Dallas Stars 2009 Season Preview, Picks & Odds

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Dallas Stars 2008-’09 record:
36-35-11, 83 points (3rd in Pacific, 12th in West)

Dallas Stars 2008-’09 playoffs:
Did not qualify

Last season began off all right for the Stars but many of their high-profile players were felled by injuries and they collapsed down the stretch. There were some highlights though, as youngsters Lou Ericksson (36 goals) and James Neal (24 goals) broke out into scoring roles. Dallas missed the playoffs with a 3 rd place finish in the division. However, Dallas’ year was marred by injury and the ridiculous Sean Avery saga that drove the team into the tank and they never recovered, finishing with 36-35-11 record, 12 th in the Western Conference.

Dallas Stars 2009 Preview

Dallas Stars General manager: Joe Nieuwendyk (1st NHL year, 1st team)

Dallas Stars Coach: Marc Crawford (470-361-152, 14th NHL year, 4th team)

Dallas Stars Captain: Brenden Morrow

Dallas Stars Top Returning Scorer: C Mike Ribeiro (22 goals, 56 assists, 78 points)

Dallas Stars Top Returning Goalie: Marty Turco (33-31-10, 2.81, .898)

Dallas Stars Key Additions: D Karlis Skrastins; C Warren Peters; D Jeff Woywitka; G Alex Auld.

Dallas Stars Key Subtractions:LW Steve Begin; RW Chris Conner; C Brendan Morrison; D Darryl Sydor; RW Mark Parrish; C Joel Lundqvist; D Sergei Zubov; RW Landon Wilson.

Dallas Stars Top Line: LW Brenden Morrow, C Mike Ribeiro, RW Jere Lehtinen

Dallas Stars Top Defensive Pairing: Niklas Grossman, Stephane Robidas

Dallas is going to rely on a younger group of players this season, especially up front. While franchise cornerstone Mike Modano will always be the team’s most visible player, Ericksson and Neal are going to be counted on to consistently put the biscuit in the basket for the first time in their NHL careers. Aside from the youngsters, a full season of health from captain Brendan Morrow and longtime two-way stalwart Jere Lehtinen should go a long way towards restoring a dangerous attack. Also, don’t forget about center Mike Ribiero, who is an excellent playmaker and should center a line with at least one of the young snipers.

However, Dallas’ offense will be defined by one player this season: Brad Richards. Richards was the 2004 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP in Tampa Bay but he has largely disappointed since coming to Dallas. After missing a lot of last season due to injury, he needs to have a bounce back year to quiet his doubters and justify his huge contract. It isn’t a stretch to say that a big year from Richards could be the difference between making the playoffs and missing the playoffs in Dallas.

On the back end, the Stars felt comfortable in allowing Zubov to leave because of the emergence of Stephan Robidas last season. Robidas was an All-Star selection and received an Olympic camp invite from Team Canada after breaking out in a big way. Along with Skrastins, the youthful trio of Matt Niskanen, Mark Fistric and Niklas Grossman round out a young but talented group on the blue line.

The final piece of the puzzle is former superstar goaltender Marty Turco. I say ‘former’ because the onetime elite netminder struggled noticeably last season. However, Turco is entering a contract season, so I wouldn’t be shocked whatsoever if he had a big season similar to Nikolai Khabibulin last year. I think that the Stars will get much better goaltending this season despite having a more inexperienced defensive unit.

2009 Dallas Stars Goaltending:

One of many Stars who endured an abysmal start to 2008-09 campaign, with an .870 save percentage through his first 14 decisions (5-9-4). Rebounded from that skid to win 30 games for the sixth straight season, but Stars were still so unsettled by Turco’s performance that they were a strong suitor for Swedish free-agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who eventually signed with Toronto.

2009 Dallas Stars Player To Watch:

C Tom Wandell. Posted a 41-point season to earn Swedish Elitserin rookie-of-the-year honors with Timra last season, posting a club-high plus-15 rating. Also got to Dallas for a 14-game trial, posting 1-2-3 totals. Agile skater is a deft stickhandler and a clever puck mover. Capable of playing all three forward positions.

2009 Dallas Stars Offense:

Mike Modano is starting his 20th season with the Stars, the only NHL team with which he has played. He is also expected to be on the U.S. Olympic team, which would be his fourth appearance. Modano is the franchise leader with 543 goals, 786 assists, 1,329 points, and 1,400 games played. There have been only nine NHL players with more points for one team. Dave Tippett lost his job after the lost season, giving way to Crawford, who is 15th in career NHL games coached (987) and 16th with 470 wins.

Dallas Stars 2009 Season Predictions

Like Colorado, Dallas was a power for many years that suddenly finds itself in decline, with its star players leaving or aging rapidly. Not as far down the food chain as the Avs, but still likely to be playoff outsiders.

We predict that the Dallas Stars will finish 3rd in the NHL Pacific, 9th seed in West: 91 points.

Dallas Stars Betting

Dallas Stars Stanley Cup Odds: +4000
Dallas Stars Western Conference Odds: +2000
Dallas Stars Pacific Odds: +1000

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