The Stars closed the books on the 2023-24 season on Tuesday when Pete DeBoer held exit interviews in Frisco.
In an alternate reality, the Stars would have been prepping for Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers. Maybe they would have then punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, waiting for the Florida Panthers to arrive for Game 1 on Saturday.
But the Stars are done. They lost three straight games to the Oilers after taking a 2-1 series lead, the first time Dallas dropped three consecutive games in regulation under DeBoer. The offseason discussion has already plunged deep into the legacy and question of whether Joe Pavelski will retire.
It’s an important story, and one I will write about soon, but that story should have been on the back burner for at least two more weeks. If Pavelski’s career is over, it’s because the Stars’ top offensive threats, the new marquee names, failed to get the job done when they had the opportunity.
Jason Robertson had a hat trick in Game 3, but that was nothing more than an aberration. For each of the goals he had in that contest, he turned in a fruitless and frustrating showing in Games 4 through 6 when the series turned in Edmonton’s favor.
After scoring the series-clinching goal against the Colorado Avalanche, Matt Duchene looked lost offensively. Part of this felt like a coaching mistake—he struggled most when separated from Tyler Seguin—but Duchene had an opportunity and missed it.
Roope Hintz could get a slight pass for playing with an injury, but any effects of that seemed snuffed out when he buzzed with Robertson for a pair of assists in Game 3. In Games 4 through 6 he was held to a pair of shots and had little offensive impact. A normally creative player was boring and predictable. Add in the fact that Hintz won 16 of 25 faceoffs during that stretch, one of the best indicators of how strong that injured wrist was, and it becomes harder to use his health as an excuse for the lack of chance creation.
Miro Heiskanen had three points in the series and just one after Game 3, cooling down after registering 13 in the first 13 playoff games.
Thomas Harley was cold throughout the postseason, going from a 15-goal scorer from the blueline in the regular season to zilch in the playoffs.
On the flip side, Connor McDavid had 10 points in six games, the Oilers were 4-0 when Leon Draisaitl had a point, and Evan Bouchard had seven points in six games from the blueline. A popular narrative is that the Oilers’ depth was better than the Stars’ in this series, but that feels anecdotal at best. The Stars’ depth players did their job, but so did the Oilers. Edmonton’s superstars were just better prepared to grab the spotlight.
Take Game 6, for example.
In the highlight that will live in playoff reels for a long, long time, McDavid danced and floated and fooled Heiskanen for the first goal. The Stars may have been the better team in that game and had more quantity in terms of shots, but none of their top offensive weapons did anything to cancel out McDavid’s highlight on the goal sheet.
There’s an overused cliche that your best players have to be your best players. As lazy as that sounds, that’s why Dallas is watching the Stanley Cup Final from home.
Every other Stars problem relates back to that. The power play struggles? That’s the space where top players are supposed to thrive. Losing Game 1 and failing to get the job done on home ice? That’s supposed to be a stage on which rockstars rock when the lights come on.
After the Stars failed to show up in Game 5, McDavid delivered when he had the opportunity in Game 6. The same can be said all the way back in Game 1, when McDavid was the guy who found a moment of beauty in a difficult game to score the game-winning goal in double overtime. Yes, we are dealing with the best player in the world, but big-time players produce big-time moments.
It’s not always fair to compare this team to 1999 Stanley Cup champions, but historical context is important. Mike Modano, playing with a broken wrist, had five points in the final three games of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final. Brett Hull never went three games without scoring in the final two rounds, and in overtime, where we often say “anyone can do it,” the future Hall of Famer found the back of the net. Depth is important, but it doesn’t mean much if you don’t have someone at the front ready to seize the opportunity.
Wyatt Johnston tried and did his best to make up for his more established teammates’ shortcomings, as the 21-year-old led the Stars in the postseason with 10 goals and 16 points.Logan Stankoven proved up to the task, too, adding a depth threat who helped unlock a better-than-expected postseason for Jamie Benn. If you’re looking for a positive amid the doom and gloom, it’s those two plus Game 6 playoff debutante Mavrik Bourque. Johnston has it—all of it. Stankoven is firmly on the right path after his midseason arrival. And while it’s a minor-league sample size, Bourque has flashed big-game chutzpah after dropping 11 points in eight AHL playoff games.
Those will be your marquee draws of the future, and maybe they’ll be the big names who carry Dallas farther next season. But the Stars will be better served if Hintz and Robertson do, too, after taking a hard look in the mirror after watching what McDavid did. Same goes for Heiskanen and Harley on the blue line.
Because for the third season in a row, the Stars will boast the talent to play in a Stanley Cup Final. Now it’s time for someone to lead them there.
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