With the clock winding down towards a new season, let's get you back into that special hockey feeling by taking a quick look at each team in the division and what you can expect from their next 82 games. Here are your 2018-19 Dallas Stars.

How Did Last Year Go?

9-12-4. That’s how the last 25 games went down for Dallas. They missed the playoffs by 3 points. Beyond that terrible stretch, Dallas was infuriatingly average, which spells doom in the Central Division. The talent inequality of the roster became an even bigger issue as the first line and bottom lines continued to grow farther apart in both consistency and production. So much talent. So little quality when it mattered.

What The Hell Happened?

The Ken Hitchcock Lazarus project was not a smashing success. The Paul Bearer of hockey came back to the town he’d once hoisted a cup in so he could coach a fast, dynamic team… in the exact same way he coached the St. Louis Blues. The players struggled to buy in and Hitchcock himself spent most of the year tweaking a system that didn’t jive with his roster, losing valuable games in the middle of the season before that terrible ending stretch.

Jeez, Was There Anything Else?

The defense on this team was atrocious. It was so bad that adding Roman Polak to this team was an honest-to-God improvement. Ben Bishop turned into a Ben Bishop sized pumpkin after signing a new deal. Martin Hanzal broke his back after his 666th career game (get the holy water!). Kari Lehtonen had to play 40 games in net. The fans got “boo”by trapped by Gary Bettman at the draft.

Did Anything Good Happen?

Yeah, the five starters for the team are insanely talented and a blast to watch. They nearly carried this team to the playoffs. Jamie Benn has my new favorite celly for overtime goals. The fans continued to boo Bettman at the draft.

Did They Get Any Worse?

No, I don’t think so. Ken Hitchcock was banished into the woods. The Stars lost walking minor penalty Antoine Roussel in free agency. Losing Dan Hamhuis was a bit of a hit, nothing awful. Kari Lehtonen can’t hurt you anymore. That’s addition by subtraction if I’ve ever seen it.

Are There New faces This year?

Jim Montgomery is your new head coach, from the University of Denver! He’ll be eaten alive by the egos on this team.

The previously mentioned Roman Polak is now on the team. Good luck with that one.

Anton Khudobin is the next backup goalie just waiting to break fan's hearts.

What’s Going To Happen This Year?

This season depends on two things. First, can Jim Montgomery make an immediate, positive mark on the team? With a slash & cut college style, that’s a real possibility. Second, can Ben Bishop be better and can the defense in front of him do their damn jobs? That’s a much harder sell. Expect Tyler Seguin to be a monster in a contract year. He wants that Tavares money.

“Clubber, What’s Your Prediction For The Fight?”

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45-32-5 5th in the Central. *Pan across darkened hotel room as Phil sleeps. We settle on the Alarm as it flips over to a new hour. “I got you babe” plays yet again. Phil calmly wakes up and destroys the clock with his fist.*

The Dallas Stars will miss out on the playoffs yet again. In fact, I predict they are the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues, missing out on the playoffs by a single game. “Hey! Phil? Phil Connors??”

There you have it folks. Next up, the St. Louis Blues.