Stars waste little time trying to upgrade

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is taking a look at where each team stands. Today, the Dallas Stars:
After failing to qualify for the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Dallas Stars tried to address all their needs in one offseason.

To solve their defensive issues, they traded for goaltender Ben Bishop and defenseman Marc Methot. To address secondary scoring, they signed free agent forwards Alexander Radulov and Martin Hanzal.
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The Stars also hired coach Ken Hitchcock on April 13 with the hope his second stint in Dallas goes as well as his first (1995-2002). He helped the Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999 and reach the Final in 2000.
Here is what the Stars look like today:

Key arrivals

Ben Bishop, G:Acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Kings on May 9, he signed a six-year, $29.5 million contract three days later to give the Stars an upgrade in goal. The Stars allowed 260 goals last season, second-most in the NHL (Colorado Avalanche, 276). … Marc Methot, D:Acquired in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights on June 26, his experience playing with Erik Karlsson with the Ottawa Senators should allow him to complement defensemen John Klingberg or Julius Honka, who each play a similar offensive-minded style as Karlsson. … Alexander Radulov, RW:After returning to the NHL from the Kontinental Hockey League last season with the Montreal Canadiens, Radulov signed a five-year, $31.25 million contract July 3. His 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists) last season would have been third on the Stars behind Tyler Seguin (72) and Jamie Benn (69). … Martin Hanzal, C: He signed a three-year, $14.25 million contract July 1. The 30-year-old scored an NHL career-high 20 goals with the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild last season. … Tyler Pitlick, RW:He had 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 31 games with the Edmonton Oilers. It was his most extensive NHL playing time. Pitlick signed a three-year, $3 million contract July 1. … Ken Hitchcock, coach: After being fired Feb. 1 in his sixth season as St. Louis Blues coach, Hitchcock, 65, is back with the Stars, who qualified for the playoffs in five of his seven seasons during his first stint. His 781 NHL wins are fourth all-time, one behind Al Arbour for third place.

Key departures

Antti Niemi, G:The final season of his contract was bought out June 27 after he had a 3.30 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in 37 games. He signed a one-year contract worth $700,000 with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1. … Patrick Sharp, LW: Concussion issues limited Sharp to 48 games last season. He agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 1. … Ales Hemsky, RW: The 33-year-old missed four months last season because of a hip injury and had seven points (four goals, three assists) in 15 games. He agreed to a one-year contract with the Canadiens on July 3. … Cody Eakin, C:Selected by the Golden Knights in the NHL Expansion Draft, Eakin had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 60 games but had at least 16 goals and 35 points in each of the previous two seasons. … Lindy Ruff, coach: His contract wasn't renewed after four seasons.

On the cusp

Miro Heiskanen, D:The No. 3 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft signed a three-year, entry-level contract on July 8. At 17, he played big minutes last season in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, and will push for an NHL spot in training camp. … Julius Honka, D: The No. 14 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft played his first 16 NHL games last season and scored his first goal during a six-game call-up at the end of the season. He should be a full-time top-four defenseman this season. … Jason Dickinson, C:The No. 29 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft had two goals in 10 NHL games last season and could push for a bottom-six forward spot to start this season. … Denis Gurianov, RW:The No. 12 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft had a strong first season in North America with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 57 games with Texas of the American Hockey League. A strong training camp could earn him a chance to provide secondary scoring in the NHL.

What they still need

Secondary scoring. Benn and Seguin each has scored at least 20 goals in three straight seasons, but three other Stars have scored at least that many in a season in that time, and two of them (Sharp, Patrick Eaves) have moved elsewhere. Jason Spezza had 33 goals in 2015-16 but 15 last season and is 34, and Radulov's only 20-goal NHL season was 2007-08. The Stars need some of their younger forwards to play larger roles. Devin Shore had 13 goals last season as a rookie, and Gurianov played well enough in the AHL to earn a one-game NHL call-up. The Stars also hope Dickinson, Remi Elie and Gemel Smith are able to lighten the scoring load from Benn and Seguin.

Pete Jensen's fantasy focus

The Stars are the most-improved team of the offseason after adding Bishop, Radulov and Methot. The biggest question is whether Hitchcock will load up his top line with Benn, Seguin and Radulov or spread out the scoring with Radulov alongside Spezza on the second line center. Benn and Seguin each is well worth a first- or second-round fantasy pick, and Dallas' other key players (Radulov, Bishop, Klingberg, Spezza) are worth reaching for in the middle rounds.

Projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark -- Martin Hanzal -- Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel -- Radek Faksa -- Brett Ritchie
Adam Cracknell -- Devin Shore -- Tyler Pitlick
Marc Methot -- John Klingberg
Esa Lindell -- Stephen Johns
Dan Hamhuis -- Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen