Dallas Stars season preview
DALLAS (BVM) — It was a lively 2019-20 season for the Dallas Stars with a lot of ups and downs, but they were able to make their fifth Stanley Cup appearance in franchise history.
A look back at the 2019-20 season
The season didn’t start great as the Stars lost eight of their first nine games. But the squad rallied and put together a nice 16-game stretch where they won 14 of those 16 games. Following their winning streak, head coach Jim Montgomery was fired because of unprofessional conduct.
John Klingberg said the Stars players were not told about what happened with Jim Montgomery.
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) December 10, 2019
Regardless of the roller coaster ride that last season was, the Stars still found themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference, and their point percentage allowed them to play in the round-robin tournament when play resumed. They came back against Calgary Flames, and then they defeated the Colorado Avalanche, who were favored, in seven games. In the Western Conference Finals, they only needed five games to beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights in five games. The playoffs were a long battle, but they eventually fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Leading the way for the Stars were Denis Gurianov and Tyler Seguin. Gurianov scored 20 goals and Seguin recorded 50 points as they helped the Stars place third in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference with 82 points and a record of 37-24-8.
Once the season was over, the Stars found out in November that goaltender Ben Bishop and star forward Tyler Seguin would be out until April 2020. They were two difficult losses, but the Stars will still be a tough team to beat in the Central Division.
Free agent signings
The Stars signed Mark Pysyk to a one-year contract. Last year with the Florida Panthers, Pysyk played 58 games and accumulated 18 points.
Dallas also brought back Julius Honka after he spent a season in Finland. In 46 games, he recorded 15 points and finished with a +9 plus/minus rating.
Key departures
Defenseman Roman Polak signed a three-year deal with HC Vitkovice in the Czech Republic. He played 118 games with the Stars.
Martin Hanzal announced his retirement at the end of last season. He also played two seasons with Dallas and scored six goals in his tenure.
Corey Perry signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens after playing 57 games with the Stars and recording 21 points.
Also, forward Mattias Janmark signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Janmark spent four years in Dallas where he accumulated 109 points and scored 46 goals.
Most interesting player
With star goaltender Ben Bishop out until April, Anton Khudobin will be manning the Dallas crease. With his outstanding playoff performance last year when he posted a .929 save percentage in the playoffs, Khudobin signed a three-year, $10 million with the team. Before Ben Bishop returns, he’ll be splitting starts with Jake Oettinger. And with seven back-to-back games this year, Khudobin will be getting a sufficient amount of rest.
Season outlook
With a shuffled Central Division and despite the injuries to Bishop and Seguin, there shouldn’t be a reason the stars make it back to the postseason. The team and the coaching staff remain close, which can be useful to a team looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.
With the NHL’s 104th season underway, all 31 teams are fighting to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. But only one team will be able to do that. Look for the Dallas Stars to be that team.
