<p><em>A team&#8217;s biggest rivals might be the teams in their own division, but eventually the eight teams on the other side of the conference will factor in too. Last month, we looked at all seven team in the Pacific and how stiff the competition will be in the Canucks&#8217; quest to repeat as division champions. Over the course of this week, we&#8217;ll be looking at last year&#8217;s top four Central Division teams &#8211; the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets &#8211; and next season&#8217;s race for top spot in the Western Conference. Today we&#8217;re closing things out in the Lone Star State with the defending division champion Dallas Stars.</em></p>
<p>The Dallas Stars were a heavy favourite to win the Stanley Cup last season, only to have those hopes come crashing down in the Western Conference Final against the Oilers. And through that series loss, the Stars have learned a lot about themselves and the pieces they&#8217;re still missing.</p>
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<p>The Stars have also lost Joe Pavelski to retirement, despite him putting up the second most points on the team, even at 39 years old. Replacing a key locker room leader and offensive contributor is going to be near impossible, and yet they might already have his successors on the way.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Open Ice: Pavs" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5J6P796Dolc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>One could argue the Stars&#8217; biggest addition is a full year of Logan Stankoven. The former Kamloops Blazer scored 14 points in the regular season and then added another eight in the postseason. Stankoven could easily slide into the team&#8217;s top six next season, as will breakout star Wyatt Johnston who potted 81 points across all 101 Stars games in 2023-24 at just 20 years old.</p>
<p>The Stars have one of the strongest forward casts in the NHL. Jason Robertson has become one of the NHL&#8217;s most elite scorers, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are still top contributors in their early 30s, and Roope Hintz and Mason Marchment round out a top nine with a plethora of line combinations for head coach Pete DeBoer to choose from.</p>
<p>The Stars defence has Miro Heiskanen leading the charge, but they&#8217;ll certainly take a hit after Chris Tanev&#8217;s departure for Toronto. Dallas is banking on the additions of Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba to close that gap, but their biggest help can only come from the net. Jake Oettinger didn&#8217;t reach the same heights in 2024 as he had in the previous two seasons, finishing with a .905 save percentage across 54 games. And despite the Oilers solving him at key points in the conference final, he seemed to settle to back into form as a whole during the playoffs.</p>
<p>The Canucks and Stars were as evenly matched as teams come in 2023-24; though Dallas took two of their three meetings, one win required overtime. The goaltending battle between Demko and Oettinger is close to a wash, and while the forward corps advantage probably goes to Dallas, it&#8217;s by an extremely slim margin with the adjustments the Canucks have made this offseason.</p>
<p>The real position that Vancouver could have a solid edge is on the blue line. Heiskanen and Quinn Hughes&#8217; respective supporting casts have a lot of parallels; one clear partner on the first pairing (Thomas Harley and Filip Hronek), and a cast of veterans to fill out the second and third. But when push comes to shove, Tyler Myers, Carson Soucy and Derek Forbort are arguably more capable of playing pivotal roles than Dallas&#8217; Esa Lindell, Lyubushkin and Dumba.</p>
<p>The Stars will undoubtedly face heftier competition from the Avalanche next season in the chase for the Central Division title, but as far as we&#8217;re concerned, that top spot is still theirs to lose. And if everything goes according to plan, the Canucks should be able to join them in the repeat class.</p>
<h3>Standings Prediction</h3>
<p>1st in the Central Division, 2nd in the Western Conference</p>
<h3>Season Series</h3>
<p>January 31 @ American Airlines Center</p>
<p>March 9 @ Rogers Arena</p>
<p>April 8 @ American Airlines Center</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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<em>A team's biggest rivals might be the teams in their own division, but eventually the eight teams on the other side of the conference will factor in too. Last month, we looked at all seven team in the Pacific and how stiff the competition will be in the Canucks' quest to repeat as division champions. Over the course of this week, we'll be looking at last year's top four Central Division teams - the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets - and next season's race for top spot in the Western Conference. Today we're closing things out in the Lone Star State with the defending division champion Dallas Stars.</em>

The Dallas Stars were a heavy favourite to win the Stanley Cup last season, only to have those hopes come crashing down in the Western Conference Final against the Oilers. And through that series loss, the Stars have learned a lot about themselves and the pieces they're still missing.
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The Stars have also lost Joe Pavelski to retirement, despite him putting up the second most points on the team, even at 39 years old. Replacing a key locker room leader and offensive contributor is going to be near impossible, and yet they might already have his successors on the way.

https://youtu.be/5J6P796Dolc?si=ijx6zb_rzd66XMbQ

One could argue the Stars' biggest addition is a full year of Logan Stankoven. The former Kamloops Blazer scored 14 points in the regular season and then added another eight in the postseason. Stankoven could easily slide into the team's top six next season, as will breakout star Wyatt Johnston who potted 81 points across all 101 Stars games in 2023-24 at just 20 years old.

The Stars have one of the strongest forward casts in the NHL. Jason Robertson has become one of the NHL's most elite scorers, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are still top contributors in their early 30s, and Roope Hintz and Mason Marchment round out a top nine with a plethora of line combinations for head coach Pete DeBoer to choose from.

The Stars defence has Miro Heiskanen leading the charge, but they'll certainly take a hit after Chris Tanev's departure for Toronto. Dallas is banking on the additions of Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba to close that gap, but their biggest help can only come from the net. Jake Oettinger didn't reach the same heights in 2024 as he had in the previous two seasons, finishing with a .905 save percentage across 54 games. And despite the Oilers solving him at key points in the conference final, he seemed to settle to back into form as a whole during the playoffs.

The Canucks and Stars were as evenly matched as teams come in 2023-24; though Dallas took two of their three meetings, one win required overtime. The goaltending battle between Demko and Oettinger is close to a wash, and while the forward corps advantage probably goes to Dallas, it's by an extremely slim margin with the adjustments the Canucks have made this offseason.

The real position that Vancouver could have a solid edge is on the blue line. Heiskanen and Quinn Hughes' respective supporting casts have a lot of parallels; one clear partner on the first pairing (Thomas Harley and Filip Hronek), and a cast of veterans to fill out the second and third. But when push comes to shove, Tyler Myers, Carson Soucy and Derek Forbort are arguably more capable of playing pivotal roles than Dallas' Esa Lindell, Lyubushkin and Dumba.

The Stars will undoubtedly face heftier competition from the Avalanche next season in the chase for the Central Division title, but as far as we're concerned, that top spot is still theirs to lose. And if everything goes according to plan, the Canucks should be able to join them in the repeat class.
<h3>Standings Prediction</h3>
1st in the Central Division, 2nd in the Western Conference
<h3>Season Series</h3>
January 31 @ American Airlines Center

March 9 @ Rogers Arena

April 8 @ American Airlines Center

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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