Stars’ center depth could be tested opening night

The Stars have built tremendous depth at the center position, and that’s pretty important right now.

Dallas has been without Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Radek Faksa for a large chunk of the preseason, and that’s a cause for concern as the season opener looms on Thursday at American Airlines Center. Both Johnston (non-surgical procedure) and Faksa (facial contusion) were at practice on Tuesday, but Hintz (upper body) was not. All three could be ready to go for puck drop against the Blues, but it’s nice to know that Pete DeBoer and his coaching staff have options.

“It’s critical,” DeBoer said after a practice in which he ran Tyler Seguin on the top line in Hintz’s place. “When Roope Hintz isn’t out there and you can stick Tyler Seguin in there, it’s a great luxury to have. And it’s a necessary luxury if you want to be one of those teams standing at the end of the day.”

In a perfect world, Hintz will be centering Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, Johnston will be centering Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov, newcomer Matt Duchene will be centering Mason Marchment and Seguin, and Faksa will be centering Ty Dellandrea and either Craig Smith or Sam Steel. That puts two centers on each line – a lefty and a righty – and allows the Stars to not only defend their title as the NHL’s best faceoff team, but also allows for an ability to adjust in the defensive zone.

“It’s huge,” said Faksa, a lefty who won 56.0 percent of his draws last season. “It’s something we have done for a while and it’s worked really well for us. It gives us a lot of confidence when we’re out there, whether it’s taking the faceoff or just playing defense. It just makes everything easier.”

Dallas led the NHL in faceoff winning percentage last season at 54.8 percent. The Stars also finished seventh in scoring, fifth in power play success and third on the penalty kill. Having center depth was an important aspect in each of those categories. Now, as they push through a challenging preseason, there are options to create all sorts of combinations that can take advantage on pretty much every line.

“We’ve got guys who can definitely fill in,” said Pavelski, a “right wing” who also took 689 draws last season.

Pavelski said players have the ability to step up and help at any time, especially in the case of injury or simply on a shift when the two “centermen” might help each other out.

“It’s an opportunity for somebody else,” Pavelski said. “Guys have played in the middle quite a bit and it’s good to be able to have guys slide in there and feel comfortable.”

Duchene is the latest addition. He’s a former third overall draft pick who logged 18:19 of ice time per game for Nashville last season. The lefty won 52.9 percent of his draws and tallied 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) in 71 games. He was bought out by the Predators and signed a one-year deal with the Stars for $3 million. DeBoer said that’s a sign Duchene is very committed to playing for a winning team.

“He’s a real dynamic player and you can see it even in the practices,” DeBoer said. “He explodes with the puck, he has an elite shot, he’s played on an Olympic team and he’s a motivated guy. He wants to win. The decision he made this summer . . . he had better financial options. He wants to win and he’s put his money where his mouth is.”

Duchene said he likes the center depth on the team and feels it can help every pivot play better.

“First guy back can play low and the other guy can pick up that right side,” Duchene said. “I think it works really nice and gives us a variety. There are certain nights, when you’re playing low a lot in your end, you can really wear down. If you can share that responsibility at times, it’s nice. It keeps you fresher and more in tune. It looks great to me.”

DeBoer and the coaching staff pushed for balanced lines and reduced minutes for all forwards last season, and that allowed the Stars to have energy once the playoffs came around. The same plan could work this year – if there aren’t too many injuries.

“It allows you to stay fresh because you don’t always have to do the heavy lifting on the line,” DeBoer said. “It allows us to put the type of pressure on the other team when we want to. You’re not waiting for the centerman to get back to play low. It’s whoever is first back is low, which allows us to play with that type of pressure that we want to play with.”

And while the league as a whole is trending in the direction of having two centers on each line, the Stars do seem to have a head start. Seguin said he always considered himself a center first, but now simply wants to have a positive effect on the game no matter where he plays.

“Over the years of playing so much wing and getting used to even the off side, I feel like it grows your own personal game when you can go anywhere,” Seguin said. “I want to be that guy that can play anywhere or with anyone.”

That option might exist for the Stars as soon as opening night.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.