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Last Word On Hockey‘s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2026-27 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2026-27 Dallas Stars. The 2026-27 Dallas Stars 2025-26 Season Recap Dallas decided that making the Western Conference Final wasn’t good enough and decided to fire former head coach Peter DeBoer. General manager brought back Jim Nill decided to bring back Glen Gulutzan as the team’s head coach. Expectations were high for the Stars to finally get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the COVID-19 bubble. However, Dallas didn’t get past the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six games. Granted, the Central Division portion of the bracket was going to lose, but the window for the Stars may not be open forever. Nill is doing everything in his power to keep the roster together, but there’s only so much money to go around despite the tax advantage that the state of Texas has. 2026 Offseason Recap The biggest piece of offseason business that Nill handled was getting a new deal for Jason Robertson. However, the sniper inked just a one-year pact and scarfed up a good chunk of the remaining cap. Dallas had to ship talented youngster Mavrik Bourque to the Nashville Predators in order to make the math work. Joel Kiviranta making his return to the Metroplex was the only other addition to the roster. Team captain Jamie Benn did sign another deal to stay with the club in another late-career run at a championship. The shrinking cap space saw Michael Bunting, Adam Erne, Nathan Bastian, and Alexander Petrovic depart. The latter of the quartet headed off to the Florida Panthers. Nill is a very talented executive, but it was an uncharacteristically quiet offseason. The 2026-27 Dallas Stars are going to pretty much run it back from last year. Lineup Projections Forwards | LW | C | RW | | Jason Roberston | Wyatt Johnston | Mikko Rantanen | | Justin Hryckowian | Roope Hintz | Tyler Seguin | | Sam Steel | Matt Duchene | Jamie Benn | | Colin Blackwell | Radek Faksa | Oskar Back | Extras: Joel Kiviranta, Emil Hemming The Top Six Gulutzan is a power-play wizard and the Stars’ extra-man attack was very potent with a nearly 30 percent success rate. This was all despite Rantanen, Hintz, and Duchene missing significant chunks of time. The 2026-26 Dallas Stars will be hard-pressed to repeat that success. Rantanen and Robertson proved a solid duo with the former opening space up for the latter. Johnston provides a strong anchor in the middle of a solid centre group. Johnston has become adroit at tipping pucks into the net a la Joe Pavelski. Projections have seen Hryckowian all over the lineup from the first line to the fourth line. However, he is a hard worker can slot into any spot in the lineup. Dallas definitely felt the loss of Hintz, who is the prototypical Finnish forward that does whatever is asked of him. Hintz also adds a bit of offensive pop when in the lineup. Seguin was also gone for most of season and is hoping to reclaim that scoring touch in a contract year. The Bottom Six Steel has settled into the lineup as a strong bottom-six forward. He and Benn can make life miserable for teams trying to score and are a tough matchup. Having Duchene on the third line shows how strong Dallas done the middle. The veteran forward can also slide up to the top six if injuries take out one of the top forwards. Benn provides veteran leadership and stability. Blackwell has also been projected to be all over the lineup but is another experienced forward. Faksa doesn’t provide that much scoring punch but is a strong fourth-line picot that can kill penalties. Back has also emerged as a strong option in the bottom portion of the lineup. Kiviranta provides depth and is back in Dallas after playing for the Colorado Avalanche. We could also see Hemming break into the lineup if injuries pop up. The highly-touted prospect will star in Austin with the AHL Texas Stars. Defensive Pairings | LD | RD | | Miro Heiskanen | Thomas Harley | | Esa Lindell | Nils Lundkvist | | Lian Bichsel | Tyler Myers | Extras: Tristan Bertucci, Aram Minnetian The Top Four Heiskanen is an all-world blueliner and anchors one of the best defensive groups in the league. He and Lindell are a well-traveled pairing, but we could see Heiskanen pair up with the talented Harley, who struggled at times with former partner, Ilya Lyubushkin. One of the biggest changes Gulutzan made was switching the Stars to a group that plays zone. That changed helped with the wear-and-tear issues and the Stars were a strong defensive init. All four blueliners for the 2026-27 Dallas Stars, which includes Lundkvist, can be mix-and-matched. Lundkvist will get more of an extended look with Harley in the hopes of clicking with the talented blueliner. The former isn’t flashy, but he gets the job done. Bottom Paring Bichsel and Myers are big bodies that will throw their weight around when needed. Both blueliners are at least 6-foot, 7-inches tall and are around 230 pounds. These two players will likely try to clear out any big bodies that camp out in front of the crease. Both Bertucci and Minnetian will spend time in Austin to get seasoning with the Stars AHL team. However, we could see these two get a look at some point in the season. Goaltenders | Starter | Backup | Extra | |---|---|---| | Jake Oettinger | Casey DeSmith | Remi Poirier | Some were thinking that Oettinger would get a look at the Team USA crease. However, Connor Hellebuyck quieted all doubters as the Americans won Olympic gold. Despite this, Oettinger was outdueled by Jesper Wallstedt in the postseason. Oettinger does have experience being a workhorse and can steal games when playing well. However, DeSmith has become one of the best backup netminders in the league for the 2026-27 Dallas Stars. He can take on any opponent, and the Stars will still feel like they have a chance to win the game. Poirier is waiting in the wings in the AHL and could be the backup the future. Players to Watch Tyler Seguin: Injuries took Seguin out for most of the season, and one wonders what he’s got left in the tank. The veteran forward may be in his last year with Dallas, but wants to contribute and is an experienced player. Jason Robertson: The decorated forward is also playing for a contract. However, he’s seeking a massive payday if he makes it to become an unrestricted free agent. There’s no doubt that Nill will want the high-flying forward signed to a mid- or long-term deal. Thomas Harley: The Canadian blueliner got his massive payday in the middle of last season. However, he still had some growing pains in the new system. A new defensive partner could turn things around for him. Prediction for 2026-27 Dallas Stars The Colorado Avalanche may look like a more complete team on paper. However, the 2026-27 Dallas Stars know that games aren’t played on paper, but at the ice rink. The Stars’ style change meant the weren’t able to drive play in the rough-and-tumble playoffs. However, this is a very talented hockey team that can make a deep run if it can get out of the dangerous Central Division. Veterans like Benn and Seguin will want a championship ring before their time in Dallas comes to an end. It will be tough sledding, but the 2026-27 Dallas Stars should be one of the teams in the mix to gets its second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Main photo by: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images More Puck Drop Previews