But when you consider that he lost three key players -- Martin Hanzal, Marc Methot and Stephen Johns -- in the first few months of the season, and adjusted quite nicely, you have to like what you see in the 50-year-old coach. Montgomery had the Stars on a roll at the end, going 18-11-3 down the stretch,
rolling Nashville in the first round of the playoffs
and taking eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis to double overtime in Game 7 before losing.
The hope is Montgomery will eventually have a long and illustrious career in the NHL, but the bottom line is he is expected to be much more prepared this season than last, and thus, he should be able to understand and navigate this window even better. Add to the fact good friend and veteran coach John Stevens has been added to the mix, and the potential for improvement seems pretty right.
Likewise, Miro Heiskanen has a year under his belt now. The third overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Heiskanen is getting great reviews. The 20-year-old last season led all rookie defensemen in time on ice (23:07) and goals (12) and was second in points (33). That performance led NHL Network to
rank him 17th heading into this season
among all NHL defensemen.
That's impressive.
And when you consider the fact Heiskanen was ninth on the Stars in average power-play time on ice per game at 1:40, the potential for increased ice time and increased scoring is through the roof. Yes, like Montgomery, his window is just opening, but the reality is it's opening up quite a bit this season.
Likewise, players such as Roope Hintz and Jason Dickinson can take a big step this season, while rookies Denis Gurianov, Jason Robertson, Tye Felhaber and Ty Dellandrea to get their NHL dream started.