Gearing up: Stars excited to open training camp following long offseason

The Stars have some challenges this season, but they also have some pretty good solutions on hand.

The salary cap is tighter than it has ever been for the team, and that forced them to trade 24-year-old Mavrik Bourque to Nashville in the offseason. It could also mean carrying a daily roster that is a couple of players less than what it has been in past years. In addition, 34-year-old Tyler Seguin is coming off of ACL surgery and a couple other veterans – like Jamie Benn (37) and Matt Duchene (35) - are another year older. That could make the 84-game regular season (two games more than last year) even more taxing.

But despite all of that, GM Jim Nill and coach Glen Gulutzan had a positive message as they prepared to open training camp on Thursday in Frisco. The Victory Green leaders addressed the assembled media and said they believe the Stars are rested and ready to go.

“We’re excited for the season,” Nill said Wednesday, noting that the fact the team exited in the first round of the playoffs last spring gave everyone the chance to rest up and work hard in their offseason planning. “We know we’ve got a good team. There are always going to be changes but I’m encouraged by talking to these players because a lot of players have never had this opportunity before. I was talking to Mikko Rantanen, he’s never really had a season like this where he could train. Plus, players who were banged up are healthy now, so we’re excited.”

While there has been some deterioration in the depth of the team over the years, Dallas maintains a strong presence at the top. Both Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston scored 45 goals last season, while Rantanen continues to be one of the most reliable offensive players in the league. Roope Hintz is a strong two-way player and Duchene has been a very strong veteran scorer in three years with Dallas. On defense, Dallas has an impressive trio in Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and Thomas Harley, and Jake Oettinger is routinely among the goaltending leaders.

That’s all back – and maybe better than ever - this year. Rantanen has already played in 105 playoff games before his 30th birthday, including several long runs with the Colorado Avalanche. He played 18 postseason games two years ago with Dallas. This year, he had six and was able to put a lot of work in during the summer. Johnston had a grueling run in junior hockey before playing nine rounds in three seasons with the Stars, and Gulutzan said it looks like the 23-year-old took advantage of the summer to get more fit. Seguin went out with an ACL injury in December and has needed all of the nine months to recover.

If he gets up and running, he could return to the form that saw him score 17 points in 27 games last season, or even 21 points in 20 games in the season prior.

Benn is “probably the skinniest I’ve seen him,” Gulutzan said and added that’s in a good way. And Duchene also looks like the benefactor of some hard training.

And that allows the organization to ask for more. Gulutzan and the coaching staff will make some tweaks that could help the team create more offense with better play in the neutral zone. He said he feels like he can raise the bar in his second season behind the bench.

“If we look at it, we are all disappointed in ourselves last year, myself included,” Gulutzan said of losing in the first round after posting the third best record in the league during the regular season. “We need to max out our potential. So what’s your potential? We need to do that individually and we need to do that as a team. I’m judging this year on: Can we make this group of players maximize their potential?”

There are clearly things that can get in the way – like losing depth and having to coach around a tight salary cap – but the Stars want to focus on the positive.

“It’s the environment we live in. It’s always changing and you have to adjust to it,” Nill said. “In life, you are going to go through some highs and lows and it’s easy when things are going good. But when things go bad, now you’ve got to come together like a family.”

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 X @MikeHeika.