The Stars are only 14 games into an 84-game season, and already the ride has had enough twists to make November feel a lot further along than it should.
Dallas sits at 8-5-1, a record that says one thing, then another, then something else entirely depending on the week. There have been stretches when the team looked out of sync and vulnerable.
There has also been a five-game winning streak that made Dallas look like a legitimate threat. That’s the story so far: uneven, a little messy, but not without signs that this group can still settle in.
A big reason the season has felt so complicated is the money. Jason Robertson’s jump from $7.75 million to $12 million this season, Thomas Harley’s rise from $4 million to $10.5 million, and Jake Oettinger’s increase from $4 million to $8.25 million all underline the same point: the cost of keeping a contender together keeps climbing. The Stars are still adjusting to that reality, even if the salary cap is expected to rise next season and a few veteran contracts can be trimmed down.
That financial squeeze may have played a part in two of Dallas’ roughest performances of the year. It’s not hard to see how.
The team has been trying to manage the roster, the cap and the growing pains all at once. Still, the Stars also found a way to bank two points against Columbus on Saturday even without their best stuff, the kind of result coaches love to file under life lessons.
And those lessons may matter later. By the time this season reaches Game 84, Dallas could be better for having had to lean on some lesser-known pieces. Capobianco, Dylan Hryckowian and Matthew Seminoff have all gotten a look, while defenseman Trey Taylor has already flashed enough to make you wonder if there’s more coming, especially with Capobianco out.
Arttu Hyry has also started to make his case for a bigger role. He’s averaging 14:35 of ice time and leads the team with a 62.3 percent mark in the faceoff circle. On Saturday, he was given a notable assignment between Jamie Benn and David Perron, which matters for a club that lost Mavrik Bourque in the offseason.
The offense overall has dipped from 14th in the league last season at 3.23 goals per game to 27th this year at 2.64, but the top end still looks dangerous. Mikko Rantanen has 17 points, with seven goals and 10 assists, in 14 games.
Jason Robertson has 14 points, with five goals and nine assists, in 14 games. Wyatt Johnston has 11 points, with three goals and eight assists, in 12 games.
Miro Heiskanen’s 0.80 points per game suggests there’s still room to get back toward the 0.94 pace he posted in 2022-23. And even with the scoring dip, Dallas’ defense remains one of the team’s biggest strengths, sitting first in the league at 2.14 goals against per game.
That’s why the overall read on the Stars is fairly simple right now: they’re OK. Not dominant, not broken, just still sorting themselves out.
Glen Gulutzan and his staff came in with new ideas over the summer, aiming to improve puck possession and generate more offense. That process is still unfolding. Oettinger, meanwhile, has looked sharp early, posting a 1.63 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
In the standings, Dallas is still in the thick of it in the West, battling Colorado and Vegas. But unlike last season, when the Stars were third in the league and had some breathing room, this year feels tighter and less forgiving.
By April, that could mean a lot. It could sharpen the group, or it could wear it down.
There are plenty of questions still hanging over the roster. Fans can look at the departures of Bourque, Logan Stankoven, Mason Marchment, Mikael Granlund and Evgenii Dadonov and wonder about the depth. They can also wonder how Matt Duchene will look when he returns after the new year, and how the team will fit his $4.5 million salary under the cap.
There are moving parts everywhere. The possibility of another deadline addition is still out there, the way Dallas added Rantanen and Tyler Myers at recent trade deadlines, but that’s a conversation for later.
For now, maybe the best thing this team can do is keep discovering itself. Can the coaching changes pay off?
Can the 20-somethings keep improving in time for the playoffs? Can the front office find another boost in March?
That’s the promise and the frustration of an 84-game season. There’s still so much time left, and still no telling exactly what this team will become.
In Other News...
Stars Win Gets Overshadowed By One Big Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The Stars had plenty to celebrate after a wild 6-5 win over the Capitals, with Jason Robertson turning the game on its head and Mikko Rantanen reaching a major career milestone. Jake Oettinger also kept his strong run against Washington going, improving to 7-0-0, but the victory came with the kind of late-game unease that can linger long after the final horn.
Miro Heiskanen left with an upper-body injury, and for a Dallas team that leans heavily on his minutes and poise, that quickly became the story fans could not ignore. The club is expected to update his status after its next practice, leaving the Stars to enjoy a big offensive night while waiting to see whether the concern on the blue line becomes something more serious. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Suddenly Face A Bigger Miro Heiskanen Concern
Miro Heiskanens night against the Capitals ended early after an upper-body injury forced the Stars to shut him down for the rest of the game, and now Dallas is waiting to see how much more it has to worry about its top defenseman. Heiskanen was initially considered questionable for the next game, a reminder of how quickly one awkward sequence can turn into a bigger concern for a team that leans heavily on him in every situation.
The Stars are treating the injury as day-to-day for now, with a re-evaluation planned after they see how he feels the following day. For a club that depends on Heiskanen to drive play and anchor the blue line, the next update matters far beyond one missed game, especially if the early signs dont improve as hoped. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Fans Already Have A New Neon Green Debate On Their Hands
The NHLs official Hometown Remix rollout gave Stars fans another look at how the franchise is leaning into its long-running neon green identity, this time with a white base and black sleeves to go with the bright accents. It is the latest entry in a jersey history that has often circled back to the same color palette, which means the reaction around this release was never likely to be quiet.
Sportsnets early take only added fuel to the conversation, placing Dallas near the bottom of its overall jersey rankings and underscoring how divisive the look can be. For a fan base that has seen plenty of green-heavy concepts over the years, the new design is already doing what these specialty uniforms tend to do best: getting people talking, picking sides, and revisiting what the Stars should look like when they take the ice. [Read more 🡒]