Training camps have started around the National Hockey League, and the Dallas Stars have a game on Saturday! It’s hockey season, and like The Hockey Writers have been doing for teams around the NHL, we’re going to project what the Stars’ roster will look like in just a few weeks from now, when the puck drops for real.
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Today, we start with the top-six forwards. Let’s dive in.
235 Reasons Why This Should Be the Top Line
| Jason Robertson | Roope Hintz | Mikko Rantanen |
At first glance, that’s a pretty potent one-two punch as far as first-line talent goes. With Mikael Granlund trading his Dallas Stars cowboy hat for Anaheim Ducks flip-flops, Jason Robertson will have plenty of opportunity to replace Granlund on the top line, alongside Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen. Combined, these three players had 95 goals and 140 assists last season, for a total of 235 points.
While Rantanen had moments in the playoffs that will go down in Stars lore, he never fully became the player that we know him to be after coming to Dallas at the trade deadline. When the 2025-26 season gets underway, he will have a full summer and training camp under his belt and will no doubt be more comfortable in this offense, even with a new head coach behind the bench.
The only question mark on this top line, at least for me, is the left wing. Robertson is an incredibly talented goal-scorer who has the ability to blend in wherever he is slotted. However, Granlund, Hintz, and Rantanen were joined at the hip basically since Rantanen was acquired. Even though Granlund was in Dallas for only a couple of months longer than Mikko, there was still an undeniable chemistry that will be hard to replicate, and it may take some time for this line to gel. It’ll be interesting to see how head coach Glen Gulutzan approaches rotating players in and out of the left side of the top line, if he does at all.
All that being said, Robertson is gifted at putting the puck in the net, and while Hintz and Rantanen can score in their own right, they are extremely gifted at putting their teammates in a position to score, which, for me, makes this the best trio to be on the top line.
Marchment’s Absence Leaves Big Hole on Left Side of Second Line
| Jamie Benn | Matt Duchene | Tyler Seguin |
Besides the drama of former head coach Pete DeBoer’s firing and the entrance of Gulutzan, this second line was one of the more interesting conversations of the offseason, and continues to be as training camp commences.
Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin have been linemates for quite some time now, but this season, it will look a little bit different. Alongside them was Mason Marchment, and the trio made up one of the most consistent lines in the NHL. Like the top line, the left side of the second line was shaken up at the beginning of the summer when Marchment was traded to the Seattle Kraken.
Right now, Stars captain Jamie Benn looks to be the logical option to fill in the left wing slot, but more out of necessity than practicality. Duchene recorded 30 goals and 82 points last season, and Seguin, even at this stage of his career, can be counted on for 20-plus goals and 50-plus points, which might make it easier for Benn to join this long-standing second line.
Now, while Benn is a solid veteran player and leader on this team, there’s no denying that the 36-year-old took a decent step back last season, which continued into the playoffs. In the regular season, Benn recorded 16 goals and 49 points, and one goal and three points in 18 playoff games. Scoresheet aside, he looked slower and less willing to use his size and physicality the way he had in the past. Was 2024-25 simply a down season, or the beginning of the end of a legendary career? We will find out in the next seven months.
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But this is where the challenge for Gulutzan and his second line comes in. There’s really no one else on this roster that fits that spot. Sam Steel and Oskar Back are fine left-wingers, but they are steady bottom-six options who might be above their heads higher up in the lineup.
Benn deserves a chance to prove he can still hang with the top six, but it’s a storyline to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Also, general manager Jim Nill has proven he has no problem adding to the roster as the season goes on. But, with the recent depletion of draft picks, not to mention limited cap space, it’s hard to envision a radical change.
Gulutzan’s Lines in Training Camp So Far
This projection is based on what makes sense when the season gets underway for real on Oct. 9. However, based on Gulutzan’s lines on the first two days of training camp, he’s throwing the status quo in a blender and trying something new, and honestly, I’m here for it.
Let’s take a quick look at the differences between these lines and the ones I broke down earlier.
I love the idea of Wyatt Johnston as a first-line center, and there’s no doubt in my mind that his time in that position will come. However, to start the season, it feels like he is more suited for the third line. Not because he can’t be a No. 1 center, but because Duchene’s play is perfect for the second line, and Hintz’s style is not conducive to the grittiness that the third line is sometimes called on to play with. Not that Hintz can’t do it, it’s just not his strength.
If Mavrik Bourque were a left-winger, he would probably get a chance in the top six over Benn. However, he’s not, which is why I think he will start the season outside of the top two lines. Also, Gulutzan’s third line is clearly an attempt to keep the aforementioned chemistry between Duchene and Seguin alive and well, but it’s hard to see them on the third line.
Obviously, this is training camp, so these lines could quite possibly mean nothing. However, a new sheriff is in town, and while the regular season hasn’t been a problem for the Stars, there’s nothing wrong with shaking things up and finding a way to create new energy in the regular season that will be important come playoff time.
