Since the summer has hit an ultimate slow point — with Jason Robertson signed, my wedding and honeymoon in the rearview, training camp still over a month away, and Dallas looking pretty much set as a roster — I figured now would be a great time for some random Dallas Stars thoughts running around in my head. 

So, here we go. 

What will the Stars new alternate(s) look like? 

Not only were the ’99 alternates a huge hit that led to them being used as homes in the playoffs, but they are likely going to stick around as a permanent alternate. The neon Blackout uniforms are in the past, so it looks like the ’99 will be a staple moving forward. I believe teams are allowed one alternate jersey setup, adding an exception when there is a league-wide push like the Reverse Retros in 2021. 

Well, guess what?? There seems to be exactly that coming in 2026 with the new “Hometown Remix” launch reportedly coming in September in partnership with Fanatics. 

There have been a few leaks, per usual, including what many believe to be the official Florida Panthers Hometown Remix sweater. It’s niiiiiice. What do you think? 

Dallas could go a ton of different ways, but it will be interesting to see how they approach this since they really already dove into the team’s history with the ’99. Maybe it will just be another Mooterus. You know you want it. 

Oh, and by the way, that’s not even all! 

Dallas is also expected to roll out a new sweater for the “outdoor” game against the Vegas Golden Knights at AT&T Stadium in February. That has to be Cowboys themed, right? I think it should be. Cowboys vs Raiders. 

Who the heck is going to play in the top six? 

We have hit on this A LOT over at DLLS, so go check out some of our episodes from this summer about Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin, and the Stars depth (or lack thereof) up front. 

But, even on my honeymoon in Aruba, I still think about this every day. It’s a sickness. I believe it’s a disease called “IDon’tHaveALifeOutsideOfHockeyItis.” You’ll have to check me on that, though. 

I think about it a lot because, no matter how you spin it or how many different bar napkins you start fresh on, the depth just isn’t there. It’s below there, in fact, sitting in the bottom six, or as Dallas apparently thinks of it, the “bottom infinity.” 

I still don’t really understand why they brought back Joel Kiviranta. I love the player and the memories he brings with him. He’s obviously a great fit with the Finnish Mafia, who he remains close friends with. But at $1 million, all he brings is more grit and two-way play, but in a much smaller body and with (outside of one outlier in Colorado) even less goal scoring than Oskar Bäck… who doesn’t score like, ever. Because that’s not what he’s good at. 

So, I am not sure why they felt the need to go out and get Kiviranta back. I get that they couldn’t fill the actual top-six holes because they needed more than every penny they had to sign Robertson for one year. But why add at all when they already have a host of depth players and even more in the AHL ranks? Unless they somehow think Kiviranta is going to fill a hole in the top six… Which doesn’t seem a successful strategy. But, you never know. 

The Stars have elite top-end skill. No doubt about it. 

However they decide to roll it out, they have Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, and Matt Duchene to choose from. The problem is that half of those play almost exclusively at center, and a couple of them have had either complete failure or just iffy experiment results on the wing. The other problem is they had to trade Mavrik Bourque to make room for Robertson, so now they are down another top-six winger. Another problem comes with Seguin’s injury history. 

If Seguin is fully healthy for all or most of the season (big if, even though we all want it so bad) AND can still perform at the elite level he has shown when healthy, the Stars have one left wing, two right wings, and three centers who are truly top-six options. 

Can Johnston find success on the right side permanently? What about on the left? Do they even want to take him out of the middle of the ice? Same questions can be asked for Hintz. But isn’t his speed down the middle what makes him so effective? Duchene needs to play center; we already learned that last year. Rantanen is a right wing. Seguin could play anywhere but has had the most success on the right wing while taking face-offs on his strong side. 

Robertson hasn’t really had a ton of success with Johnston and Rantanen, even if that looks like the most obvious top line on paper. Plus, that leaves TBD on the left of Hintz and Seguin. Can Hintz have elite chemistry with someone other than Robertson? Is Seguin’s elite hockey sense enough to counteract the massive speed gap between him and Hintz? Or what if Hintz was your third-line center to keep the Duchene-Seguin duo alive once again? Is that a waste of an elite two-way center? Or is Duchene’s offense wasted on the third line with far less-skilled wingers? 

See, I told you. I think about this nonstop. 

If Dallas tried loading up the top line, here’s how things could look:

• Robertson-Johnston-Rantanen
• Hryckowian – Hintz – Seguin 
• Steel – Duchene – Benn
• Bäck – Faksa – Kiviranta/Blackwell 

Pieces can, of course, move around a bit there. Sam Steel could be tried again on either of the top two lines, they may want to try Kiviranta up there somewhere, or perhaps Jamie Benn could play even lower. 

If they choose to balance a bit more and keep Robertson with Hintz, it could easily be shuffled like this 

• Hryckowian – Johnston – Rantanen
• Robertson – Hintz – Seguin 
• Steel – Duchene – Benn
• Bäck – Faksa – Kiviranta/Blackwell 

As I said earlier this summer, it’s not awful. I think this roster can get them into the playoffs, for sure. 

But it’s also not a Cup contender, in my opinion. So it will be really interesting to see how Dallas experiments and if they are planning on some sort of splash before March 1. 

What records and runs will we see this year? 

Johnston is sure to break some sort of franchise or team record almost immediately, right? I mean, he does it every stinking year. Will he play every game for the fifth season in a row? It would have to be 84 this time… 

Benn is only eight points away from 1,000 in his career. He is also 68 penalty minutes away from 1k… Which does he hit first? 

• Rantanen is 34 assists away from 500. 
• Robertson is 10 points from 500 and 87 goals from 300. 87 sounds doable. 
• Hintz is 79 points from 500 and 10 goals from 200. 
• Thomas Harley has already eaten more DiGiorno pizzas than any other human being. Congrats, Thomas! 
• Duchene should play his 1,200th game early in the season (currently at 1,195) — Tyler Myers needs 61. Duchene can also hit 1,000 points with 64 this year. Could he hit it before Benn? 
• Which entire NHL team(s) will Justin Hryckowian piss off this year? He can somehow already play his 100th game with 14 more. 
• Seguin could hit 400 career goals if he scores 33 times. It’s possible if he stays healthy. If he could also finish the season just one better in the plus-minus category, he would be a career plus-100 player, which would be pretty cool. Going plus-34 in Boston certainly helped. 
• Radek Faksa can score his 100th goal (96). Bäck can score his 10th! Yipee! 
• Lian Bichsel should play at least 12 games, hitting 100 in his young career. Luds drank all the beer.  Like, all of it. 
• If Jake Oettinger can win 16 times, he will hit 200. He should also make his 300th start (296). Casey DeSmith can hit 100 wins with just one more and 200 starts with six more. 
• DLLS will make it to its THIRD YEAR on August 26th. Wowza. I can’t believe you guys like us enough to keep us around. Shucks, we are grateful. 
• Mainly, I wonder if this team will be as streaky as it was last year. It felt like we were constantly talking about a run of some sort in 2025-26, whether it was the franchise-record-tying 15-game point streak or some of the losing skids they seemingly couldn’t shake off. Maybe a bit more consistency this season could be nice. Or, maybe not. 

Other random thoughts 

• How many times does Esa Lindell smile per day? 
• Can Jeff Reese get the next-level best out of Jake Oettinger?
• Who on Team Canada actually kept that funny stuffed animal? 
• Will the season feel longer with 84 games or much shorter without a huge Olympic break? Will teams utilize rest more than usual? 
• If I hold my breath long enough while free diving, will I become one with the Sharks? 
• When will Tyler Seguin actually return? How smart will he and the Stars be about his return and season usage? 
• How hot is it going to be in Texas on opening night in October?
• How many times will I get to meet up with DieHards and fans at the AAC and Comerica Center? I hope a billion. I need some new buttons and bracelets. 
• What ridiculous amount of hockey footage has Robert Tiffin watched this summer? Guy is a sicko. 
• How noticeable will the “tweaks” to the system be that Glen Gulutzan talked about after last season? They got away with some stuff last year, and they know it. 
• How many times will Dallas get 20 shots on goal? None of the times? 

Okay, I could keep going, but I have to save something for the other days and training camp! 

Talk soon.