There are exceptions to every rule. Some may refer to them as “outliers.” In the case of the Dallas Stars, the 2020-21 season was exactly that: the outlier. In what way? The one season of the last six in which the Stars did not make the NHL playoffs.
It is important to note that the 2020-21 season was an anomaly in and of itself; due to the pandemic restrictions, the NHL’s alignment, schedule and playoff format were turned upside down. But in the record books it counts just the same.
The six-season sample size may seem a touch arbitrary on the surface, but it really isn’t when you look back to the 2017 NHL Draft – the night the Stars reshaped their organization. Drafting Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger and Nick Robertson in the first two rounds, the Stars laid the foundation of their future with three home run selections.
Drafting is essential for any organization’s success, but that has proved to be especially true for the Stars. What has gone into the preparation for said drafting is what has proven to be the key behind Dallas’ success year after year at the end of June.
“Good evaluation by our amateur [scouting] staff,” Stars assistant GM Scott White told Daily Faceoff. “Led by Joe McDonnell, he and his staff have done a good job. We’ve traded some of our Draft Capital over the last [few seasons] and have still found a way to hit [in the Draft.]
“We’ve been able to bring in some skilled hockey players.”
In addition to his role as AGM, White is also the General Manager of the Stars’ AHL Affiliate, the Texas Stars. In this role he has had a first-hand view of the Stars’ draft picks after they turn pro.
White has been with the organization as its AGM of the Stars and overseeing its AHL Affiliate going back to 2009. His responsibilities include pro scouting, helping out in the personnel department and working in conjunction with the amateur scouts – including college scouting. To say he has taken in a lot of hockey is an understatement, and certainly has had a front row seat to all of the young talent that has come through Dallas’ pipeline.
Having so many players turn into NHL caliber-talent is something that makes life easier for any organization, and the Stars have been the poster boys for that for the last number of seasons. Even with some less than ideal, heavy contracts the Stars have had to deal with over the years, having a consistent flow of talented players on entry-level deals has made life easier in roster construction.
But even considering this, the work doesn’t stop at the drafting. White and the Stars are back at looking at the next crop of talent they can scout and, hopefully, get a crack at the following year in the NHL Draft. Drafting is only a part of the battle; development is arguably even more crucial, and the Stars have been able to execute this consistently.
In addition to the aforementioned higher profile names in Heiskanen, Oettinger and Roberston – and 2015 second round pick Roope Hintz, who has emerged as one of the league’s most underrated centermen – the Stars have seen a steady flow of younger talent join their roster over the last number of seasons. Names like Mavrik Bourque, Thomas Harley, Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven are staples on the Stars’ roster in the young 2024-25 season.
Bourque and Stankoven have just begun to get their feet wet at the NHL level, but both have already made impacts; in the case of the latter, we have an under the radar Calder Trophy contender. In the case of Harley and Johnston, they are already contributing on the club’s top defensive pair and forward line, respectively. Both were standouts in the Stars’ playoff run last season.
With the consistent flow of high caliber, younger talent into the lineup, it has allowed the Stars to better-slot veteran players who are now on the back nines of their careers.
Once franchise cornerstones and staples of the top line, forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have slid into middle-six, support roles for the higher end offensive players. Benn, in particular, has found his niche often on the club’s third line – or checking line, as some old school fans may call it – and has embraced the role. As the team’s captain, Benn has meant a lot for younger players who have played on his line while breaking into the NHL, Johnston being a prime example of that.
The support cast of veterans has been important for the Stars’ younger players, and year over year we’ve seen them sprinkled throughout the lineup. Forwards Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment continue to be important pieces in the club’s middle-six, while longtime veteran rearguard Esa Lindell – fresh off signing a five year contract extension – has, even in a reduced role, been an important part to the Stars’ back end.
Aside from the trade that saw them acquire defenseman Nils Lundqvist from the New York Rangers, the Stars have not been ones to easily part with high end draft picks. Being one of the main reasons for their success, you’d imagine trading higher round picks would be tougher to justify.
“It’s a double-edged sword (to trade higher round picks),” White said. “You don’t like to be sitting at the Draft, like this year in Vegas, and not have a lot of draft capital. You get excited at the Trade Deadline, which is ultimately what it’s about: trying to improve the big club and give them the best chance. Sometimes draft capital is how you make the group better short term.
“It’s going to catch up to us at some point; fortunately it hasn’t caught up to us yet.”
Though the Stars did hang onto its first round selection last year, it was the only pick they had in the 2024 NHL Draft until round 5, which White alluded to; they only had three picks overall. But going back to the 2009 NHL Draft – coincidentally, the year White joined the organization – the Stars have had at least one first-round pick in every single year with the exception of 2023; what do you know, another anomaly.
Great drafting does have one less than ideal side to it: when it’s time to pay all their players. Heiskanen, Hintz and Robertson have each signed long or medium term deals, while Oettinger is fresh off a brand new eight-year extension that was announced Thursday. Harley is in year one of a bridge deal of his own, as well. But that leaves names like Bourque, Johnston and Stankoven on their ELCs – if they continue their current trajectory, they will be due big raises in the coming years.
But the NHL is cyclical, and when those aforementioned young stars (pun absolutely intended) are in need of new contracts, the veterans currently taking up large percentages on the salary cap like Benn (expires next summer) and Seguin (expires in 2027) will be finishing up their big deals. If there is one thing the Stars have proven to be, it’s sustainable, and sustainability takes planning. With the repertoire that White and the Stars have been able to put together over the last number of years, there is a reason for optimism on how they will find a way to continue their success and keep their nucleus intact.
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