Stars reflect on the season, look forward to growth potential

There were a few news nuggets out of the Stars' exit interviews on Wednesday in Frisco. There were a lot of smiles and farewells, but mostly there was optimism about coming back for next season.

In bringing in a new coaching staff and a few new players, the Stars created a completely different vibe both inside and outside the team. Dallas went from 98 points to 108. The Stars went from minus-8 in goal differential to plus-67. They were better at scoring goals, better at preventing goals, better on the power play, and better on the penalty kill.

Several players posted career-bests, including Jason Robertson, who had the second-best scoring season in franchise history at 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists). Roope Hintz currently leads the playoffs in scoring with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 games. Joe Pavelski, 38, set several franchise records by an "oldest" player. Wyatt Johnston, who just turned 20, set records for a "youngest" player. It was a dynamic season that should send the franchise forward on the right foot.

"There were a lot of good things to build on, and that's the important part. When you don't win, have you established building blocks that you can build on for next year?" said Stars coach Pete DeBoer, who was hired last summer, along with assistant coaches Steve Spott and Alain Nasreddine. "I think we did that, and we've got to come back next year and build on that."

It was a huge leap forward in many ways for the Stars, as players like Jamie Benn bounced back with much better numbers and players like Miro Heiskanen and Robertson increased their personal scoring bests by 37 and 30 points respectively. DeBoer said in training camp he wanted to improve the offensive numbers, but also maintain the defensive identity which had been built in Dallas, and he did just that.

The scoring went from 2.86 (21st) to 3.43 (7th) and the GAA from 2.98 (14th) to 2.62 (3rd). It's impressive growth and brings a lot of enthusiasm to the entire organization.

"You love playing with offense," said forward Tyler Seguin. "There's just been so much talk over the years of how we defend and having that foundation. Now, talking more about offense, that's a fun way to play."

Pavelski added, "The biggest thing at the end of the day is winning games, and [scoring goals] definitely fixes a lot of things and keeps everyone in a pretty good mood around the rink."

Pavelski will turn 39 this summer and he was asked if he pondered retirement at all. His contract was going to be up at the end of this season, but he signed a one-year extension in January. Pavelski has had three of his best points-per-game seasons in the past three years with the Stars and said he's excited about continuing to play his best hockey at this stage of his career.

"Going into the year, I think there was a little bit of a question," Pavelski said when asked about retirement. "I wanted to just take it as we went and see how everything was feeling. Pretty early on, the way I was feeling, the way we were playing, how much fun I was having . . . I had a lot of interest in coming back."

The core of the Stars is locked up to guaranteed deals. Hintz starts an eight-year deal next season, Heiskanen has six years left on his, and Seguin has five years. Robertson and Mason Marchment each have three years, while Benn, Oettinger, Esa Lindell and Radek Faksa have two each. So, on the good side, Dallas knows this group will stay intact.

"It's a great feeling," DeBoer said. "I know the group now. Last summer, I didn't know the group. There was a lot of teaching on the fly. I think we're all more comfortable going into next season. That core is going to be back and everybody knows what to expect."

The Stars' free agents are Ty Dellandrea (RFA), Luke Glendening (UFA), Joel Kiviranta (UFA), Max Domi (UFA), Evgenii Dadonov (UFA), Joel Hanley (UFA) and Fredrik Olofsson (UFA). Dallas will likely want to make room for some of its younger players in the system, so not everyone will be back. In addition, some of the UFAs will require contracts the Stars likely can't afford.

Domi is an interesting case. He is just 28 and scored 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists) in 19 playoff games after coming in as a trade deadline acquisition from Chicago. He said he enjoyed his time in Dallas and would like to return.

"It was something that I'll never forget and I'm very grateful to be a part of," Domi said. "I've been one of those people that have been signing shorter term deals, which gives you the opportunity to move around a little bit at the deadline here and there, but maybe getting some more security and stability would be something that I'm hoping to do. And I hope that's here."

Stars GM Jim Nill will talk in the coming days with much discussion on potential lineup changes.

Also part of the exit interviews was the revelation by Oettinger that he was dealing with remnants of a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup early in the season. He said he was never quite 100 percent while playing in 81 games (regular season and playoffs).

"I had some minor stuff," Oettinger said. "I got hurt early in the year and never really fully recovered from that. Every guy in that locker room is banged up, so it is what it is. It's a privilege to be playing that long, and that's just kind of what you deal with. Rub some dirt on it and I'll be fine."

That is the mindset for the entire team. While it's tough to end the year on a 6-0 loss to a Vegas team who now heads to the Stanley Cup Final, the team knows they accomplished a lot.

"There's only one team that's happy at the end of the year. We were one of the last three standing," DeBoer said. "There's a lot to be proud of. We didn't get accomplished what we wanted to get accomplished at the end of the day, but there's a lot of pride in our group's ability to come to the rink every game all season and compete. This team felt like it could win every night, was never out of a game, and played for each other."

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.