For the last 19 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 20th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. 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 – Joel L'Esperance, John Klingberg, Vladislav Namestnikov, Alexander Radulov, Michael Raffl, Andrej Sekera

Incoming – Will Butcher, Mason Marchment, Colin Miller

Impact Of Changes – So not too big many names here the Stars will be without going into the 2022-23 campaign as far as forwards are concerned, but if there's one name that stands out its Alexander Radulov, who signed in the KHL in July. Although he had a down season with the lowest points per 60 minutes of his career at 1.3, he had been a proven depth player for a club that desperately is in need of scoring outside of the top line. On the blue line the Stars will have to make up for losing John Klingberg in free agency to Anaheim, which they're capable of doing with Colin Miller or Esa Lindell taking his minutes and second power play responsibilities. It's worth noting as well here that the Stars also have new head coach Pete DeBoer running things following Rick Bowness stepping down in May.

Ready For Full Time – Dallas a sneaky good prospect pool with multiple players that could very well see time on the NHL roster this upcoming season. In the forward group of prospects, the Stars will likely have Ty Dellandrea and Mavrik Bourque on the roster this fall, both of whom are NHL ready. Dallandrea has already seen some time up with the club, as a taxi squad player two seasons ago appearing in 26 regular season games, and even getting the call up in game seven in last year's playoffs vs Calgary. Dallandrea is listed at center, but could also move over to right wing as an option.

Bourque is the name though that could be of interest in those in dynasty leagues or looking for a young player to draft in keeper leagues. The 20-year-old 30^th overall pick in the 2020 draft had a fantastic regular season in the QMJHL tallying 68 points in only 31 games played. The speedy center has an extremely high hockey IQ and can be an efficient point producer on a Dallas club that will be looking for production outside of the top line.

For defense-ready players for Dallas, 20-year-old Thomas Harley is ready to step in. It's almost a certainty that Dallas will have him up on the NHL roster at some point, and with a strong camp we could potentially see him up to start the regular season. Harley may be taking a little longer to develop than most Stars fans would want to see but the upside is there for a mobile defensive player that is good at pushing the puck up ice in transition.

Fantasy Outlook – Here's the gist of it when it comes to the Stars, you can't go wrong drafting anyone off their top line. Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Joe Pavelski were the engine for this club last season and unless something changes with their depth, not much is expected to change. This top line accounted for 105 goals last season, which was 44% of all Dallas goal production. We'll likely see this trio getting drafted in most leagues somewhere around the same time with Robertson and Hintz likely going a little bit before Pavelski in most cases. Now, like Jake Oettinger, we're also waiting for Jason Robertson to sign with the club, but to this point there hasn't been a contract or offer sheet put forward to him. Dallas has a little bit north of $10 million in cap space so it's likely that the Stars would lock up Oettinger and Robertson, who are both 23 years old. This will be something to keep an eye on closer to when your league's draft date.

On the blue line, Heiskanen is the obvious choice here for Dallas and someone who should be highlighted, stared, bolded, as someone to potentially draft. It won't be a surprise come draft day where you'll see Cale Makar, Victor Hedman, Adam Fox, and Roman Josi fly off the board early, but Heiskanen is right in that next group of defensemen with players like Zach Werenski, Devon Toews, Dougie Hamilton, or Seth Jones, who you could target. He's going to get top defensive pair and top power play responsibilities and at 23 years old is only going to improve. Thirty points for him should not at all be out of reach along with 160-180 shots on goal.

Beyond the top trio, Heiskanen, and Oettinger in net, there's not much fantasy value here for the Stars, primarily for players who you should focus on taking in your draft. In larger leagues there's potential in taking a flyer on Jamie Benn or Tyler Seguin, but these are going to be players that you add to your club for a short time during the upcoming season if they begin to up their point production at any point. This is a Dallas club that had 41 games decided by one goal last season, they're going to need their second line to improve.

The Stars fantasy grade is difficult to give out because we don't have a contract or offer sheet for Oettinger and/or Robertson, so we're just speculating until something happens. Until that time, it's middle of the road for you Dallas…okay, maybe a slight bump for getting into playoffs on the second to last day of last season, which made for a very entertaining night of hockey.

Fantasy Grade – C+ (Last year was a B)