One of the Dallas Stars' biggest problems over the last few years has been its inability to collect points with regularity when starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen has been injured or out of the lineup with injury. The club hopes that the offseason signing of veteran Dan Ellis to a two-year deal represents an upgrade in the caliber of its backup goaltending.
Over the last four seasons, the Stars have a combined 81-60-18 record when Lehtonen has been able to start. When one of his backups (Andrew Raycroft, Richard Bachman or Cristopher Nilstorp) has been in net, the club's record has been 25-26-2. Much of this falloff has been evident in the second half of games on consecutive nights.
Due to Lehtonen's history of back and groin problems, former Stars head coaches Marc Crawford and Glen Gulutzan often showed reluctance to use him on back-to-back nights even when he's been healthy and playing well. The caution is understandable because Lehtonen had a bout of back spasms in 2010-11 (after previously undergoing back surgery before his acquisition by the Stars) and has sustained several groin pulls in the last couple years. None of his absences in Dallas have been all that long in duration, but they've hurt nevertheless.
Even so, it was frustrating at times to watch the Stars lose games in regulation with one of Lehtonen's backups in goal that may have been wins or at least one-point games had the big Finn been in net. It should also be said that the Stars' goal support, on the aggregate, has been comparable regardless of who has been in goal.
That's why -- even though I believe goaltending success is heavily affected by team play -- it's fair to say that Lehtonen has been the Stars' most valuable player in each of the last three years. He was the single biggest reason why the team even got close to the playoffs in the near-miss 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013 seasons.
Come next season, new Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff is going to have to find ways to squeeze more points out of the games where Lehtonen needs a rest or is unavailable due to injury. The 33-year-old Ellis could help make up some of the gap. He flopped as a starter in Tampa Bay in 2010-11 but has been a reasonably solid backup to Jonas Hiller in Anaheim and to Cam Ward in Carolina, despite a 15-16-3 record in that span. While the undersized and scrappy Bachman became a bit of fan favorite in Dallas, Ellis has demonstrated himself over the years to be a better goaltender.
Over the long haul, the Stars would like to see 21-year-old Jack Campbell, the team's first-round pick in 2010, emerge as an NHL-ready goaltender who is ready to challenge Lehtonen for playing time. That's unlikely to happen in the immediate future, however, as he appears likely to need at least one more full AHL season. Neither Ruff nor new general manager Jim Nill are inclined to rush Campbell, especially while Lehtonen is still in his prime.
The new-look Stars are a bit of a wildcard heading into the 2013-14 season. Even with Ellis on board as the backup, the Stars will need Lehtonen to be healthy enough to start about 60 games. When fully healthy, Lehtonen has generally been excellent for the Stars and the club needs that to continue. If they can get even marginally improved team defense plus some quality play out of Ellis in his half of back-to-backs and the spot starts he gets from Ruff, the Stars could be a pleasant surprise in the Western Conference.
************
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Stars Buzz; a one-stop feed for all things Dallas Stars-related at HockeyBuzz. Content is automatically updated whenever a new blog is published. For more information,
click here.
Dallas Stars Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»