The Dallas Stars are expected to be a contender in the Western Conference after beefing up their roster in the offseason with hopes of not only making the playoffs but pushing for a Stanley Cup.
They addressed their goaltending issues by inking Ben Bishop, upgraded their defence core with the acquisition of Marc Methot, added some depth down the middle by signing Martin Hanzal, and added Alexander Radulov to an already dynamic offence.
After returning to the NHL last season following four seasons in the KHL, Radulov potted 18 goals and 36 points for 54 points in 76 games with the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs failed to sign 31-year-old Russian in the offseason despite offering the same amount of money and term that Dallas did. The former Nashville Predators joined the Stars on a five-year, $31,250,000 contract.
Radulov is expected to skate on a line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin that will likely be one of the most productive lines in the NHL. The on-ice chemistry between the trio should give goalies nightmares around the league, especially on the powerplay where the trio will lineup up with John Klingberg and Jason Spezza.
Off the ice, Radulov appears to be fitting in well with one of his new linemates. On Wednesday, Radulov was hanging at the Stars’ centre’s luxurious house in Texas. The two were practicing their chipping game on Seguin’s backyard putting green.
Seguin is an avid dog lover, and good on him for training his lab to not retrieve balls on the green.
Something tells us that the Stars won’t be doing a lot of chipping when Radulov and Seguin are on the ice together given how they'll likely they have the puck entering the zone with controlled entries, and we have a hunch that we’ll be seeing a lot of that Radulov celly this season.
(h/t Tyler Seguin)
