Despite being devastated by injuries throughout the 2024-25 National Hockey League campaign, the Dallas Stars have continued to find success in the Western Conference. Through 55 games, Pete DeBoer’s club has managed a 35-18-2 record, good enough for second in the Central Division.
Dallas has been especially potent as of late, coming out on top in six of their last eight games before the 13-day 4 Nations Face-Off break. With the pause now over — and the league resuming in earnest for the stretch run — the Stars are again looking to make a deep Stanley Cup Playoff run in 2025.
Going deep in the postseason is nothing new for this core, although they’re still lacking an elusive Stanley Cup championship since 1999. The Stars advanced all the way to the Finals in 2020 but lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. And they’ve been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals, losing to the Edmonton Oilers in six games last season and the Vegas Golden Knights in the same amount the year before.
Stars just aren’t the same team due to significant injuries
Will 2024-25 be different for a roster that is desperate for a title? Although the Stars have been performing well, and certainly project as contenders again, it’s going to be difficult. And a big reason for that is the plethora of long-term injuries the franchise has been forced to deal with throughout the campaign.
It all began with Tyler Seguin, who began the season looking just phenomenal on a line with Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene. He had managed 20 points in his first 19 games and was poised to return to a point-per-game showing for the first time in many years. But he was forced to undergo hip surgery at the beginning of December and was given a 4-6 month recovery timeline. That puts him out for the rest of the regular-season, at least, and it’s unlikely he will suit up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs either.
To make matters worse in Texas, the Stars also suffered two brutal injury blows to two key pieces of the defensive unit. Nils Lundkvist, who came over from the New York Rangers back in 2022, suffered a shoulder ailment that also required surgery; he will miss the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
Even more crushing was the loss of top defender Miro Heiskanen, who suffered a knee injury of his own at the beginning of February. He underwent knee surgery as well and is being labelled month-to-month. That’s probably the worst ailment of them all, as the 25-year-old is a key presence at both ends of the rink. If he’s unable to play in the playoffs, Dallas will be much worse off because of it.
Heading into the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, even without Seguin, the forward core remains strong. And the team is going to need continued success from the top guys going forward.
Dallas still has a formidable forward core
It all starts with the electric top line of Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz, which has been humming for most of the time it’s been intact over the last couple of weeks. Duchene continues to excel in Dallas as well, and he’s leading the team with 55 points in 55 games.
The inclusion of Mikael Granlund from the San Jose Sharks was also a fantastic add by general manager Jim Nill. With Granlund in the fold — who is fresh off a terrific performance with Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off — the Stars can balance their forward lines, dropping Johnston down to create three scoring units if necessary. Captain Jamie Benn continues to chip in offense, while youngsters Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque are key pieces of the future for this team.
Along with a proven star in Jake Oettinger in net, the offense and goaltending is more than secure. But the fatal flaw — and the place Nill should be looking to improve even further ahead of the deadline — is the blue line.
Stars’ fatal flaw is a lack of talent on defense
When Heiskanen and Lundkvist are healthy, the Stars are a true powerhouse and project as a Stanley Cup contender again in the Western Conference. But without the two of them — the former especially — things start to get precarious. Thomas Harley has stepped up well, and he had a strong performance as a replacement for Team Canada at the 4 Nations. He also has a championship to bring back with him to Texas.
But besides he and Esa Lindell — who himself was a key piece of Team Finland — there is a significant drop-off. Matt Dumba and 20-year-old callup Lian Bichsel are making up the second pairing, while Brendan Smith and Cody Ceci round out the unit with Ilya Lyubushkin also injured. It goes without saying that the bottom two pairings are just not quite up to a par for a roster that considers itself a true contender.
Nill has not been afraid to make trades to make the team better, and he continued to do that already with the Granlund addition. But the front office in Dallas should now be looking at how they can best utilize the blue line, and the answer probably is adding another defenseman.
That’s especially true considering the Stars are going to have a plethora of cap space with the contracts of Seguin, Heiskanen and Lundkvist on long-term injured reserve. To fix the fatal flaw, Dallas should be looking at a rental defenseman who, ideally, has experience in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There are a variety of D-men who fit that mold, including Vancouver Canucks’ Carson Soucy, Seattle Kraken’s Jamie Oleksiak, Anaheim Ducks’ Brian Dumoulin or Montreal Canadiens’ David Savard, just to name a few. Although not all of them have a ton of playoff experience, all of the aforementioned players would at least make the roster better in the short-term — and wouldn’t break the bank.
It’ll be intriguing to see if the Stars can find a way to get over the hump and finally bring a championship to Dallas for the first time in the 21st century. It’s going to be hard without Seguin and Heiskanen, but if Nill can make a few shrewd moves at the deadline, this again projects as one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference in 2025.
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