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The Dallas Stars returned to the postseason, after missing for five straight years, and appear to be a team on the rise with two of the games best under-25 forwards leading the way. China Jerseys . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Stars team that is trending in the right direction, but likely needs an offensive boost to take the next step. The Stars were a strong puck possession team, that made the playoffs despite below-average 5-on-5 goaltending results (more a reflection on backups than starter Kari Lehtonen) and were carried offensively by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, who combined for 163 points on 231 Stars goals. They were also the only Stars forwards to finish with more than 35 points, so that could be the next area on which to focus for improvement -- boosting the secondary scoring so that the weight doesnt fall so heavily upon Benn and Seguin. "I think if you want to be a contender, you have to be deep down the middle," GM Jim Nill told the Dallas Morning News. "Thats something weve talked about over and over again." Having needs is not a big deal -- every team can get better -- but the Stars are in a good position because, after last summers additions of Tyler Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin, theyve added building blocks that give the team a reason to have a positive outlook. Now, its a matter of finding the right pieces for the supporting cast so that the Stars are ready to make noise in the postseason, taking the next step to compete with the powers of the Western Conference. The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency rating based on per-game statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for strength (ie. power play, even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts, quality of competition and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty differential and faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60, a top six forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over 80 and MVP candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the 2013-2014 regular season ratings at 87.12. Salary cap information all comes from the indispensable www.capgeek.com. CF% = Corsi percentage (ie. percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts), via www.extraskater.com. GM/COACHJim Nill/Lindy Ruff Returning Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Tyler Seguin 81.11 80 37 47 84 52.3% $5.75M Jamie Benn 80.78 81 34 45 79 51.9% $5.25M Ryan Garbutt 69.07 75 17 15 32 51.6% $1.8M Rich Peverley 65.72 62 7 23 30 49.6% $3.25M Valeri Nichushkin 64.73 79 14 20 34 50.8% $925K Alex Chiasson 63.87 79 13 22 35 49.5% $867K Erik Cole 63.78 75 16 13 29 49.3% $4.5M Shawn Horcoff 62.24 77 7 13 20 48.9% $5.5M Free Agent Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Cody Eakin 67.77 81 16 19 35 51.2% RFA $638K Antoine Roussel 65.59 81 14 15 29 52.1% RFA $613K Ray Whitney 63.26 69 9 23 32 50.3% UFA $4.5M Vernon Fiddler 62.64 76 6 17 23 48.1% UFA $1.8M Dustin Jeffrey 56.25 34 2 2 4 49.3% RFA $625K Acquiring Tyler Seguin from the Boston Bruins last summer shifted the Stars franchise. They landed a premier young scorer around whom they could build and Seguin responded to an increased role in Dallas by finishing fourth in the league with 84 points. Signed to a team-friendly deal for five more years? Thats icing on the cake. Seguin paired with Jamie Benn on the Stars first line and they were a formidable tandem. Only Anaheims duo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, with 128 points, were teammates with more points than Benn and Seguin, who had 116 last season. Benn is a model power forward complement to Seguin and at 24-years-old, is hitting his prime. Over the past four seasons, Benn has been an elite offensive performer, ranking second only to Evgeni Malkin, in points-per-60-minutes during 5-on-5 play (minimum 3000 minutes). Seguin, still in the infancy of his career, ranks 14th on that list. An undrafted free agent out of Brown University who climbed through the Central Hockey League, ECHL and AHL before reaching the NHL, Ryan Garbutt is blue collar, yet surprisingly productive. He was one of four forwards to record at least 30 points and 100 penalty minutes last season and, since arriving in the league, this grinder has been generating shots on goal like a scorer. Over the past couple seasons, Rich Peverley has been one of the lowest-percentage finishers, among players that have generated at least 200 shots, but hes generally an effective and versatile forward who can move around the lineup as needed. The primary issue for Peverley is that he collapsed during a game last season and there is the possibility that the cardiac event will prevent him from playing again. Theres a lot of uncertainty regarding Peverleys future, so the Stars will need to have some options ready if Peverley cant make it back. After his rookie season, even though he scored one goal in 24 regular season games after the Olympics, it sure appears that the Stars stole Valeri Nichushkin with the 10th pick in last summers draft. He has a huge frame and has high-end skill; its just a matter of harnessing that talent and getting the most out of it. Nichushkin spent much of the year riding shotgun with Benn and Seguin and if the Russian teenager develops quickly, that line could be unstoppable. Alex Chiasson burst out of the gate, with nine points in nine games, before points and shots on goal dried up, and his ice time declined. A 6-foot-3 winger with some skill and a solid two-way game, Chiasson was one of the unluckiest players in terms of goaltending save percentage when he was on the ice. 35-year-old winger Erik Cole is two seasons removed from a career-high 35 goals, but that seems like eons ago. His production has fallen the past couple seasons and, with one year left on his deal, Cole could be a buyout candidate. Shawn Horcoff was a spare part for much of the season, playing under 12 minutes a game from January through April, and he wasnt terribly effective when he did play, but raised his game in the playoffs and the last year of his contract pays $3-million (compared to his $5.5-million cap hit). Cody Eakin provides a solid two-way game, but may not yet score enough to capably hold down a top-six role. At the same time, hes 23, so its possible that his offensive game could continue to grow, particularly if there is a skill upgrade on his wings. Agitator Antoine Roussel is becoming even more annoying to play against because, in addition to his in-your-face style of play, hes chipping in offensively. Since 2006-2007, there is one other forward (Steve Downie, 2009-2010) who, while accumulating more than 200 penalty minutes, had more than the 29 points that Roussel contributed last season. Picked up on waivers from Pittsburgh, Dustin Jeffrey is battling for his NHL life. He has 31 points in 124 career games, and last seasons 34 games represented a career-high, but with only 9:34 average time on ice. If the Stars were to seek another scoring centre, they could try for Paul Stastny or Mikhail Grabovski in free agency but, aside from those two, might be looking to the trade route for a bigger fish like Eric Staal or Jason Spezza. Those wont come cheaply, either, but that might be the kind of move to push the Stars to a new level. Returning Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Alex Goligoski 72.96 81 6 36 42 50.8% $4.6M Trevor Daley 72.08 67 9 16 25 50.9% $3.3M Jordie Benn 65.13 78 3 17 20 50.5% $700K Kevin Connauton 64.32 36 1 7 8 49.8% $683K Sergei Gonchar 60.96 76 2 20 22 48.8% $5.0M Aaron Rome 55.91 25 0 1 1 49.0% $1.5M Free Agent Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Brenden Dillon 64.03 78 3 17 20 50.9% RFA $900K It hasnt been the easiest ride for Alex Goligoski in Dallas, as hes so frequently compared to the package (James Neal and Matt Niskanen) sent to Pittsburgh to acquire him, but Goligoski is coming off a season in which he played a career-high 24:19 per game, finishing with his second-highest point total (42) and favourable possession stats despite facing quality opposition. Trevor Daley was handling a reduced workload for the first three quarters of the season, before he ended up playing top pair minutes down the stretch. Thats a bit of a step up from what Daley has provided normally, thoughout his career, but the 30-year-old held his own, so its not unreasonable to expect that, next season, he could pick up where he left off. While it would be easy to pin a nepotism label on Jordie Benn holding a spot with the Stars, since his brother is a franchise player, but Jordie has earned his own place, making steady improvement and he averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time per game after the Olympic break last season. On the Stars, only Brenden Dillon has more hits and blocked shots combined than Benns 240 last season. 24-year-old Kevin Connauton was a part-time player in his first NHL season and while he didnt play a big role, or stand out especially, he was effective at getting pucks to the net. There appears to be competition available for the 5-6-7 spots on the Stars blueline, so Connauton might have a chance to earn more minutes. Veteran Sergei Gonchar was something of a free agent bust, with diminishing ice time, and just four points in his last 35 (regular season plus playoff) games. He still has a year left on his contract, but it would come as no surprise if the Stars sought a team to take the 40-year-old off their hands. At his salary, it may not be easy. Aaron Rome has played 52 games for the Stars, since signing as a free agent a couple of summers ago, and he hasnt done anything to suggest hes worthy of more than a part-time role. A rising young shutdown defender, Brenden Dillon has size, toughness and improved his skating enough to get signed as a free agent out of junior. Hes come a long way since scraping into the league as an undrafted free agent and, as a restricted free agent this summer, is likely due for a health pay raise. Dillon has been among the most effective Stars defencemen over the past couple seasons and, at 23, he should continue to get better. If the Stars are going to take a step forward, they could use another top-four defenceman, effectively to make up for the departure of Stephane Robidas, who was traded to Anaheim last season. Maybe thats prospect Jamie Oleksiak, or maybe it comes via free agency, where Matt Niskanen, Anton Stralman, Tom Gilbert or Andrei Markov would be among the potential free agent upgrades. Returning Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Cap Hit Kari Lehtonen 70.61 65 33 20 10 2.41 .919 $4.0M Free Agent Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Tim Thomas 61.96 48 18 24 4 2.88 .908 UFA $3.75M Over the past three seasons, Kari Lehtonen has been one of the games better starting goaltenders, with a .919 save percentage in 160 games, and a .926 5-on-5 save percentage. Just as importantly, given the injuries in his past, Lehtonen has appeared in 160 games over that span. If Tim Thomas is prepared to handle a backup role, he might be good for the Stars to re-sign but, if not, they can seek out inexpensive free agent options. Top Prospects Player Pos. Team/League Stats Jamie Oleksiak D Texas (AHL) 5-18, 23, +8, 69 GP Brett Ritchie RW Texas (AHL) 22-26-48,+14, 68 GP Jack Campbell G Texas (AHL) 1.49 GAA, .942 SV%, 16 GP Colton Sceviour RW Texas (AHL) 32-31-63, +11, 54 GP Devin Shore C Maine (HE) 14-29-43, +13, 35 GP John Klingberg D Frolunda (SHL) 11-17-28, +8, 50 GP Jason Dickinson LW Guelph (OHL) 26-52-78, +42, 68 GP Radek Faksa C Sudbury (OHL) 21-27-48, -9, 59 GP Patrik Nemeth D Texas (AHL) 3-7-10, +19, 37 GP Alexander Guptill LW Michigan (Big 10) 12-13-25, +5, 31 GP Philippe Desrosiers G Rimouski (QMJHL) 2.65 GAA, .907 SV%, 52 GP Curtis McKenzie LW Texas (AHL) 27-38-65, +7, 75 GP The 14th pick in 2011, 6-foot-7 Jamie Oleksiak should have a chance to crack the Dallas lineup next year. Even with outstanding size, hes not very physical and has been relatively mediocre in 23 career NHL games, but a 21-year-old with his size and mobility should have a good chance at success. A 6-foot-4 power forward Brett Ritchie finished the regular season strong, with 16 points in his last 16 games before suffering a lower-body injury. Hes recently returned to the lineup for the AHL playoffs, and while Ritchie could start in the AHL next season, his upward trajectory should have him knocking on the door. Overhyped since he was picked 11th overall in 2010, Jack Campbell has struggled to perform at a high level consistently enough to know if hes going to make it to the NHL. While he missed a bunch of time with injuries this year, it is promising that he had a .942 save percentage in 16 AHL games. The 22-year-old could likely use another year of seasoning to show that he is ready. Drafted in the fourth round in 2007, Colton Sceviour has steadily improved to the point that hes on the cusp of the Dallas roster. He scored nine goals and 15 points in in 32 (regular season plsu playoff) games with Dallas, performing effectively in his first legitimate NHL look. A second-round pick in 2012, Devin Shore had a terrific sophomore season at Maine and his offensive upside puts him above some of the other Stars prospects. If Shore has a big junior season, as the Black Bears captain, he may be ready to turn pro. Picked in the fifth round in 2010, John Klingberg is a smooth-skating offensive defenceman who is coming off a strong season in the Swedish Hockey League. The 21-year-old should be ready to challenge for an NHL job quickly. Jason Dickinson is a skileld centre who was the 29th pick in last summers draft. Hes enjoyed a strong season on powerhouse Guelph team, scoring 102 points in 88 (regular season plus playoff) games. Hell need time to fill out, and get stronger, but he will be intriguing a couple years down the road. The 13th pick in 2012, Radek Faksa hasnt put up big scoring numbers, which limits his upside, but he has the size and conscientious play to make it in a checking role. Taken in the second round in 2010, Patrik Nemeth is a big, stay-at-home defenceman, and while he battled injuries last season, he struggled in eight games with Dallas; perhaps an indication that more time on the farm is needed. A third-round pick in 2010, Alex Guptill had 94 points in 110 games over three seasons athe University of Michigan, and now embarks on his pro career. He has size and offensive ability, but will need some time in the AHL as he gets accustomed to a pro schedule. Drafted in the second round last summer, Philippe Desrosiers is a promising, athletic goalie, but its goign to be years before its reasonable to have any expectations on his pro prospects. So far, so good. Curtis McKenzie was a sixth-round pick in 2009 and had four unremarkable seasons at Miami-Ohio, but had a superb first pro campaign, finishing second on the Stars AHL team in scoring. Stars advanced stats and player usage chart from Extra Skater DRAFT14th - Kevin Fiala, Alex Tuch, Dylan Larkin. FREE AGENCYAccording to www.capgeek.com, the Stars have approximately $50.2M committed to the 2014-2015 salary cap for 16 players. Check out my possible Stars lineup for next season on Cap Geek here. Needs: Two top six forwards, depth forwards, one top four defenceman, backup goaltender.What I said the Stars needed last year: Two top six forwards, one top four defenceman.They added: Tyler Seguin, Alex Chiasson, Valeri Nichushkin, Rich Peverley, Shawn Horcoff, Sergei Gonchar TRADE MARKETErik Cole, Alex Chiasson, Sergei Gonchar, Aaron Rome, prospects. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs. Stitched Cheap Jerseys . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. http://www.jerseyscheapauthentic.com/ .Airport spokeswoman Heather Lissner said that all departing flights were back on schedule. However, arriving flights were still trying to catch up.Super Bowl Sunday got off to an inconvenient start for hundreds of passengers trying to get to Phoenix for the game.Go to a game at any level, at your local park or in the Premier League, and you will still hear it. "We need a goal, shoot more!!!" Thanks to a rise in analytics, the inaccuracies of the statement have been explained many times. Such emotional messages are shouted at times of frustration but, without question, less and less people believe the more you shoot the more you score approach. For those still unsure about this notion, they should study the case of this seasons Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Spurs drew 0-0 on Sunday at Everton to move into fourth in the table, despite scoring just nine goals from their first ten matches. They are ahead of Manchester City despite scoring 19 goals less. Tottenham are where they want to be in the table but they are far from where they want to be as an attacking unit. Andre Villas-Boas side currently average one goal every 100 minutes in the Premier League. Of the nine goals, three have been penalties. The other six have come from open play, at an average of one every 150 minutes. Despite needing more goals, however, their fans are not shouting shoot more. Thats because, through 10 matches, Tottenham leads the league in shots per game (17.5). They are also third in the league in shots on target per game (5.9). This is not a team struggling to get into the final third and create opportunities, it is a team handing the opportunities to the wrong players. Finding Soldado Call it 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, or all of the above, Spurs are a side that plays with a sole striker flanked by wingers/attackers helped by a central three, usually with one pushing further forward than the other two. In nine of their ten league games so far, their main front man has been new signing Roberto Soldado. The Spaniard cost Tottenham 26 million pounds in the summer after scoring 59 goals in 97 league appearances during the last three seasons for Valencia in La Liga. He is seen as a major upgrade to what Spurs had last season. So far, Soldado has four goals (three penalties) but only one from open play. This has led some to put the blame on him as the reason for Tottenhams inefficiency in front of goal. "I need to see more from Soldado, I dont think he is helping his teammates enough," commented Robbie Earle during Sundays game on NBC. The 28-year-old obviously plays a part in Tottenhams struggles to score goals but it is much smaller than some believe. The cast of characters behind Soldado It is clear Tottenham is a team still trying to find their identity this season. It is not easy to make the amount of changes they made this summer and succeed immediately, something Villas-Boas acknowledged earlier this season after their win against Norwich. "We have good competition for places. We are stronger than the previous year, now we have more quality in depth and we need time to bond them together." This transitional time has seen a number of different players operate as the three attack-minded players behind the striker (the two wide players and the most attacking member of the midfield 3). At Everton on Sunday, AVB selected Aaron Lennon on the left, Lewis Holtby in the middle and Andros Townsend on the right. The three combined for just nine passes to their striker, with the left back and goalkeeper topping the combinations charts towards Soldado. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) In total, Soldado combined best with his left back (who was the games best player) in an otherwise frustrating day finding outlets. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) This has been the story so far for the sole striker in Tottenhams system. In the ten league games this season (Soldado 9 starts, Defoe 1), the starting striker has received the ball just 211 times; an average of just over 21 times per match. It is a remarkably low number for a team that shoots so often. League leaders Arsenal, ranked sixth on 14.3 shots per game and second with 6.4 shots on target per game, are finding their main striker a lot more. Olivier Giroud has started all ten of their league games so far. He has played 865 Premier League minutes (three minutes less tthan Tottenhams starting strikers) and has received 357 passes from his teammates (146 more). Cheap Jerseys. Not only has this helped Giroud score more goals but it also means he connects better with his teammates to help create a much more cohesive attack. Giroud averages close to 30 completed passes per game while Soldado is at just 21. Through 10 matches, the Frenchman is receiving 15 more passes per game than he would if he played as the sole striker of Tottenham, despite Arsenal having attacking threats in the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil who have all showed they can score consistently at this level. Tottenham, on the other hand, have surrounded Soldado with gifted players, many who have yet to prove they are goal scorers at this level, meaning they should be relying more on the Spaniard to not only finish off balls they give him but to get involved in the attack and help them more. Lennon certainly isnt a scorer and knows his role, except he now finds himself on the left where he cant deliver regular crosses in for Soldado, who scored all of his 24 La Liga goals last season in the penalty box. Townsend, now preferred on the right, has started each of their last nine games and leads the team in shots per game, twice as many as Soldado. Englands new golden boy, however, is part of the problem at Tottenham, wasting many chances and not combining with the clubs star striker. There is some irony that Townsends only goal this season came from a cross, not finished by any of the players in the box, which rolled into the corner of the net at Aston Villa. The winger is clearly a favourite of the manager but for the club to succeed going forward he must start to work better with Soldado. A grand total of 23 passes to the striker of choice in 757 Premier League minutes so far is abysmal. Townsends pace and ability to penetrate deep into opponents territory is impressive but he needs to find his striker a lot more than once every 33 minutes if he is to turn into a player Tottenham can rely upon. Mesut Ozil, he will never be, but it is worth noting the German has found Arsenals striker 44 times in 608 minutes, or once every 13 minutes. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) Five of Tottenhams six open play goals this season have all come from their own efforts, and even the goal they scored from a direct mistake (their second at Villa scored by Soldado) you could argue came from Tottenhams high pressing that caused the home sides turnover. The other five showed examples of what Spurs need to do to improve. Gylfi Sigurdssons brace against Norwich was helped by Christian Eriksens decisive ball on the first goal and then ability to switch the play to find Paulinho on the second to cross the ball into the box. Eriksen again found Sigurdssons intelligent diagonal run against Chelsea and it is not difficult to assess that a Tottenham team in need of goals need the Danish creator back in the side. Defensive Solidity However, Villas-Boas clearly wants his team to be more difficult to break down, which is why Holtby has been preferred to Eriksen in the last three games and why new signing Erik Lamela has yet to play more than 27 minutes in a Premier League match. The former Chelsea man led his teams to just 15 clean sheets in 65 Premier League games as a manager before this season but he has already got seven from the teams opening 10 matches. Paulinho, a healthy Sandro and Moussa Dembele in the middle of the field have helped their back four look very comfortable. Michael Dawson is playing the best football of his career at centre-back, his new partner, the technically impressive, Vlad Chiriches looks perfect in this system while Jan Vertonghens move to left back has solved a long issue in that position. Spurs are ranked second in the league in shots allowed at just 9.5 per game and look very much like a top four contender at the back. Going forward, they now need to find the balance and that starts with getting Soldado involved in the game more. The Spaniard is not the problem for Tottenhams problems in front of goal. He is the solution still waiting to be discovered. ' ' '