Pause for reflection: Examining an unfortunate end to a promising season

In a strange way, the ending to the Stars’ season makes it easier to move forward.

By losing four straight games to the Edmonton Oilers, including a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 on Thursday, Dallas can make a fairly cold evaluation and move forward with purpose.

Yes, the Stars did a great job of beating Colorado and Winnipeg in the first two rounds, but in losing to Edmonton for the second consecutive season, coach Pete DeBoer said there is a real need to improve.

“I think it’s possible to be two things at the same time,” DeBoer said. “I’m really proud of the resiliency of our group through the first two rounds. We scratched and clawed and found a way to beat two really good teams. And I’m also disappointed that we didn’t find another level, another gear here, another way. Getting back here to this point, how hard it is to get back here. I would say I’m both those things. I think that’s okay, and I think our group needs to go, coaches, players, and reflect in the summer on what we can do better when we get to this point against the best teams. But there’s no doubt the two best teams are playing for the Cup.”

And being one of those teams – or, ultimately, the last team standing – is the goal of the entire organization. Tyler Seguin said a week ago that it’s neat to be in the Conference Final three years in a row, but that the general feeling is you don’t get to be there four or five years in a row, so the urgency was huge this year. And Dallas still didn’t win.

So what is the evaluation afterward?

“I think we played two good rounds and then they made it hard on us and we didn’t fight through with enough to win the series or win tonight to push another game,” forward Mikko Rantanen said. “We just didn’t do enough. I think everybody tried with everything they had and we emptied the tanks. Maybe just give credit to them. They defended really well.”

As did Winnipeg. As did Colorado. While Rantanen had a great impact after being acquired in a blockbuster trade in March, too many Stars struggled. Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, Evgenii Dadonov and Jamie Benn each finished with one goal apiece. Wyatt Johnston had four goals but was a league-worst minus-16. Dallas outshot and outchanced the Oilers in the five-game series but was outscored 22-11.

"I think at the end of the day, you need results come playoff time,” Johnston said. “You're not going to win games from just out-chancing teams. You need to score. I think that's one thing that made us a great team all year was our depth. Everyone talks about how much tighter it gets come playoff time and how much harder it is to score. It would have been nice, especially for me, to help the boys out and get a couple throughout the series. I don't know, just do a better job at scoring."

With the acquisition of Rantanen, 28, and his signing an eight-year extension that will pay him $12 million a year starting next season, the Stars have a core to build around. Roope Hintz, 28, has six years remaining on his contract at $8.45 million. Johnston, 22, has five years at $8.45 million. Meanwhile, Seguin, 32, has two more years at $9.85 million, Jason Robertson, 25, has one year at $7.45 million, Miro Heiskanen has five years left at $8.45 million, Thomas Harley, 23, has two years left at $4 million, and Marchment, 29, has a year at $4.5 million. That’s a lot of offensive skill already under contract.

But there are questions. Benn is an unrestricted free agent, and so are trade deadline acquisitions Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund. Same with leading scorer Duchene.

Duchene signed for a bargain contract of $3 million. Will he do that again? Benn made $9.5 million and is due a pay cut. What will it take to re-sign him? Is he pondering retirement at nearly 36 years old?

Asked after the game Thursday if he feels good about being a Dallas Star next year, Benn simply responded, “Yep.”

Jake Oettinger was pulled seven minutes into Game 5, and that is going to be an issue the Stars deal with going forward. Coach Pete DeBoer said he was trying to spark his team down 2-0 early in the game, but added, “I didn’t blame it all on Jake, but the reality is, if you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton and we gave up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. It was partly to spark our team and wake them up and partly knowing that status quo had not been working. And that’s a pretty big sample size.”

Oettinger finished the regular season with a 36-18-4 record, the third most wins in the league. He had a 2.59 GAA and .909 save percentage, both better than the year before. He starts an eight-year deal next year that averages $8.25 million.

So a lot of the roster is already set. Are there areas where the team can tweak and improve? Mavrik Bourque had a solid rookie season and looks like a player who could step up and be a lineup regular. Nils Lundkvist missed much of the season following surgery, but he is a candidate to step up on defense. The Texas Stars are in the Conference Final in the AHL, so there could be players who come out of that run who will challenge for a roster spot.

Asked if this is one of the best teams he has been on, Benn said, “It’s got to be at the top. I feel like we had a solid group from top to bottom. That’s why this stings pretty bad.”

The Stars have learned that the process is wearing. They now have to reboot, start over next year, and go through all of the steps to get back again.

“You’ve got to keep knocking on the door,” DeBoer said. “Listen, the examples are endless in this league. The Washington Capitals, a decade of knocking on the door. On and on. It’s a really, really hard league to win in. When you get down to the end, to the final four here, it gets exponentially tougher, and all of your weaknesses get exposed.”

So what are the Stars’ weaknesses? The irony of the ending is that the areas that need to be fixed might be less tangible than you’d like.

Asked if this was his best team, DeBoer said, “I don’t know about that. I’m not sure it was. Maybe on paper, but I’m not sure it was the best team.”

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.