How the draft can change a franchise

One weekend in Chicago has altered the Stars franchise forever.

By taking Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson in the 2017 NHL entry draft, the Stars created a new core for the team in one fell swoop. Sure, players like Roope Hintz, Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston are also big building blocks, but by finding a defenseman, a goalie, and a forward who one could argue are on their way to NHL superstardom, the lineup is completely different.

And it almost didn't happen.

There were a lot of pieces that had to fall into place for Dallas, and a look back at the process gives us a chance to thank both the front office and the hockey gods.

First, the Stars were one of the winners in the draft lottery. They were slotted to pick eighth overall, but the ping pong balls came up in their favor, allowing them to move up to third overall and secure Heiskanen.

Second, they swung a deal with Anaheim at the trade deadline, which included a conditional draft pick. When the Ducks took Patrick Eaves, they gave up their second-round draft pick. However, if they advanced to the third round and Eaves played in at least half of the games in the first two rounds, that second-round pick moved up to a first-round pick. And then the Stars' second-round pick at 39 worked out because of what happened with the first two selections.

"It changed our franchise," Stars GM Jim Nill said. "When you look back and see what we had when we added the [Jason] Spezza's and [Patrick] Sharp's, we had a pretty good team. But in doing so, we had to trade away some picks to do that. But now you're five or six years later, and some of those players have moved on. Now, you have to rebuild it and you're looking at how to do that. [Tyler] Seguin and [Jamie] Benn are still key players, but they were moving to the back half of their careers. But these three guys show up and it changes your team."

Robertson put together the second-best scoring season in franchise history with 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists) and finished sixth in the NHL in points. Heiskanen doubled his offensive output from last season and finished seventh in defenseman scoring with 73 points (11 goals, 63 assists). He also finished sixth in time on ice at 25:23. Oettinger was tied for third in goalie wins with 37, was seventh in GAA at 2.32 and sixth in save percentage at .919.

But it took the stars aligning to get all three on the same roster.

The draft lottery was the first step. Dallas finished 34-37-11 in Lindy Ruff's last season, putting the Stars eighth overall. Dallas had a 5.8 percent chance to finish first overall in the lottery, a 6.1 percent chance to finish second and a 6.4 percent chance to finish third. They hit on third and decided on Heiskanen over Cale Makar (Colorado) and Elissa Peterson (Vancouver).

"We knew about Miro," Nill said. "The other guys were good too, but there was just something about Miro. He was unbelievable at the Under 18 World Championships, and that was kind of the thing that really made the decision for us."

Acquiring Heiskanen is the kind of move that can set a franchise up for years. Nill had Nicklas Lidström in Detroit and Dallas fans are familiar with Sergei Zubov and how he made the Stars competitive for years.

"It changes everything," Nill said. "It's hard to get those players. You look at players like Lidström and Zubov, and they can have an impact for 10 years or more. And those franchise players are typically taken in the top four or five in the draft. That's just the way it is. So then, to get one of those players, you usually have to drop pretty low in the standings, but we were able to get one at a time where I think we were still a pretty competitive team. He's only five years into his career and look what he's done for us already."

Heiskanen alone would have been a winner, but the Stars got a second bonus because of the Anaheim Ducks. And even that was a stroke of good fortune in a lot of ways. Patrick Eaves was having the best season of his career with 21 goals in 59 games and was set to become an unrestricted free agent. So, the Stars dangled the scrappy winger, and the Ducks bit. Anaheim won the Pacific and received a boost from Eaves, who tallied 11 goals in 20 games and had four points in seven playoff games before he was injured. Since the condition to move up was that the Ducks advance to the third round and Eaves played in half of the games in the first two rounds, he met the condition. Eaves played in seven of 11 games and the pick moved from 60th to 29th.

That allowed Dallas to ponder a goalie in the first round. Oettinger was the target, but there was buzz that other teams were interested. The Stars traded a third-round pick to move up three picks and snatched the netminder at 26th.

"Once we got Miro, it allowed things to fall into place," Nill said. "We knew we wanted Oettinger, and we knew there were other teams that wanted him, so we were able to move up in the draft. We called Chicago and were able to move up three picks, and that was the key. It cost us a third rounder, but we had plenty of picks. We needed a goalie, and we got the one we wanted. We knew he was going to go in that range, and it worked out for us."

Of the remaining goalies in the 2017 draft, only Stuart Skinner has made an impact, so the Stars definitely could have whiffed on an alternative selection in net.

Once Oettinger was in house, the focus for Day 2 was Robertson. Dallas liked the lanky forward and had watched his progress in the OHL. They felt they could wait to get him, and he was there at 39. Strangely enough, had they picked eighth overall, there were a bunch of forwards on the board. Had they picked a forward in the first round, there's a very good chance they would have looked past Robertson to a different position. Again, the draft was filled with kismet.

"On the 39th pick, I don't know that we would have taken Robertson, because we just took a forward eighth overall," said assistant GM Mark Janko. "It's amazing just how much had to fall together."

"If you just go step by step, it's incredible," Janko added. "If we don't win the lottery, we probably take a forward at eight, and that changed everything. Then, if we don't do the trade with Anaheim, and they don't advance, we don't have an extra first-round pick and we don't get Oettinger. Then, after that, I'm not sure what happens. We went from potentially having the eighth, 39th and 60th pick in the draft to having maybe the most important draft in franchise history. That's pretty incredible."

Nill calls it a franchise-changing weekend.

"You've got to get a little lucky, and we did that year," Nill said. "To get elite players when they turn pro, that can change your franchise. We got a defenseman and a goalie and a forward, and that worked out perfectly. That's how you rebuild without taking too much of a dip."

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.