many offseason moves, but they brought key players to help their roster.
NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
The Stars have a very scary offense heading into next season. They already had a strong goal scoring squad in Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Jason Spezza, but they went ahead and acquired Patrick Sharp to compliment Spezza on the second line. They also have players such as Valeri Nichushkin and Ales Hemsky to provide goal scoring depth. The Stars offense will be one to watch next season.
NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE
The Stars don't have a great team defensively, but by bringing in Oduya, they will now have a top four that will likely compose of Oduya, Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski, and John Klingberg. They don't have the intimidating top defenseman yet, but it's looking solid heading into next season. Watch for newly acquired prospect Stephen Johns to make a serious push for the roster.
NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
Considering the Stars brought in a second NHL starting goalie in Antti Niemi, expect split time between Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. If one is injured, expect Jack Campbell to be the first callup to the team to replace whoever is unavailible.
POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Valeri Nichushkin
Patrick Sharp - Jason Spezza - Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel - Cody Eakin - Patrick Eaves
Travis Moen - Vernon Fiddler - Colton Sceviour
Alex Goligoski - John Klingberg
Jason Demers - Johnny Oduya
Jordie Benn - Jyrki Jokipakka
Kari Lehtonen
Antti Niemi
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