Dallas, TX
Game Day Guide: Stars vs Rangers | Dallas Stars
First Shift 🏒
As the Stars swerve down the road that is the 2024-25 season, they are learning to adjust.
Last season, the team rolled out three fantastic lines that stayed consistent for most of the year. Hintz played beside Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, Duchene centered Seguin and Mason Marchment, and Wyatt Johnston found chemistry with Benn and either Dadonov or Logan Stankoven. It was a formula that drove opponents crazy and led to the best regular-season record in the Western Conference.
But Pavelski retired and Seguin is out 4-6 months following hip surgery, and that creates some challenges. That’s a big hit for a team that could really use some offense.
“With Seguin out of the lineup here and Joe Pavelski retired, that’s 60 goals from last year that are out, so we have to fill that void with other guys,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Other guys have to find a way to score goals. That includes guys that have scored before getting up to the pace that they’ve been on most of their careers and some other guys that we’re counting on to stick some pucks in the net have to do that.”
Robertson has seen his points per game pace go from 0.97 to 0.68. He has previously tallied back-to-back seasons of 40-plus goals but is on pace for 19 this season. Johnston had 32 goals last season and is on pace for 16 this year. Hintz is down from .81 points per game to .63. Benn is on pace for 16 goals in 82 games, that would be the lowest goals per game total of his 16-year career.
So how do the Stars snap out of it?
Well, getting the power play would be a good start.
And getting some line chemistry going would be another.
Bottom line, they have to fight through this.
“We’ve got to find a way, it’s as simple as that,” said Duchene, who is leading the team in scoring. “Whether it’s making adjustments tactically or just getting some swagger in our game. One of the toughest things to do in hockey is to have confidence or swagger when you’re not getting results, and we’ve got to find a way to find that.”
Asked how the team could do that, Duchene said, “For me, you’ve got to enjoy playing the game. I think you’ve got to stick with it and not get frustrated.”
The Stars on Wednesday got goals from Sam Steel, Dadonov and Colin Blackwell, and that’s a great sign. If the depth scoring can chip in, it helps feed the top scorers.
“I think whenever you can put one in, you get a little more pep in your step,” said Steel. “We know there are certain things we are doing when we’re scoring, so we’ve got to try to get back to those habits.”
And that seems the way the team has to do it. It’s how they did it last year, too.
“We don’t have Connor McDavid, or that type of player,” DeBoer said earlier in the season. “Our strength is in our depth, and we have to use that.”
Jeff Kolb and Sam Gannon welcome Cowboys insiders Clarence Hill (All City Dallas) and Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) for a hilarious breakdown of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Giving insight, arguments, and plenty of laughs as two of the best Dallas Cowboys writers in the business go head-to-head on what Dallas should do next.
Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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