How the Stars turned into a more balanced team

The history of the NHL is littered with stories of teams who had to learn how to win.

The Colorado Avalanche had significant disappointments before finally cashing in last season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had several near misses before they beat the Stars in 2020.

And the 1999 Stars were steeled by a Western Conference Final loss to the Red Wings, which played a big role in getting over the top.

So, we can look at this season as one that might pay off down the line.

The Stars were good this year. The record says it, the statistics say it, and the belief that they could really win it all says it. Pete DeBoer and his coaching staff came in and turned Dallas into a more capable team. Dallas was seventh in the league in scoring (3.43 goals per game), up from 21st (2.84) last season. It finished third in GAA at 2.62 after finishing 14th in 2021-22 at 2.98. The power play went from 11th (22.4 percent) to fifth (25.0 percent) and the penalty kill went from 19th (79.0 percent) to third (83.5 percent). All exemplifying significant overall improvements.

And consider this for a second . . . in a category that many believe is the most telling stat for any team (goal differential), Dallas finished second behind Boston at plus-67. Last season the Stars were 20th at minus-8 and were the only team to make the playoffs with a negative goal differential.

History says the Stars were that team for many seasons. In 2015-16, Dallas finished third in goal differential at plus-37. The Stars then finished 26th (minus-39), 15th (minus-10), 17th (plus-8), 16th (plus-3), 15th (plus-4) and 20th (minus-8).

These past teams were either good on offense or on defense. For way too many seasons, they have not been able to find a way to be good at both.

But DeBoer and his coaches found that way this year.

The 6-0 loss in Game 6 was deflating, but even on Monday night, DeBoer was able to see some of the positives.

"Once we take the emotion out of it and look at it, there's a lot to be proud of," DeBoer said. "There are only four teams left standing out of 32. I don't think at the beginning of the year a lot of people had us penciled in as one of them. There was a lot of work put in by our group and a lot of pride in the work they did. We beat two very good teams in Minnesota and Seattle and they both took a chunk out of us doing it. We didn't have an easy path getting here, and that takes a toll on you too."

But the toll could be what really helps going forward. Jake Oettinger was challenged. Thomas Harley was challenged. Jason Robertson was challenged. Each took turns meeting those challenges while battling back to pick up key wins. If we really look at this team, we can marvel at the 20-somethings. Obviously the 2017 draft of Oettinger, Robertson and Miro Heiskanen was huge, as each is now just turning 24, but players like Harley, 21, Wyatt Johnston, 20, and even Ty Dellandrea, 22, give this team a home-grown group who could form a very nice core going forward. And players like Logan Stankoven and Lian Bichsel . . . we can confidently believe this team will know how to develop them properly.

Look at Johnston and Harley as examples. Johnston was a 19-year-old who was pulled out of junior hockey. The Stars set him up with Joe Pavelski and then fostered an amazing rookie season in which he kept getting better and better. Because of the regulations during the COVID pandemic, Harley was given an opening to play in the minors. He took full advantage and became a much better defenseman this season in the AHL. His performance during this postseason might have been one of the Stars' best for defensemen. Will Stankoven come up and have the same kind of rookie year in the NHL as Johnston? Could Bichsel go to the minors next season and see the same kind of development as Harley? We could easily convince ourselves of either storyline.

The bubble run in 2020 was important for a lot of reasons. Because the groups had to be sequestered during the pandemic, they were allowed to bring a lot of extras. The Stars chose to bring young players, so in the 50-something days they spent in Edmonton, players like Oettinger, Robertson, Harley and Dellandrea all watched and learned.

In that postseason Dallas ended up in the Stanley Cup Final but lost to Tampa Bay in six games. It was heart-breaking for veterans like Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Pavelski to get so close, but it showed the younger players how much focus and work are needed. One could say this season was a refresher on that experience.

"Maybe it's the different ages that we have in here and the different groups within the group, and how much fun we had," Seguin said. "There are a lot of good things, especially for our young players to experience all of this. Now we get to build on this."

Part of that building process has been the experience gained by the youth. Another is the wisdom shared by veterans like Pavelski, Benn, and Seguin. But overall, the talent is there, and the plan appears to be a sound one, so a real chance at going even further in the very near future is realistic.

"You can learn, obviously, every time you lose on what you have to do better," DeBoer said. "I'm really proud of our group and the hockey we played. It's a tough way to end the season when there have been so many good things that they've done. That will take a few days to get over, but when we reflect on it, I think they will be very proud of work they put in this year. They should be."

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.