2019-20 Dallas Stars Regular Season Discussion - Part II

[Troy McClure]

One third season grades because why not. Evaluated in order of cap hit and graded with their contracts in mind:

Seguin - D- He's the team's highest paid player. He's the 14th highest cap hit in the league and the 8th highest salary this season. He's also tied for 55th in points this season and is tied for 123rd in goal scoring this season. He's regressed so so much. He's not even 30, and his skating has declined to the point where he's essentially a league average player with a very good (but not great any longer) one timer. What a terrible contract.

Benn - F Even worse contract for a guy whose game is in free fall. He had three games or so a couple of weeks ago where everyone was excited to see him look like his old self, but it's clear he can't keep that up for more than a few games a month.

Pavelski - F Signing a 35 year old guy carried some risk, and that risk is being realized. Nill's replacement is going to end up trading a 2nd round pick to Seattle to entice Seattle into taking him in the 2021 expansion draft. Pavelski is super slow to the point where he's a non-factor most shifts. Maybe the problem with him is the Stars not being as good as San Jose. Maybe the Stars don't have enough talented passers who can get the puck on this pylon's stick. He was brought in to score goals, and he's not contributing.

Radulov - C He's 33 now and is looking quite a bit slower than last season, which is a contributor to him taking quite a few more frustration penalties because he's mad about losing puck races and battles he used to win. He's not able to dominate possession along the boards like he used to, and his stats are taking a beating as a result. Two more seasons of his contract after this?

Lindell - A- His job is to eat up minutes playing a safe game and killing penalties. He's doing that just fine. He's even being asked to play a decent number of PP minutes.

Bishop - A- His numbers are great. They should be A+ numbers, but he's had more Kari goals this season already that all of last season.

Klingberg - B- His start to the season was about as bad as a guy can play without getting scratched. After his injury, he's been much better. If he had played that way all season, he'd be an A for sure.

Cogliano - C- For his cap hit, he should be more than just a dude, but he's just a dude. A dude still under contract next season as well. Thanks, Nill.

Comeau - B He's better than Cogliano for sure. He's actually chipping in a small amount of offense from his 3rd/4th line spot.

Janmark - D+ Started the season soaking up assists from Hintz's early hot streak but has since faded into barely being noticeable. He's back to what he was last season as a fast guy with no hands.

Khudobin - A Can't ask for more from a backup.

Faksa - B He's a tough one to grade. He's on pace to produce his usual moderate amount of offense despite playing with really limited wingers most of the time. His checking game has suffered at times.

Oleksiak - B+ He's improved his game a lot. Playing with Heiskanen helps that, but he's a nice solid guy now.

Polak - D He's been pretty bad even when healthy. The team is better with Fedun playing.

Sekera - C- He's slow, and that limitation means he gets beat a lot. He can make some nice passes at times, but he's not a good defender any longer. Even his decent passing ability isn't turning into assists, which may come from the fact his skating limits his ability to participate in what's going on in the offensive zone.

Perry - B Considering nothing was expected from him, seeing him produce some offense in spurts is a welcome addition. He's still dirty as hell, but sadly, he's slow skating limits his ability to contribute.

Dickinson - B- He's a low-quality utility player. He's going to be the guy moved around the lineup filling in spots when others are hurt, but he's never going to produce any meaningful offense.

Heiskanen - A+ He's going to get a massive contract in the near future. He's easily the best player on the team.

Gurianov - C I still don't get what some fans see in him. He's fast. Yeah, he's fast, but he doesn't really do much with his speed. That's not to say I want him scratched or anything because there aren't any better options to take his spot, but I also don't see anything lost when he doesn't play.

Hintz - A+ He was never going to keep up his early season pace. I love everything about his game, but I worry about him because he takes quite a beating with some of his crashes because of how hard he goes.

Dowling - B- He's fine.

Fedun - B+ He continually out produces his role and his minutes. Like last season, he's blessed with a small amount of puck luck others aren't.

Click to read more...

 

[joshik]

One third season grades because why not. Evaluated in order of cap hit and graded with their contracts in mind:

Seguin - D- He's the team's highest paid player. He's the 14th highest cap hit in the league and the 8th highest salary this season. He's also tied for 55th in points this season and is tied for 123rd in goal scoring this season. He's regressed so so much. He's not even 30, and his skating has declined to the point where he's essentially a league average player with a very good (but not great any longer) one timer. What a terrible contract.

Benn - F Even worse contract for a guy whose game is in free fall. He had three games or so a couple of weeks ago where everyone was excited to see him look like his old self, but it's clear he can't keep that up for more than a few games a month.

Pavelski - F Signing a 35 year old guy carried some risk, and that risk is being realized. Nill's replacement is going to end up trading a 2nd round pick to Seattle to entice Seattle into taking him in the 2021 expansion draft. Pavelski is super slow to the point where he's a non-factor most shifts. Maybe the problem with him is the Stars not being as good as San Jose. Maybe the Stars don't have enough talented passers who can get the puck on this pylon's stick. He was brought in to score goals, and he's not contributing.

Radulov - C He's 33 now and is looking quite a bit slower than last season, which is a contributor to him taking quite a few more frustration penalties because he's mad about losing puck races and battles he used to win. He's not able to dominate possession along the boards like he used to, and his stats are taking a beating as a result. Two more seasons of his contract after this?

Lindell - A- His job is to eat up minutes playing a safe game and killing penalties. He's doing that just fine. He's even being asked to play a decent number of PP minutes.

Bishop - A- His numbers are great. They should be A+ numbers, but he's had more Kari goals this season already that all of last season.

Klingberg - B- His start to the season was about as bad as a guy can play without getting scratched. After his injury, he's been much better. If he had played that way all season, he'd be an A for sure.

Cogliano - C- For his cap hit, he should be more than just a dude, but he's just a dude. A dude still under contract next season as well. Thanks, Nill.

Comeau - B He's better than Cogliano for sure. He's actually chipping in a small amount of offense from his 3rd/4th line spot.

Janmark - D+ Started the season soaking up assists from Hintz's early hot streak but has since faded into barely being noticeable. He's back to what he was last season as a fast guy with no hands.

Khudobin - A Can't ask for more from a backup.

Faksa - B He's a tough one to grade. He's on pace to produce his usual moderate amount of offense despite playing with really limited wingers most of the time. His checking game has suffered at times.

Oleksiak - B+ He's improved his game a lot. Playing with Heiskanen helps that, but he's a nice solid guy now.

Polak - D He's been pretty bad even when healthy. The team is better with Fedun playing.

Sekera - C- He's slow, and that limitation means he gets beat a lot. He can make some nice passes at times, but he's not a good defender any longer. Even his decent passing ability isn't turning into assists, which may come from the fact his skating limits his ability to participate in what's going on in the offensive zone.

Perry - B Considering nothing was expected from him, seeing him produce some offense in spurts is a welcome addition. He's still dirty as hell, but sadly, he's slow skating limits his ability to contribute.

Dickinson - B- He's a low-quality utility player. He's going to be the guy moved around the lineup filling in spots when others are hurt, but he's never going to produce any meaningful offense.

Heiskanen - A+ He's going to get a massive contract in the near future. He's easily the best player on the team.

Gurianov - C I still don't get what some fans see in him. He's fast. Yeah, he's fast, but he doesn't really do much with his speed. That's not to say I want him scratched or anything because there aren't any better options to take his spot, but I also don't see anything lost when he doesn't play.

Hintz - A+ He was never going to keep up his early season pace. I love everything about his game, but I worry about him because he takes quite a beating with some of his crashes because of how hard he goes.

Dowling - B- He's fine.

Fedun - B+ He continually out produces his role and his minutes. Like last season, he's blessed with a small amount of puck luck others aren't.

Reality is brutal. Also, cogs don't deserve c- if there wasn't his above-average speed he would be nowhere near NHL. Comeau had like 3-4 good games. He dont deserves B

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

I think a B might be a tad too friendly to Klingberg. He has been awesome since coming back from injury but as pointed out he was atrocious his first 17-18 games (I'd say our worst player). I'd have a hard time giving him more than a D for this season as a whole. Very happy he's turned it around though.

And yeah, Fedun definitely needs to be playing over Polak.

 

[Sports2]

We should assign point values to letter grades and average scores.



Haven't watched that much this season. Just did ones I noticed or felt a certain way about.

Seguin - C+ Gets points for still having value around the league. If they really wanted to they could move Seguin for a decent haul. Its a net positive contract.

Benn - D+ Gets points for presumably still being somewhat movable, even if they'd have to eat.

Pavelski - C- Gets points for only being a 3 year contract. I know thats more than everyone else were willing to commit- but shoot thats what they gave Comeau and what Cogliano had when they traded him. Overpaid no doubt but I'd rather have him than not.

Radulov - C Sleeper trade deadline sell. Someone would absolutely offer a 1st.

Lindell - A Warrior

Cogliano - D+ Why

Comeau - C+ Locker room presence or something apparently and I guess 2.4 isn't that bad.

Janmark - C- If someone offers a 3rd at the deadline the Stars will take it.

Faksa - B If someone offers a 1st at the deadline the Stars will take it.

Oleksiak - B+ Happy he found a way to settle in here.

Perry - B+ Even when he isn't producing he seems useful.

Heiskanen - A+ TYBH

Hintz - A+ TYBH

 

[Smelling Salt]

I'll give this a shot. I have alot of similar ratings to Troy. While contract is a consideration, I won't make it crash a rating completing.

Seguin - C He's been better the last dozen games than the first dozen, but I don't notice him too much. Like others have said on this forum, I'm not sure what has happened to his skating. His one-timer is no longer a weapon. Not a good enough playmaker to be able to make up for scoring droughts

Benn - D- Aside from a few games, he's been hard to watch. Only thing keeping him from an F was that epic shift against Winnipeg

Pavelski - C I've been pleasantly surprised by his all-around game, but he's gotta score more. Also not being utilized properly so I don't think he's completely to blame

Radulov - C- His effort is still there, but he's deferring too much. I figured he'd be in for a regression this season, but I expect a little more scoring still

Lindell - A- Zero issues with Esa

Bishop - B+ Numbers are good, but I often find myself puckering up when pucks are in tight on him

Klingberg - C- Been awful more than he has good, so I can't elevate him past a C-

Cogliano - C- He just exists

Comeau - B Pleasant surprise if I'm being honest. Not falling down as much, penalty killing is great (he's actually quite fun to watch on the PK - he makes very intelligent reads) and he's potted a few

Janmark - D Never really liked him, don't like him now. Awful skater for someone who is apparently fast, absolute muffin of a shot

Khudobin - A The man. No issues

Faksa - B- No complaints here. Exceeding expectations so far

Oleksiak - B Jamie O has been good, his skating has been good and he makes some pretty good pinches. Exceeding expectations

Polak - D He's a 7th D playing too much. Can't really say much else. Outside of maybe his PK work, he's replaceable by almost anybody

Sekera - C- He's been up and down, mostly down. Cheap signing and he's fine in the lineup, but he wouldn't be missed either

Perry - C- Hasn't been terrible, but I'm not feeling it. Again, doesn't cost alot so to me he's not hurting the team

Dickinson - C+ Typical Dickie, doesn't really do anything well other than forechecking and his shot is OK when he gets it away/on net. Never been a big fan

Heiskanen - A+ An absolute f***ing unit. A superstar in the making. What an honour it is to be able to watch this kid

Gurianov - C Had some good games and draws penalties, but mostly ineffective. I think I prefer him on LW. He seems awkward going up and down the right side

Hintz - A Hasn't quite been the same since the injury, but he's been the most dangerous forward on average

Dowling - C+ He's done what he's been asked to do which I respect, but he's not an NHLer

Fedun - B- Doing a nice job when he's in the lineup

 

[Kcb12345]

I've got pretty similar ratings to what yall have down. Lot of our players are just sorta "meh" but the problem with the team is pretty clear

Seguin - D - Only rated higher than Benn because he somehow leads the team in points. Imo he also leads the team in games spent completely invisible. It's hard to watch because there's no doubt he's still super talented and skilled and can score goals (and probably will still lead the team in goals and points by the end of the season), but he comes off now as such an average player because he lost his speed so unless he's got help from his linemates, which he obviously doesn't anymore, he's gonna remain this way at least until/if the powerplay picks up.


Benn - F - Had a few A+ games in a row, but other than that he's the same Benn we saw last season. Not much else to say here


Pavelski - C+ - There was always going to be a drop-off in his production, but I didn't expect him to be on just a 33 point pace through 29 games...I don't completely blame him for that though. The teams powerplay is awful, he has been misused the entire season basically, and he has always just been a complimentary player but here in Dallas there's no one to compliment really. So he's had to try and create his own chances and he's been better than we give him credit for but his production badly needs to improve and if the powerplay ever gets going that'll be huge for him. Needs to be on a unit with Klingberg. On the bright side he's an effective player for the most part even when he's not scoring, and also seems like a great guy to have on the team.


Radulov - C- - Too many penalties, and wayy too inconsistent. A couple of big games from him this season but what feels like a lot of nothing inbetween. Seems the team doesn't really know where to play him anymore if it's not with Benn and Seguin.


Lindell - A- - Solid as expected and filling his role perfectly. Would like to see more offense from him though


Bishop - B+ - I don't think he's been as good as his stats say, but he's been fine.


Klingberg - C+ - Worst dman on the team pre-injury, so far solid post-injury. Let's see if he can keep it up.


Cogliano - C - Love his effort and his speed on the forecheck, but he continues to be completely ineffective offensively in the goal column and his puck handling is so bad that anytime he sets someone up for a goal you just can't help but be shocked by it.


Comeau - B+ - Exactly what you want from a bottom 6 guy so far this season. Physical, good defensively, and creating chances offensively and scoring some goals too.


Janmark - B - He's been fine and has definitely taken a step up from last season but his shot is so weak that every goal could be his last. He's been solid so far though. Much better than last year


Khudobin - A- - Been better and more consistent than Bishop imo. Still makes me nervous with his puck handling and rebounds though and a lot of times it's how he gets scored on.


Faksa - B - Was probably the Stars worst forward during that 1-7-1 stretch, but played a big role in the depth scoring during the 14-1-1 stretch (or whatever it was).


Oleksiak - B+ - Been a solid partner for Miro and has been good at both ends of the ice, although not as consistently as you'd like to see from a guy playing in your top 4. Bit surprised he doesn't have a goal or more points this season honestly.


Polak - C - Pretty much the max rating a guy like Polak can get. He's fine in a bottom pairing/7th dman role but he shouldn't be playing even near as much as he is. Got exposed big time against Winnipeg.


Sekera - C+ - Drives me crazy how slow he is to do literally anything, but he's been fine overall I suppose. I like his creativity on breakouts although it does make me nervous.


Perry - B+ - He's been better than I expected and much better than Spezza was for us last season. Unlike most slow players, he knows he's slow and has adjusted his play to fit his slowness. If he was any faster he'd probably be near the team lead in points right now considering how many chances he gets/creates despite being slow. Smart little passes out of his own zone are a nice bonus too. Not as bad defensively as I expected although his skating obviously is an issue at times.


Dickinson - B - Was completely invisible for a while until he started producing offensively a little while ago. From then on he's been the nice depth piece for us that he was during the playoffs last season. Not sure that will continue though although I do like him with Perry. Dominant line on the forecheck.


Heiskanen - A+ - Don't think I need to go into detail on this one.


Gurianov - B - He brings much needed speed and game breaking abilities to the lineup, but we've only seen that 2nd part a couple of times this season so far. Needs to start burying some of the chances he gets because offense and speed are the only things he is capable of bringing to the team. Had a good little run there for a while but he and Pavelski have both stopped producing since then. Still needs to calm down when the puck is on his stick in the offensive zone.


Hintz - A+ - He's been awesome. Hope he can continue to produce at a nice pace.


Dowling - B - Gave him a B cause he had a few nice games in a row. He's a fine extra forward to have around.


Fedun - A - Couldn't ask for more from a 7th dman. Should probably be in the lineup more often than not during the regular season

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

Seguin D : He used to fly, he was so fun to watch. So disappointing; just couldn't give him an F since he's leading the team in points.

Benn D : Drop in production for a second year in a row isn't ideal. Still a good 2nd liner, very mad we wasted his prime.

Pavelski C- : Great 200 foot game, just paid to produce more offense.

Radulov C- : So many back breaking penalties, great effort though.

Lindell B+ : He's a horse, we'd be in rough shape without him. Wish he was a better passer/puck-handler.

Bishop B+ : Very good, more weak goals then last year however.

Klingberg D : Abomination his first 17 games pre injury.

Cogliano D : 4th line winger, no offense to speak of. $3 million dollar bottom six wingers are a major pet peeve of mine.

Comeau B- : He's been good, no complaints.

Janmark B- : I like him more than most. Useless as a finisher though.

Khudobin A+ : We have an awesome backup, where was this these past 10-15 years? Great value signing.

Faksa B- : Improved his game dramatically from the start, still overrated by a large section of the fan base however.

Oleksiak B+ : Might have been my most hated player over his first stint with the team, what a pleasant surprise he's become.

Perry C : His spurts of production are awesome, but the foot speed makes him a liability otherwise.

Sekera C- : Mild disappointment, he was good coming back from injury just 6 months ago. Too tentative.

Polak D : Liability

Dickinson B- : Not a bad depth guy

Heiskanen A+ : Wow, what a player.

Gurianov B- : Shown tangible growth, you always want a bit more though.

Hintz A+ : That skating is beautiful to watch, 11 goals in 22 games has been great.

Dowling B- : Minimum salary guy, plays like a good 13th forward. Probably gets too many minutes but not his fault.

Fedun B+ : Been a great depth defenseman. Should be above Polak on the depth chart.

 

[Smelling Salt]

Janmark - B - He's been fine and has definitely taken a step up from last season but his shot is so weak that every goal could be his last. He's been solid so far though. Much better than last year

LOL that is a very good way of putting it

 

[ElGuapo]

I'm just shocked that they followed a long win streak by a long losing streak. They're such a mentally fragile group. No matter how good they're doing, lose one and they go into a free fall.

 

[Kipper 17]

WTF is this team? Are we going to have to watch cold streaks followed by hot streaks all year? That will be very frustrating. I'm going to stop watching again until they heat up. When this team is playing well, they're great. But god damn do they suck ass when they aren't on their game. Either super fun to watch or just an absolute train wreck. Except for Miro, he's great.

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

They should be named the Bipolar Bears.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Is Tyler Seguin really that bad? I will say I always sort of saw him as that player who put up some nice point totals but really wasn't a super impactful guy when I watched him, but haven't seen much of him this year.

Odd to hear about decline in skating ability, because he's only 27 which isn't old.

 

[Magic Mittens]

According to Friedman we’re interested in Hall. Maybe he can get Seguin going

 

[Kipper 17]

What could we offer for Hall? Benn?

 

[Sports2]

According to Friedman we’re interested in Hall. Maybe he can get Seguin going

 

[Frozen Failure]

I hope it's Seguin for Hall in a hilarious turn of events.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Seguin - F
Benn - F
Radulov - D
Pavelseki - D
Perry - C-
Sekera - B
Polak - C
Hintz - B
Klingberg - C
Lindell - A
Heiskanen - A
Bishop - A+
Khubodin - A+
Fedun - A
Comeau - B
Cogliano - C-
Faksa - B
Janmark - C-
Dickinson - C

Something like that.

 

[Henderson33]

If we get Taylor Hall we have a great chance of getting Lafreniere. Hall has been on the team picking first 5 out of his 9 seasons.

That's more than a 50% chance! See, Nill knows how to work the draft.

 

[Kcb12345]

Highlyyyy doubt we could get Hall and I also kinda highly doubt Nill is seriously looking into acquiring him..

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

The Hall trade depends on if we can sign him or not. If he’ll sign 8 years, 10.000M I’d give up Harley and Oettinger. If he’s a rental it’ll be a 1st, Dickinson, meh prospect. Hall at 8 years is likely going to suck half way through the deal, but I don’t really care since we are likely going to be rebuilding at that point. Let just try to win now.

 

[Kcb12345]

The Hall trade depends on if we can sign him or not. If he’ll sign 8 years, 10.000M I’d give up Harley and Oettinger. If he’s a rental it’ll be a 1st, Dickinson, meh prospect. Hall at 8 years is likely going to suck half way through the deal, but I don’t really care since we are likely going to be rebuilding at that point. Let just try to win now.

Do we even have room to sign him? Feels like he'd be purely a rental unless we move out some guys

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

Do we even have room to sign him? Feels like he'd be purely a rental unless we move out some guys

It would be tight but we’d have some guys coming off the books after this season (Hanzal, Janmark, Sekera, Perry, Polak). Thinking about it now I guess another 10M guy would kill our depth which has been a huge issue for us.

 

[Sports2]

Hey instead of 2 albatross contracts how would you like 3!

 

[Troy McClure]

Hey instead of 2 albatross contracts how would you like 3!

Yeah, I'd rather add Hall as a rental than as a long-term contract.

He'll turn 29 next season, which would be the first of eight seasons of a $10 million a year deal. No thanks. Let someone else purchase that regret.

 

[serp]

Halls next contract will be awful whowever signs him. He's close to 30 and injury prone. Thats not something you want to sign longterm . Not to mention there's a good chance Hall gets ~12 Million per season in UFA and is he worth that ? IMHO hell no.