Ryan Suter expects 'good things' from Stars in second half of season

As offseasons go, the Stars were pretty busy shopping the sales rack last summer.
They added recently bought out defenseman Ryan Suter at a cap hit of $3.65 million, recently bought out goalie Braden Holtby at a cap hit of $2 million and added some solid depth in the form of Jani Hakanpää ($1.5 million), Luke Glendening ($1.5 million) and Michael Raffl ($1.1 million).

There was some risk involved in each, but as the Stars get back to a more normal schedule and start looking at the final 50 games of the season, that group could be huge.
"They're all feeling much more comfortable with the team," Stars coach Rick Bowness said of the 32-game run that's been stop-and-go for much of the season.
While players like Raffl and Glendening jumped in pretty easily, and Holtby had a great start, it's clear Suter and Hakanpaa took a little more time.
"It's never as easy as people think it'll be, 'Oh, you'll sign with a new team and fit right in.' It takes a while to make that fit like a glove," Bowness said. "[With Hakanpaa], I told you guys that he'd be playing more minutes. He's earned that right. We're thrilled with all of our free agent signing."

Hakanpaa, 29, has bounced around between the AHL, the Finnish Elite League and the NHL. He played in Anaheim and Carolina last year and said in the summer when he signed a three-year contract that he was looking forward to playing with a strong Finnish contingent in Dallas. That support group has helped him adapt, and now he's seeing his minutes and responsibilities increase.
"He's really improved his play since Day 1," Bowness said earlier. "We didn't know much about him, honestly, when we got him. Then he missed training camp after playing just one game. He's gotten better every game. Now he's a huge part of our penalty kill. He's on our first unit. We trust him against anybody out there. He's really improved an awful lot in the couple of months since we've seen him."
Hakanpaa has become a consistent 18-minute defenseman who's out there to help shut down the opponent's best players and close out games.
Suter is closer to 23 minutes a night, and he also seems more comfortable. He'll turn 37 on Jan. 21 and signed a four-year contract with the Stars after getting bought out in Minnesota. He said the process to adapt to Dallas has been challenging, but he loves the results.
"Every day that goes by, you feel more comfortable," Suter said. "You get used to things system wise, players, you just feel more at home. I'm looking forward to good things in the second half, for sure."

Suter is currently third among Stars defensemen in scoring with 14 points in 32 games.
Up front, Raffl and Glendening are now flanking Radek Faksa on a regular basis and giving the Stars a well-defined checking line. That's been one of the reasons the team's play well at home.
"Glendening and Raffl] have been doing a great job checking with Faksa's line now that we've been able to put them together," Bowness said. "They've done a wonderful job checking, but they've also done a great job on the forecheck and creating more offense."
That leaves Holtby. He might be the most impactful free agent signing because he looks like the team's No. 1 goalie right now. The 32-year-old has battled soreness and is emerging as the coaching staff's choice to man the net on most nights. Holtby currently is in the COVID protocol and won't be available Wednesday against Seattle. However, he's made an impression in his first season with the Stars.
"He works very hard," Bowness said. "This guy's a competitor and a battler."
And if all five can continue to improve, then the next 50 games might be a lot of fun.
"We played solid," Suter said after wins over the Panthers and Penguins and a heartbreaking loss in St. Louis. "Coming out of the big break, you want to get out on the right foot, and I thought we did that. We played two good teams at home then when to St. Louis and played a good road game, and now we've got to continue to build off that."
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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika*.