Dallas Stars 2015-2016

[Ducks Nation*]

Looking forward to watching you guys play next year.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Slowed down over the last couple of year? He put up 34 goals and 78 points 2 years ago ...

Correct, but...

There's no issue at all with Sharp getting 1st line minutes. Not to start, anyways ...

...what I'm saying is he has begun to show signs of slowing down in the way all guys in their 30s inevitably do, over the last 24 months. All those long Cup runs / short summers + age can take its toll. So yeah he'll probably be OK playing first line minutes for a time, but there's no reason to push it. By sheltering his minutes a little bit in the first half, should keep his wheels fresher for the second.

Like I said he definitely makes your team better and that's all that matters. Sharp is still going to get those clutch goals and he's a good two-way guy also. More than that though three young guns with chemistry on line 1 to eat those minutes (Benn-Seguin-Nichushkin), gives all the more reason not to force that situation with Sharp. You have the luxury of (barring injuries) leaving him on the second line. That's a good problem to have. Although I guess you could argue because it will be Nichushkin's first season back since hip surgery, maybe his minutes should be limited at times also. Especially early on.

 

[Satan]

Yeah, I don't know why Stars fans aren't weary of Patrick Sharp aging.

He could see the same decline as Erik Cole.

 

[Benneguin]

Yeah, I don't know why Stars fans aren't weary of Patrick Sharp aging.

He could see the same decline as Erik Cole.

If he produces like Cole did last year before he was traded that's good enough for me. Not like we need his offense.

 

[tjcurrie]

We're all aware of Sharp's age. Nobody here thinks he's 26. We're just confident that he can still produce at a decent enough pace, and also compliment either scoring line nicely. We're also confident that as lines need to be juggled, they will be. That goes without saying. There are going to be ups and downs. So nothing really to say other than start the season and take things as they come. I'm sure we will see him with various mates as his play rides the 82 game schedule, and as other players require shuffling as well.

Saying we shouldn't give him this or that, we're not there yet. Start the season. Take things as they come. As of now there's no reason to believe he can't play up with Benn and Seguin. He doesn't need to score 30-40 to be a success.

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

The thing about Sharp is that virtually none of his underlying stats paint the picture of a man in any sort of decline. All of his possession stats, assist rates, shot generation rates, scoring chance generation rates and defensive stats like shot suppression are all pretty much in line with career averages. If any of those numbers were falling, I’d be a lot more concerned. The only thing that really fell off a cliff was his shooting percentage, which thankfully is something that is very prone to variation and often a better indicator of bad luck as opposed to a failing skill set (at least when the fall is so massive). He also received under 17 minutes of ice time in 14/15 (by comparison, that is less then Cody Eakin received) so that is certainly another big reason for his goal totals falling off.

Thankfully, the Hawks are a team that has a lot visibility and I can watch them a lot. To me at least, Sharp still looked to have a great skill set, his shot was still very nice (I remember him scoring a laser from the point and another game winner against the Stars in particular), he still looked to be a very good skater and his all-around game still looked to be quite impressive and something the Stars really missed.

Of course all hockey players decline and betting that a player will likely be worse in his mid-thirties then when he did earlier is usually a pretty safe bet. But I don’t think his decline will be any worse than average, I actually think it will be slightly better than average. For me at least, I am very comfortable projecting him to score at least 25 goals and around 55 points (significant injuries not withstanding). And if he can get anything close to that without his defensive skill set falling off, I think he will be well worth the transaction, his salary and a spot flanking Tyler Seguin.

 

[Ghost of Kyiv]

I can’t say the same about the other former Blackhawk however, I really think Oduya is a very strong candidate to decline this year. His offensive numbers have already fallen off and I think his defensive reputation will be soon to follow after he plays extended periods away from defensive stalwart Niklas Hjalmarsson.

 

[Mr Misty]

Erik Cole was a great fit for Spezza and Hemsky, or at least a better fit than anybody else that was tried on that line. He and Sharp don't overlap perfectly, but there's enough there that it should be a decent line. Having a finisher on that line is a no brainer, which is why I don't see why Nuke there is something that gets mentioned.

Whether or not Oduya falls off shouldn't matter. He's not signed for long or for much money, and he only needs to replace Daley. As long as he does that, we should have a better defense if the vets can maintain their levels of play and the youngsters can improve. If Oduya winds up being only a 3rd pair + PK guy, the Stars should still be in good shape.