Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Dallas Stars

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the ~~summer~~…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Corey Perry, Martin Hanzal (off the books), Mattias Janmark, Roman Polak

Incoming – Mark Pysyk

Impact of changes – There were changes?

After an impressive Cup run that was sprinkled with a bit of catching lightning-in-a-bottle, the Stars finally played to their potential. Goaltender Anton Khudobin performed like a veteran starter (something we expected him to become about six or seven years ago, but he never got the chance), Miro Heiskanen emerged as a superstar defenseman (great timing there), John Klingberg returned to form, and Denis Gurianov jumped from write-him-off prospect to just-kidding-I'm-really-a-stud prospect. So Dallas will ride that wave of greatness. With Ben Bishop sidelined, they will ride Khudobin in the first half. But Tyler Seguin is also injured long-term, and Alexander Radulov is showing signs of decline. Will the emergence of Gurianov and Heiskanen be enough to compensate? It will have to do.

Dallas is deep enough that they can still ease in the kids without putting too much pressure on them. More on the prospects, below.

Ready for full-time – Jason Robertson parlayed a 117-point OHL season into a a wonderful 25-goal, 47-point rookie year (in 60 games) in the AHL. Not many players can transition their big points so well, that quickly. He also didn't look out of place in three games with the big club, picking up four shots on goal and an assist despite minimal ice time. Dallas will try to bring him along slowly, and I don't think he'll let them. I have him not making the team to start, but within a few weeks they won't be able to keep him out of their lineup. Read more on Robertson here.

Joel Kiviranta was another revelation in the postseason last year, peaking with his Game 7 hat trick against the Avalanche in the playoffs. He is a bit of an energy player and looks like he'll be a third-line regular who can chip in some offense. He'll have his moments, especially in leagues that count Hits as he is a potential 40-point, 150-Hits player.

Jake Oettinger will get the backup job until Ben Bishop returns from injury. He parlayed a star college career into a very nice rookie-pro campaign that saw him boast a 0.917 SV% in 38 games with Texas. The 22-year-old was a first-round pick in 2017, 26^th overall, so you know Dallas has big plans for him. When he's 24, I expect him to be a No.1 goalie in the NHL.

Ty Dellandrea is making the Stars look brilliant for reaching for him at No.13 overall at the draft in 2018. He's done nothing but make huge strides. He is an all-around player with a full toolbox and plenty of intangibles, making him a surefire NHLer. Offensively, his upside is that of a first-liner, making him a pretty sweet fantasy own, too. He'll likely get in some NHL games this season but I have him earmarked as a regular in 2021-22.

Dallas Stars prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – The Stars finished 27^th in total goals last season, and then in the playoffs they scored at a 2.85 goals-per-game rate in 27 games, which was actually one of the lower rates among the top playoff teams. If Robertson becomes a regular and Gurianov continues to improve, the Dallas offense should be a little closer to average as far as forwards go. Veterans Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn and Radulov are not at all what they once were, but are still capable of surpassing 30 or even 35 points in 56 games. Seguin missing half the season will hurt for the short term, but hopefully he returns back to his old self.

From the back end, with Klingberg and Heiskanen each capable of posting 60-point seasons and prospect Thomas Harley on the way, Dallas is the envy of most teams in the league. Between the pipes, Khudobin, Bishop and Oettinger also form a fantastic 1-2-3 punch, though the former two are getting on in years.

The prospect pipeline is average to above-average in that they have several real nice players of fantasy interest, namely Harley, Robertson, Dellandrea, Oettinger and Mavrik Bourque. But after those guys the level of quality drops by quite a bit.

Fantasy Grade: B- (last year was B-)

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2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades

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