TEAM PREVIEWS: THE DALLAS STARS

Introduction:

And everyone said that last year was finally the year that Dallas was going to start its decline. What was supposed to be a disintegration for Dallas turned instead into a coalescence of many disparate parts. As Dallas' old stars faded, new rose. For years Morrow has been a spectacular role player. Now he's a first line power forward. Ribiero never clicked in Montreal, but received the line mates and playing time to announce himself in Dallas last year. And then there's Brad Richards.

If this team lacked anything it was toughness. A Pest. They got that in Avery. Dallas was outmatched by Detroit in the postseason, taking them six games before succumbing. Detroit may not be so lucky this season.

Key Departures:
Niklas Hagman

Not so much a key departure as the only one. Hagman was fine last season but is certainly replaceable.

New Face(s):
Sean Avery
Fabian Brunnström

I hate this guy! But so does every fan of every team he doesn't play for. He's an agitator with speed and more then a little skill. I think the most frustrating thing about watching him play is that you can imagine an alternative universe in which Avery doesn't annoy anyone and scores 70 points a year. That's not this universe though. Avery does what he does, and not too many can do it any better.

Brunnström is a 23 year old rookie, coming in from the Swedish Elite League and signed as an unrestricted free agent. It is tough to say what this guy is going to be capable of. He has the recommendation of Hakkan Loob though... oh and he does things like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQi8tS3wric&feature=related

The Offense:

You Want to Draft:
Mike Ribiero
Brad Richards
Brendan Morrow

Did I really put Mike Ribiero first? Yea but don't read into it too much. I'm wearing an LA Kings shirt right now just cause its comfy and yellow. I like yellow. See I'm unpredictable. Ribiero had a really spectacularly good season. 27 goals and 56 assists on 107 shots. Just wow. Ribiero has never done anything like this before and might not ever do anything like it again. Mike was over a point a game (well over when you consider that he only played 76 games) and it will be tough to match that pace this year. Adjust him down to about 75 points. He should remain a significant plus and continue to clean up on the powerplay so drafting him should be a fairly good call... assuming you can make those shots up somewhere else. Other than me, and by implication you, no one is going to believe in Ribiero this year so you might be able to steal a near point a game player LATE in the draft.
FACT: Ribiero remained hot in the playoffs, leading the Stars in points scored with 17 through 18 games.

Richards is probably the best hockey player on this team. I made kind of a habit of bashing the guy for the last couple of seasons (I didn't draft him in the 91 point year and then out of spite wished and predicted his poor years after same) but I think he's a spectacular hockey player that was stuck in a bad situation in Tampa. Its sad that he had to leave in order for the situation to improve but these are the realities of a salary cap driven world. Despite his Conn Smythe, Vinny was the face of that franchise... but Richards was the heart. Expect high 70's in points, WAY more shots then Ribiero(like 3 times as many), similar power play numbers, similar plus and similar lack of PIM. Essentially they will be the same player except Richards will probably put up slightly more points and a TON more shots. Draft him several rounds earlier.
FACT: Richards had 11 points in 12 games with Dallas last season and an additional 15 points in 18 playoff games. He seems to like his new surroundings.

Morrow is legitimate power forward. He will be a threat for between 70 and 80 points this year, he'll be a plus, and he will net you somewhere between 100 and 150 PIM while getting high 20's to low 30's production in powerplay points. Put into English, the guy does a LOT of everything for you. And he's a left wing! Think Shanahan in his 30's, minus about 50 shots, and you have a pretty good idea of what you're getting with Morrow.
FACT: Like all of Dallas' big guns, Morrow saw about 20 minutes of ice time per game. They are not afraid to play their superstars in Big D.

You Want to Keep an Eye on:
Sean Avery
Fabian Brunnstrom
Jere Lehtinen
Mike Modano

Avery is a threat to score 50 points and get 200 PIM. That makes him valuable, regardless of the fact that he gets no powerplay time and only takes about 150 or so shots. He is a very very rare commodity. How rare? Only two people ranked ahead of Avery in PIM had more points then he did last year, Phaneuf with 60 points and Hartnell with 43. Avery only had 33 points... but he only played in 57 games. If you need PIM and want production you don't get too many better options than the pest.
FACT: Avery's style of play does make him injury (and suspension) prone. Be warned.

There isn't much that I'm qualified to say about Brunnstrom, other then what has been mentioned above. He's probably a very good sleeper candidate. If he shows any promise he will end up with one of Dallas' three talented centers. See how he does and be prepared to pounce. He could be a good consolation prize if you miss out on the Stamkos sweepstakes.
FACT: Like the earlier video? Check out the greatest hits... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfRkAnRUgfI. I don't know if he's good or if the Swedish goalies are just really bad.

Lehtinen and Modano both managed to keep themselves relevant for at least one more season last year. Lehtinen in particular was on his way to a fantastic season with 37 points in 48 games before getting injured. Both players are still fantasy relevant, if for nothing else then for their scoring spurts. Keep an eye on them, but I don't know that you need to draft either.
FACT: Modano is one of those rare players that will play his entire career on the same franchise, starting with the Stars WAY back when they were the Minnesota North Stars and wore much much cooler jerseys.

The Defense

You Want to Draft:
Philippe Boucher
Sergei Zubov

At 35 and 38 Boucher and Zubov are the Danny Gloverss to the rest of the D's Mel Gibson, and incidentally the only members of Dallas's D corps old enough to get that reference. The age started to show last season as both missed significant time to injury. No clear successors emerged in their absence so both should still be drafted as the offensive powerhouses they are capable of being. Just remember, once the engine starts to break down it tends to keep doing so.

Boucher is one of my ideal d-men. He can get you between 40 and 50 points, 70 and 100 PIM, 150-200 shots and spend some time on the powerplay. I like my d-men to do a bit of everything, to make up for high point producing low specialty category producing forwards. Unfortunately his injury problems are not limited to last season... so buyer beware.
FACT: Boucher was always an offensive threat in his junior hockey career and was drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Sabers. He is great when healthy.

In contrast, Zubov has maintained a pretty consistent level of greatness throughout his career. Rarely injured, Zubov has been one of the cornerstones of the Dallas powerplay since 2007-2008. Ten years ladies and gentleman. That's a heck of a run. The dreaded "sports hernia" caught up with him last season however. I would expect Sergei to be ready to go this season, I'd just monitor his health. He should still be an offensive force to be reckoned with and should be drafted as such. He will get you everything except for PIM.
FACT: The new NHL has helped Zubov immensely. He scored 71 points in 05-06 and 54 in 06-07. Last season he had already notched 35 points in 46 games before going down to injury.

You Want to Keep an Eye On:
Matt Niskanen

Niskanen isn't really seeing powerplay time yet, but that could change with one injury. Last season he was a +22 and scored 26 points... at the age of 21. There is a lot of promise in Niskanen, drafted in the 1st round by Dallas in 2005. Keep an eye on him and don't hesitate to grab him if one of the two aging wonders go down.
FACT: Niskanen actually slowed significantly after the all star break, scoring only 7 of his 26 points in the last portion of the season. This could mean any number of things, but is likely attributable to the rigors of a full NHL season wearing on him and also to the Stars renewed commitment to defense as the playoff push heated up.

The Powerplay:
Mike Ribiero
Brendan Morrow
Brad Richards
Sergei Zubov
Philippe Boucher

Richards actually didn't see a whole lot of powerplay time after his arrival in Dallas, likely because at that point in the season Dallas' powerplay was clicking and had been playing well together for most of the year. His powerplay time increased in the postseason however. Ribiero made himself something of a powerplay specialist last year, particularly in the playoffs where he scored 11 of his 17 points on the man advantage.

The Goalie(s):

Turco gets his chance to shine. "The other Marty" put up great postseason numbers last year, keeping them in almost every game and finally shaking that monkey off his back. With Smith gone Turco's minutes will go up, and so will his win totals. Turco's numbers may never reach their pre-lockout greatness, but he is a dependable netminder on a strong defensive team.

The Verdict:

Dallas is a very well put together team. They are built to counterattack and to beat their teams into submission with strong physical and defensive play. In my opinion they are the best team in the West not named the Red Wings... at least this year. Dallas also presents you with many "well-rounded" fantasy options in Morrow, Boucher, and Richards. Draft Richards, Morrow, Boucher, Zubov, Turco, and Ribiero with confidence.