I need to preface this article by stating that Hockey Insider Frank Seravalli sent out a tweet and completely threw off my train of thought. It likely has nothing to do with the Dallas Stars, but thanks to Stars president Brad Alberts tweeting the exact same thing whenever Stars news is about to break, it’s hard not to associate the two.
What the Stars have been doing is already nothing short of miraculous. A team that set high expectations heading into the 2025-26 NHL season after back-to-back-to-back appearances in the Conference Finals has been hit with roadblock after roadblock. It started off in the pre-season with captain Jamie Benn puncturing his lung and has spiraled from there. If this is your first time reading one of my articles, I regret to inform you that, unfortunately, most of them this season have involved me discussing another injury to the Dallas Stars.
It seems that there is a curse above the Stars this season when it comes to the injury department, but somehow, someway, the Stars are currently the second-best team in the NHL as of Friday, with 41 points. Even with the Colorado Avalanche being handed only their second loss in regulation on Thursday night against the New York Islanders, the Stars trail the scorching hot Avs by three points. (Of course, the Central Division is stacked with the three hottest teams in hockey if you include the Minnesota Wild.) What might be more impressive than the Stars’ current run with a “tick-tack” roster is their play on the road.
With the most recent back-to-back road games against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, the Stars captured three out of a possible four points. That made for a 12-game road point streak, setting a franchise record previously held by the 2002-03 Dallas Stars team. Over the last six away games played, the Stars traveled to four different time zones in just nine days. Out of 12 possible points, the Stars obtained 11 of them.
Per Dallas Morning News reporter, Lia Assimakopoulos, both Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist were on the ice for the morning skate on Friday, leading up to the matchup against the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately, Matt Duchene was not a participant. It is still unknown what exactly is ailing Duchene and keeping him from returning to the lineup.
As of Friday, Tyler Seguin has not been officially placed on LTIR. If that does happen, the Stars will have $12,948,960 in cap space. We have seen what Jim Nill has done with much less, so the Stars roster could be getting a few additions. Time will only tell as the Stars continue to find ways to collect victories.
We will be doing a deeper dive on what the Stars options look like heading to the trade deadline. A Christmas wish list of sorts. For now, the Stars show their grit thanks to a revamped coaching staff, a top power-play, and a deadly duo in net, along with a deep supporting cast of young and old talent.
The Morning Skate 