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STARS MAILBAG: Confidence in Bishop, juggling forwards, and beating dead horses

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At some point last night I was asked on Twitter, “Why is this season any different from last season?”

And it’s a fair question. While there was an outside expectation for Dallas to establish itself as a title contender, this team actually has a worse record through four games than the team that finished near the bottom of the standings last season.

At this point last season the Stars were 2-1-1 and things seemed like they were ok. Even with the injuries, after four games Dallas seemed like it was still in good shape in the standings. But after game four the Stars lost four of their next five games and never really recovered.

To put a positive spin on this, the Stars are a better team at 1-3 this season then they were at 2-1-1 after four games last season. The 2016-17 team had more wins, but was outshot in three of the four games and had already allowed a power play goal in every game.

The 2017-18 team has yet to be outshot this season and the penalty kill looks markedly better. Some of the Stars issues are easily correctable (penalties) and the biggest concern — scoring at even strength — can be chalked up to an unlucky start if Dallas finds offensive success in the next five games.

And that’s the biggest lesson the Stars need to take away from last season. They don’t need a five-game win streak, but a showing like the 2016-17 team — four losses in five games — could unravel things rather quickly.

Anyways, let’s get started with the mailbag….

It does have an impact, even if the players would never formally admit something like that.

When Bishop is in net the Stars have played a more composed and structured game. In Kari Lehtonen’s two appearances the Stars have looked scrambly and made more glaring defensive mistakes.

Bishop’s puck handling has also had an impact, and that’s an element that Lehtonen doesn’t have in his game. Bishop does a nice job of setting up breakouts and making smart plays on the puck. It saves a bit of wear and tear on the defense and defuses opposing forechecks. Bishop’s rebound control also does wonders for the defensive psyche,  particularly on the penalty kill, where the goalie has done a nice job of snuffing out second-chance opportunities before they happen.

Let’s start with the penalty kill, which has been both more aggressive and structured at the same time.

The Stars have opened up the forecheck on the penalty kill with their faster forwards, allowing players like Tyler Pitlick, Mattias Janmark, and Remi Elie to aggressively pursue the puck in the offensive and neutral zones. That’s led to turnovers by the opponent, while it’s also led to some frustrations for opponents on zone entries.

When the opposing team does set up on the power play the Stars have done a better job of reading passing lanes and allowing their goalie to see shots.

The first power play unit has found some success and has four goals in four games, but you’d like to see some production from the second unit. John Klingberg deserves a lot of credit for the top unit’s success, he seems more confident and composed on the blue line and has really taken the next step as a power play quarterback.

Jamie Benn hasn’t looked like the old Jamie Benn since the end of the 2015-16 season.

Sure, he’s had some nice moments, but he’s been lacking those team-on-his back showings that defined him when he won the Art Ross and was then a Hart Trophy Candidate.

I think part of it is heightened expectations. Benn is now expected to be one of the best players in the world, while in the past he was still proving people wrong and establishing himself as a super star.

It’s one thing to dominate with a chip on your shoulder, it’s another thing to have to deliver on a perception that you’re one of the best players.

I think the ten-game mark is a good time to evaluate the team. At that point a team loses all excuses about having a new coaching staff or coming together as a group.

There are certain things we can judge at this moment, but there are others that still have an incomplete grade because of the small sample size.

I don’t travel with team so I wasn’t in the locker room after Thursday’s loss, but listening to the audio it feels like it was a frustrated group.

The Stars believe they’ve played well enough to win each of the four games, and to be 1-3 is just as frustrating for players as it is for fans.

At this moment he needs an injury to happen in the NHL and Jason Dickinson would likely be the first call-up.

There isn’t much more Dickinson can do in the AHL to prove he belongs in the NHL.

If there were an injury right now it would likely be Dillon Heatherington, he’s been playing top-pairing minutes in the AHL alongside Brent Regner.

Yes.

Jason Spezza had 12 minutes, 45 seconds of ice time in the loss to Nashville. This came one game after he had 12 minutes and 12 seconds against Detroit.

Based on usage through four games Spezza is a third-line center for the Stars. Ken Hitchcock is giving his top line, centered by Tyler Seguin, big minutes while Martin Hanzal is the second-line center and is getting more playing time as the first option on defensive zone draws.

That’s left Spezza and Radek Faksa in a de facto 3A and 3B role as centers.

You could argue Spezza needs more ice time, but I don’t see who you would take it from.

Spezza can’t take minutes from Hanzal, because the big Czech is used in defensive situations that Spezza can’t be trusted in. You also don’t want to take minutes from Faksa, because he’s already being underused as a fourth-line center.

There are elements of the Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov line — which I’ve started calling the “AAC Line” — that have been very encouraging. They do a good job possessing the puck and the zone entries tend to be incredibly smooth.

However, there needs to be more finish in their game. When you are breaking down and gushing over zone entries that often it means they haven’t done enough in the zone for you to discuss.

That being said I’d like to keep that group together for a little longer and allow it to mesh for nine or 10 games before pulling the plug on the experiment. If they are still failing to produce at five-on-five around the 10-game mark I would try putting Brett Ritchie or Devin Shore on the top line and move Radulov to a line where he would be the offensive focal point.

We asked Ken Hitchcock about the icings, particularly the ones with the other team’s net empty, after the win against Detroit.

He said he doesn’t mind the icings. He believes — and he has a point — that you do your best defending from a set situation like a face-off, so icing the puck and re-setting the situation isn’t the worst thing a defender can do.

That being said you’d like to see the number of icings go down and see the Stars start to develop more consistent breakouts and skate themselves out of pressure more often.

Mattias Janmark. He’s one of the few players providing depth scoring and he hasn’t missed a beat after missing all of last season.

I didn’t cover the Stars during the 2010-11 season when James Neal was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but I don’t think that trade greatly altered his career potential or his prime.

In an alternative history it would have been interesting dynamic to see Neal and Jamie Benn in the same organization for the primes of their career, and would that have extended the Jamie Benn at center experiment by a couple seasons?

Comment from discussion Mailbag, time for questions.

I don’t think there will be much of an opportunity. Three players part of the leadership group right now are locked up with long-term contracts — Alexander Radulov, Tyler Seguin, and John Klingberg — while I think Devin Shore will be a strong candidate to take over as the alternate captain when Jason Spezza is no longer with the Stars.

Roussel brings energy and is a spark plug, and he doesn’t need a letter to do so.

So far five players from the 2017 NHL Draft have made their NHL debuts.

Nico Hischier (first overall) with New Jersey, Nolan Patrick (second overall) with Philadelphia, Filip Chytil (21st overall) with the New York Rangers, Kailer Yamamoto (22nd overall) with the Edmonton Oilers, and Alex Formenton (47th overall) with the Ottawa Senators.

Getting a Jamie Benn type contract wouldn’t be settling for Tyler Seguin.

Consider that Jamie Benn is tied for the fourth-largest cap hit in in the NHL this season at $9.5 millions and in true salary he’s getting $13 million this season. If you include the Texas state income tax factor, Benn is probably the NHL’s highest paid player.

So a similar deal to Benn’s wouldn’t be settling for Seguin. If he re-signs with Dallas I would expect it to be a similar deal around $9.5 million per season, and it would likely be fair market value.

Seguin could potentially earn more money by testing free agency, especially from a team with open cap space. But that’s a decision that will likely be impacted by how successful the Stars are this season.

Ideally Julius Honka is a top-four defender by the middle of this season. If he can continue to progress and get better defensively he should soon grow into a player that Ken Hitchcock can trust close to 20 minutes a night.

That means Stephen Johns likely becomes a third-pairing defender on the right side, and I don’t have a problem with that. Johns has the physical tools to be a top-four defender, but the hockey IQ has been lacking and I’m not sure if that’s something he can improve enough to be a true top-four defender in the NHL.

If Honka progresses I wouldn’t put it past Jim Nill to find a deal and trade Dan Hamhuis at some point. The Stars made a similar move in 2014 when they traded Sergei Gonchar to the Montreal Canadiens to open up playing time for younger defenders.

I don’t mind Honka with Oleksiak right now, especially in a sheltered role. But I would like to see him move up onto a pairing with Marc Methot.

Oleksiak has had his moments this season, but I’ve yet to see him establish himself as the consistent top-four defender that Hitchcock raved about in preseason and training camp.

Stephen Johns hasn’t done himself any favors through four games, and he’s made more glaring mistakes than any other defender.

If Hamhuis is ready to go on Saturday I think the Stars will consider benching Johns for the night.

Another dead horse question, I feel like you and Alex are on the same wave length.

We’ve already addressed Johns quite a bit, so let’s look at the next wave of defenders you asked about.

Miro Heiskanen could be in the NHL next season, it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts the season in the AHL but then gets a full-time call-up to the NHL after 10 games.

Niklas Hansson still has at least two seasons until he’s an NHL option, so does Nyberg. Gavin Bayreuther could be an NHL option next season, but I think the more realistic future involves him grabbing a spot on the third-pairing in two seasons.

Methot has been as advertised so far. He plays simple and often defers puck possession duties to his partner. He’s the ideal long-term pairing for Honka.

Scoring winger, which appears to be needed after four games. Nill is comfortable already with his defense and goalies, but if there is a winger available on the market that can boost the offensive punch it would make sense.

Barring an injury, I don’t see Remi Elie heading back to the AHL this season.

He was very good in preseason and would have been the thirteenth forward on opening night if not for contract and waiver status. The Stars want to play with more speed and physicality, Elie brings both of those elements and he’s likely going to start earning more opportunities on the penalty kill.

Comment from discussion Mailbag, time for questions.

It didn’t have anything to deal with the trade deadline. The Stars just decided they wanted faster lineup options and that Adam Cracknell didn’t fit in their system, waiving him was the quickest way to open up a roster spot for Elie.

https://twitter.com/BobSchaller/status/918185664881025024

Wouldn’t be surprised if that happens at some point this season. Ken Hitchcock is likely going to juggle lines throughout the season. Personally I’d like to see them put Mattias Janmark back with Jason Spezza, especially if the Hanzal line is going to be used in such a defensive manner.

Comment from discussion Mailbag, time for questions.

I think one spot will be opened up by Antoine Roussel, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

In theory you’d like to bring back Roussel, but in a salary cap world you already have younger players that can fill his role at a much cheaper rate than he’ll demand on the open market.

Other than that contracts are actually protecting most of the forwards, especially after Dallas signed Hanzal this summer. It’s going to be interesting to see how they make everything fit a year from now if Valeri Nichushkin actually returns from the KHL.

To continue on from earlier question, the space isn’t really there for all the young players to make the NHL anytime soon.

The only player that is an unrestricted free agent next offseason is Roussel, while the restricted free agents are younger players (Devin Shore, Remi Elie, Mattias Janmark, and Gemel Smith) that you want as part of the team.

In theory you’d like to move Jason Spezza at some point to open up both a roster spot and cap space, but I don’t see why any team would trade for a 35-year-old with a $7.5 million cap hit.

Tyler Pitlick is that type of player, he’s started to show that already this season with his work on the penalty kill and at even strength.

The bigger thing is needing younger players to add a slight offensive element to their game and boost the depth scoring.

For example, Remi Elie has done everything asked of a depth forward, but he could take his game to the next level if he started creating offensive chances from time to time.

Comment from discussion Mailbag, time for questions.

Possession has been a key factor for the Stars limiting shots against.

It’s actually pretty simple, when you have the puck the other team doesn’t and they can’t shoot.

I would predict Dallas to finish amongst the top-10 teams for shots against, but not in the top five.

Jim Nill isn’t getting let go this season.

I don’t see that happening.

Comment from discussion Mailbag, time for questions.

I have not. He’s been better than past seasons, but not the player Hitchcock raved about.

When I was a kid turtles were my favorite animal. We grew up near a lake and turtles would end up laying eggs in our yard, we would go and dig up the eggs before the raccoons could and the turtles would hatch in our house.

Once they hatched we would take them down to the lake.

I actually once mocked up a mask using a turtle shell pattern on the top and it included images of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the side.

I would probably take that idea as base to a real artist and have them put something together.

I believe it was during a partial line change. I wouldn’t read too far into it.

Whiskey.

Poet.

Because sports are supposed to teach us lessons about life. Sometimes life is working against you.

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