Coming into the season, there were fairly high expectations for the Dallas Stars, who lost in Game 7 of the 2nd Round to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion St Louis Blues. As of October 15th, the Stars are 1-5-1. There is a lot to be concerned so far, and if it keeps spiraling out of control, it might be wise to make some trades to build for the future.
I've watched a number of the Stars games this year, and they haven't looked good at all. Their only win came in overtime against the Washington Capitals, a game that the Caps tied late to send it to OT. Through seven games, their big three of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Alexander Radulov have underachieved significantly. Seguin has just three points, while Radulov and Benn have two points each. Their big offseason acquisition, Joe Pavelski, has just one assist despite being a great goal scorer. Star defenseman John Klingberg only has one assist as well.
The issue has not only been the offensive production but the goaltending as well. Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin have to save percentages below .900, which is atrocious. It is likely that they will bounce back considering this is a small sample size, but this is still concerning for two goalies that are regarded highly.
Going forward, one of the major concerns is that this roster is quite old. Most of their established talent is over 30 years old. This makes it harder to trade players for a decent value. Seguin is just 27, but his lack of production so far just after signing a new contract that doesn't expire until 2027 makes it especially concerning that he is already declining. If a high-level talent like Seguin isn't producing, then who will?
Depth scoring is still an issue, like last year. Mattias Janmark and Radek Faksa are still underwhelming, Andrew Cogliano and Blake Comeau aren't going to give a team much offense, Jason Dickinson needs more time to grow, while Denis Gurianov is probably a bust at this point. They've brought up more and more players from the AHL, but it is unlikely to give them a major boost.
Roope Hintz is the lone young forward who has been good so far this year. He has four goals so far in seven games, and even just by the eye test, he has looked great in terms of his skating and creating chances. Hintz, along with star defensemen Miro Heiskanen, Klingberg, and Esa Lindell, might be the only players worth keeping if the Stars continue to lose.
Stars GM Jim Nill needs to reevaluate the direction of the team considering the poor start. If trade deals for players are available, he should seriously consider making those trades. But until guys like Benn, Radulov, Pavelski, Janmark, Khudobin, and others start producing, they are untradeable. With greater production probably means better team results, which would imply you wouldn't want to trade your players. It's a Catch 22.
Like I said when talking about the Coyotes, it's still a small sample size, but if poor results continue, the Stars should seriously consider making major changes to their roster.
