Stars are eager for results to start matching talent

Making off-season splashes in roster acquisitions always brings lofty expectations.

The former has become a trademark of Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill’s short tenure with the organization.

First, two seasons ago, Nill orchestrated a blockbuster trade to bring forward Tyler Seguin from Boston to Dallas.

Prior to last season, Nill brought in Jason Spezza, one of the most coveted players of that summer, and his former teammate, forward Ales Hemsky, to add scoring depth to the combo of captain Jamie Benn and Seguin.

The depth has yet to be fully realized by the Stars.

A summer removed from the organization’s first playoff appearance in five seasons, expectations were high, on paper, on what the team could achieve during the 2014-15 season.

Dallas, however, missed the playoffs, finishing seven points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and sixth in the Central Division.

So, Nill acquired three veteran players that have won a Stanley Cup in the past five years with the Chicago Blackhawks — forward Patrick Sharp, defenseman Johnny Oduya and goaltender Antti Niemi.

Again, expectations are high, on paper, based on glancing at the names on the opening night roster when the Stars host Pittsburgh on Thursday night at American Airlines Center.

“On paper’s on paper,” Seguin said. “I think we look great on paper. A lot of teams look great on paper. We’re in the toughest division in the league, so our start should be huge, our division games are going to be huge. We need to bring a lot more focus starting out this year than it was last year.”

The lesson learned from last season — it might just be how you start that dictates how you finish.

Through the first two months of play last season, Dallas posted a 9-10-5 record, which included a seven-game losing streak through the end of October and the beginning of November.

Success began to trend for Dallas as the season continued, with the Stars finishing with a 41-31-10 record, but the start put the team in too deep of a hole.

“The initial start was OK, when you look at the initial five, six, seven games,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “There wasn’t anything wrong with that. We had a stretch in November … Kind of like, our middle start wasn’t real good. Or second start. That window of 10 to 20 games, it wasn’t a good patch for us. We had done it the year before, where you can’t have a seven-, eight-game stretch where you don’t win hockey games. The math doesn’t add up in the league.”

The Stars’ schedule could prove helpful to keeping pace in the first month. Dallas faces four playoff teams from last season — Tampa Bay, Anaheim and Vancouver once, along with Pittsburgh twice.

The challenge, however, will be getting immediate production from Benn, the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner as the league’s top scorer who underwent hip surgery over the off-season and has yet to return to full strength while seeing limited action through Dallas’ seven preseason games.

“I don’t think he’s quite up to speed yet,” Ruff said. “I think he’s got another gear there that he’s been a little bit cautious through the preseason. But I know there’s another gear. And I can see it in him.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Stars are eager for results to start matching talent."