2016–17 Dallas Stars season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2016–17
Year:	2016
Team:	Dallas Stars
Conference:	Western
Conferencerank:	11th
Division:	Central
Divisionrank:	6th
Record:	34–37–11
Homerecord:	22–13–6
Roadrecord:	12–24–5
Goalsfor:	223
Goalsagainst:	262
Generalmanager:	Jim Nill
Coach:	Lindy Ruff
Captain:	Jamie Benn
Altcaptain:	Patrick Sharp Jason Spezza
Arena:	American Airlines Center
Minorleague:	Texas Stars (AHL) Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)
Goalsleader:	Tyler Seguin (26)
Assistsleader:	Tyler Seguin (46)
Pointsleader:	Tyler Seguin (72)
Plusminusleader:	Brett Ritchie (+11)
Pimleader:	Antoine Roussel (115)
Winsleader:	Kari Lehtonen (22)
Gaaleader:	Kari Lehtonen (2.85)

The 2016–17 Dallas Stars season was the 50th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967, and 24th season since the franchise relocated from Minnesota prior to the start of the 1993–94 NHL season.^[1] The Stars missed the playoffs, finishing 11th in the Western Conference.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Pre-season Game Log: 4–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 2–2–0)^[2]
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 26		1–3	Dallas			—	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 28	Dallas	2–4				—	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 30	Dallas	1–4				13,239	1–2–0	Recap
4	October 2	Dallas	2–1		OT	—	—	2–2–0	Recap
5	October 4		1–2	Dallas	SO		14,321	3–2–0	Recap
6	October 5		1–0	Dallas		Lehtonen	14,120	3–3–0	Recap
7	October 7	Dallas	6–3			—	—	4–3–0	Recap

Regular season

Game Log^[3]
October: 3–4–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–3–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 13 2–4 Dallas 18,532 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 15 Dallas 5–6 18,007 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 18 Dallas 2–1 Lehtonen 17,113 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 20 4–3 Dallas OT Lehtonen 18,532 2–1–1 5 Recap 5 October 22 3–0 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 2–2–1 5 Recap 6 October 25 2–3 Dallas Niemi 18,040 3–2–1 7 Recap 7 October 27 Dallas 1–4 Niemi 15,294 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 29 Dallas 0–4 Lehtonen 19,031 3–4–1 7 Recap
November: 6–5–5 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 2–3–4) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 November 1 Dallas 2–3 OT 10,141 3–4–2 8 Recap 10 November 3 2–6 Dallas Niemi 18,532 4–4–2 10 Recap 11 November 5 3–2 Dallas Niemi 18,532 4–5–2 10 Recap 12 November 6 Dallas 3–4 OT 21,901 4–5–3 11 Recap 13 November 8 Dallas 2–8 Lehtonen 15,294 4–6–3 11 Recap 14 November 10 Dallas 4–2 Lehtonen 18,795 5–6–3 13 Recap 15 November 11 Dallas 3–2 Lehtonen 18,347 6–6–3 15 Recap 16 November 13 Dallas 4–5 OT Lehtonen 18,470 6–6–4 16 Recap 17 November 15 2–1 Dallas OT Niemi 18,039 6–6–5 17 Recap 18 November 17 2–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,237 7–6–5 19 Recap 19 November 19 5–2 Dallas Lehtonen 18,352 7–7–5 19 Recap 20 November 21 2–3 Dallas OT Niemi 18,532 8–7–5 21 Recap 21 November 23 Dallas 2–5 Lehtonen 17,119 8–8–5 21 Recap 22 November 25 1–2 Dallas Niemi 18,532 9–8–5 23 Recap 23 November 28 Dallas 3–4 OT Niemi 17,169 9–8–6 24 Recap 24 November 29 Dallas 1–3 Lehtonen 20,027 9–9–6 24 Recap
December: 7–6–1 (Home: 5–3–1 ; Road: 2–3–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 Dallas 2–6 18,420 9–10–6 24 Recap 26 December 3 Dallas 3–0 16,725 10–10–6 26 Recap 27 December 6 2–1 Dallas Lehtonen 17,996 10–11–6 26 Recap 28 December 8 2–5 Dallas Lehtonen 17,887 11–11–6 28 Recap 29 December 10 Dallas 2–4 Lehtonen 19,594 11–12–6 28 Recap 30 December 11 Dallas 1–3 Lehtonen 21,451 11–13–6 28 Recap 31 December 13 2–6 Dallas Niemi 17,543 12–13–6 30 Recap 32 December 15 2–0 Dallas Niemi 18,212 12–14–6 30 Recap 33 December 17 1–3 Dallas Niemi 18,243 13–14–6 32 Recap 34 December 20 3–2 Dallas OT Niemi 18,532 13–14–7 33 Recap 35 December 23 2–3 Dallas OT Lehtonen 18,156 14–14–7 35 Recap 36 December 27 Dallas 3–2 Lehtonen 14,561 15–14–7 37 Recap 37 December 29 4–2 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 16–14–7 39 Recap 38 December 31 3–1 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 16–15–7 39 Recap
January: 5–5–3 (Home: 3–1–3 ; Road: 2–4–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 4 4–3 Dallas OT 18,106 16–15–8 40 Recap 40 January 7 Dallas 3–4 19,503 16–16–8 40 Recap 41 January 9 Dallas 6–4 Niemi 18,230 17–16–8 42 Recap 42 January 10 Dallas 0–2 Niemi 15,073 17–17–8 42 Recap 43 January 12 2–5 Dallas Niemi 18,532 18–17–8 44 Recap 44 January 14 5–4 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 18–18–8 44 Recap 45 January 16 Dallas 1–4 Lehtonen 19,070 18–19–8 44 Recap 46 January 17 Dallas 7–6 Niemi 18,006 19–19–8 46 Recap 47 January 19 Dallas 0–3 Lehtonen 12,630 19–20–8 46 Recap 48 January 21 4–3 Dallas OT Lehtonen 18,532 19–20–9 47 Recap 49 January 24 3–2 Dallas SO Lehtonen 17,877 19–20–10 48 Recap 50 January 26 3–4 Dallas Lehtonen 17,856 20–20–10 50 Recap January 27–29 All-Star Break in Los Angeles 51 January 31 3–6 Dallas Lehtonen 17,547 21–20–10 52 Recap
February: 4–8–0 (Home: 4–3–0 ; Road: 0–5–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 2 4–3 Dallas 17,236 21–21–10 52 Recap 53 February 4 5–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 21–22–10 52 Recap 54 February 7 Dallas 1–3 19,233 21–23–10 52 Recap 55 February 9 Dallas 2–3 Lehtonen 17,676 21–24–10 52 Recap 56 February 11 2–5 Dallas Lehtonen 17,864 22–24–10 54 Recap 57 February 12 Dallas 3–5 Lehtonen 17,113 22–25–10 54 Recap 58 February 14 Dallas 2–5 Niemi 15,294 22–26–10 54 Recap 59 February 16 Dallas 1–3 Lehtonen 19,084 22–27–10 54 Recap 60 February 18 3–4 Dallas OT Lehtonen 18,210 23–27–10 56 Recap 61 February 24 2–5 Dallas Lehtonen 18,043 24–27–10 58 Recap 62 February 26 6–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,006 24–28–10 58 Recap 63 February 28 2–3 Dallas Niemi 18,235 25–28–10 60 Recap
March: 6–7–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 4–5–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 2 5–4 Dallas 17,438 25–29–10 60 Recap 65 March 4 Dallas 2–1 15,713 26–29–10 62 Recap 66 March 6 Dallas 4–2 Lehtonen 18,506 27–29–10 64 Recap 67 March 8 5–2 Dallas Lehtonen 17,689 27–30–10 64 Recap 68 March 12 Dallas 1–5 Lehtonen 17,442 27–31–10 64 Recap 69 March 14 Dallas 1–7 Niemi 18,347 27–32–10 64 Recap 70 March 16 Dallas 4–2 Lehtonen 18,865 28–32–10 66 Recap 71 March 17 Dallas 1–3 Lehtonen 19,227 28–33–10 66 Recap 72 March 20 0–1 Dallas Lehtonen 17,687 29–33–10 68 Recap 73 March 23 Dallas 2–3 SO Lehtonen 21,798 29–33–11 69 Recap 74 March 24 1–6 Dallas Lehtonen 17,265 30–33–11 71 Recap 75 March 26 Dallas 2–1 OT Lehtonen 14,711 31–33–11 73 Recap 76 March 28 Dallas 1–4 Lehtonen 21,288 31–34–11 73 Recap 77 March 30 Dallas 0–2 Niemi 17,565 31–35–11 73 Recap
April: 3–2–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 1–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 1 Dallas 3–0 14,201 32–35–11 75 Recap 79 April 2 Dallas 3–6 Lehtonen 19,092 32–36–11 75 Recap 80 April 4 2–3 Dallas OT 16,876 33–36–11 77 Recap 81 April 6 7–3 Dallas Lehtonen 17,543 33–37–11 77 Recap 82 April 8 3–4 Dallas SO Lehtonen 18,532 34–37–11 79 Recap
Legend:

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular season^[4]

Player					data-sort-type="number"
	82	26	46	72	−15	22
	77	26	43	69	−9	66
	68	15	35	50	−18	29
	80	13	36	49	2	34
^‡	59	21	16	37	−10	16
	82	13	20	33	−4	14
	80	12	21	33	−6	67
	60	12	15	27	1	115
	78	16	8	24	11	38
^‡	60	8	12	20	5	10
	48	8	10	18	−22	31
	73	6	12	18	8	22
	69	10	6	16	9	12
	53	6	10	16	5	72
	79	1	15	16	−7	23
^‡	58	2	13	15	−3	24
	60	3	9	12	−7	49
	32	3	8	11	−3	4
	61	4	6	10	−10	36
	41	5	2	7	−4	37
	15	4	3	7	−1	0
	18	1	6	7	5	8
^‡	37	1	6	7	−2	10
	17	3	3	6	−1	21
	16	1	4	5	−4	4
	40	0	3	3	−4	14
^†	12	0	3	3	−2	6
	10	2	0	2	−3	0
	9	0	2	2	0	2
	1	0	0	0	−1	0
	1	0	0	0	−1	0

Goaltenders

Regular season^[5]

Player
style=white-space:nowrap		59	52	3177:09	22	25	7	151	2.85	1546	.902	3	0	1	4
style=white-space:nowrap		37	30	1728:30	12	12	4	95	3.30	880	.892	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Stars. Stats reflect time with the Stars only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Transactions

The Stars have been involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 season:

Trades

Date			Ref
	To Arizona Coyotes Alex Goligoski (negotiating rights)	To Dallas Stars 5th-round pick in 2016	^[6]
	To Los Angeles Kings Jack Campbell	To Dallas Stars Nick Ebert	^[7]
	To Arizona Coyotes Brendan Ranford Branden Troock	To Dallas Stars Justin Peters Justin Hache	^[8]
	To Anaheim Ducks Patrick Eaves	To Dallas Stars conditional 2nd-round pick in 2017	^[9]
	To Montreal Canadiens Jordie Benn	To Dallas Stars Greg Pateryn 4th-round pick in 2017	^[10]
	To Chicago Blackhawks Johnny Oduya	To Dallas Stars Mark McNeill conditional 4th-round pick in 2018	^[11]
	To Columbus Blue Jackets Lauri Korpikoski	To Dallas Stars Dillon Heatherington	^[12]
	To Los Angeles Kings MTL's 4th-round pick in 2017	To Dallas Stars Ben Bishop (rights)	^[13]

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			2 years, $7.5 million	^[14]
			2 years, $1.45 million	^[15]
	Dustin Stevenson		1 year, $600,000
			1 year, $600,000	^[16]
			1 year, $2 million	^[17]
			3 years, entry-level contract	^[18]
			1 years, $1 million	^[19]
			2 years, entry-level contract	^[20]
			2 years, entry-level contract	^[21]

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			2 years, $1.9 million	^[22]
		Florida Panthers	5 years, $22.5 million	^[23]
			1 year, $1.25 million	^[24]
			2 years, undisclosed	^[25]
			1 year, $3.1 million	^[26]

Claimed via waivers

Player

Previous team

Date

Ref

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
		3 years, $3.3 million	^[27]
		1 year, $600,000	^[28]
		1 year, $1 million	^[29]
		1 year, $918,750	^[30]
		8 years, $76 million contract extension	^[31]
		1 year, $575,000	^[32]
		1 year, $675,000 contract extension	^[33]
		1 year, $700,000 contract extension	^[34]
		3 years, $2.235 million entry-level contract	^[35]
		1 year, $700,000 contract extension	^[36]
		3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract	^[37]
		2 years, $1.3 million contract extension	^[38]
		6 years, $29.5 million contract extension	^[39]
		3 years, $2.235 million entry-level contract	^[40]
		1 year, $650,000 contract extension	^[41]

Draft picks

See also: List of Dallas Stars draft picks. Below are the Dallas Stars' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Round		Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	25	Riley Tufte	LW	United States	Fargo Force (USHL)
3	90	Fredrik Karlstrom	C	Sweden	AIK (Swe-Jr)
4	116	Rhett Gardner	C	Canada	North Dakota Fighting Hawks (NCHC)
5	128	Colton Point	G	Canada	Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)
5	146	Nicholas Caamano	RW	Canada	Flint Firebirds (OHL)
6	176	Jakob Stenqvist	D	Sweden	Modo-jr. (SWE-jr.)

Notes

• The Dallas Stars' second-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016 that sent Kris Russell to Dallas in exchange for Jyrki Jokipakka, Brett Pollock and this pick (being conditional at time of the trade). The condition – Calgary will receive a second-round pick in 2016 if Dallas fails to qualify for the 2016 Western Conference Final^[42] – was converted on May 11, 2016.
• The Dallas Stars' third-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on February 11, 2015 that sent Jhonas Enroth to Dallas in exchange for Anders Lindback and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[43] The condition – Buffalo will receive a third-round pick in 2016 if Enroth wins fewer than four playoff games for the Stars in 2015 – was converted on April 6, 2015 when the Stars were eliminated from playoff contention.^[44]
• The San Jose Sharks' third-round pick went to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on November 21, 2014 that sent Brenden Dillon to San Jose in exchange for Jason Demers and this pick.^[45]
• The Arizona Coyotes' fifth-round pick went to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on June 16, 2016 that sent Alex Goligoski to Arizona in exchange for this pick.^[46]
• The Dallas Stars' seventh-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent Anaheim's seventh-round pick in 2015 to Edmonton in exchange for this pick.^[47]

Edmonton previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 5, 2013 that sent Shawn Horcoff to Dallas in exchange for Philip Larsen and this pick.^[48]

Notes and References

1. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. 2013. Diamond Sports Data, Inc.. 53. 978-1-894801-26-3.
2. Web site: Dallas Stars Announce 2016-17 Preseason Schedule - Dallas Stars - Official Releases. Dallas Stars. June 24, 2016. June 15, 2016.
3. Web site: 2016-2017 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Dallas Stars - Schedule. Dallas Stars. June 24, 2016.
4. Web site: 2016–2017 – Regular Season – Dallas Stars – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
5. Web site: 2016–2017 – Regular Season – Dallas Stars – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
6. Web site: Dallas Stars Acquire Fifth-Round Selection In 2016 NHL Draft From Arizona. nhl.com. June 16, 2016.
7. Web site: Dallas Stars Acquire Defenseman Nick Ebert From The Los Angeles Kings In Exchange For Goaltender Jack Campbell. nhl.com. June 28, 2016.
8. Web site: Stars acquire G Justin Peters and D Justin Hache. nhl.com. February 1, 2017.
9. Web site: Stars acquire conditional second-round pick for Eaves. nhl.com. February 24, 2017.
10. Web site: Stars acquire defenseman Greg Pateryn for Jordie Benn. nhl.com. February 27, 2017.
11. Web site: Stars acquire forward Mark McNeill for Johnny Oduya. nhl.com. March 1, 2017.
12. Web site: Stars acquire Heatherington from CBJ for Korpikoski. nhl.com. March 1, 2017.
13. Web site: Dallas Stars acquire Ben Bishop from Los Angeles. nhl.com. May 10, 2017.
14. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Dan Hamhuis. nhl.com. July 5, 2016.
15. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defensemen Andrew Bodnarchuk and Dustin Stevenson. nhl.com. July 5, 2016.
16. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Right Wing Adam Cracknell. nhl.com. July 5, 2016.
17. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Right Wing Jiri Hudler to a One-Year Contract. nhl.com. August 25, 2016.
18. Web site: Stars Sign Defenseman Ondrej Vala To Entry-Level Deal. nhl.com. October 5, 2016.
19. Web site: Lauri Korpikoski signs one-year deal with Stars. nhl.com. October 14, 2016.
20. Web site: Dallas Stars sign Landon Bow to entry level contract. nhl.com. March 13, 2017.
21. Web site: Dallas Stars sign defenseman Gavin Bayreuther. nhl.com. March 27, 2017.
22. Web site: Florida Panthers Sign Forwards Colton Sceviour & Jonathan Marchessault. nhl.com. July 6, 2016.
23. Web site: Florida Panthers Sign Defenseman Jason Demers. nhl.com. July 6, 2016.
24. Web site: Fiddler Signs One-Year Deal With Devils. nhl.com. July 6, 2016.
25. Web site: Star Gazing: Nichushkin Returns to KHL for Two Seasons. hockeybuzz.com. October 14, 2016.
26. Web site: Oilers Sign D Russell to One-year Deal. tsn.ca. October 14, 2016.
27. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Jordie Benn. nhl.com. June 24, 2016.
28. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Goaltender Maxime Lagace. nhl.com. July 5, 2016.
29. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Right Wing Patrick Eaves. nhl.com. July 5, 2016.
30. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. nhl.com. July 13, 2016.
31. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Captain Jamie Benn To An Eight-Year Contract Extension. nhl.com. July 18, 2016.
32. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Right Wing Matej Stransky. nhl.com. July 22, 2016.
33. Web site: Stars sign Cracknell to one-year contract extension. nhl.com. March 13, 2017.
34. Web site: Stars sign McKenzie to one-year contract extension. nhl.com. March 13, 2017.
35. Web site: Stars sign Nicholas Caamano to entry level contract. nhl.com. May 28, 2017.
36. Web site: Dallas Stars sign forward Mattias Janmark to One-Year Contract Extension. nhl.com. May 10, 2017.
37. Web site: Dallas Stars sign forward Roope Hintz to three-year entry level contract. nhl.com. May 10, 2017.
38. Web site: Dallas Stars sign forward Justin Dowling to a two-year contract extension. nhl.com. May 10, 2017.
39. Web site: Dallas Stars sign goaltender Ben Bishop to a six-year contract extension. nhl.com. June 3, 2017.
40. Web site: Stars sign defenseman John Nyberg to a three-year entry level contract. nhl.com. June 3, 2017.
41. Web site: Dallas Stars sign defenseman Ludwig Bystrom. nhl.com. June 19, 2017.
42. Web site: Flames deal D Russell to Stars. February 29, 2016. February 29, 2016.
43. Web site: Stars acquire goaltender Enroth from Sabres. National Hockey League. February 11, 2015. February 11, 2015.
44. Web site: With fate decided, Sharks fall short against Stars. National Hockey League. April 6, 2015. April 9, 2015.
45. Web site: Sharks trade Demers, draft pick to Stars for Dillon. November 21, 2014. November 21, 2014.
46. Web site: Coyotes Acquire Negotiating Rights to Goligoski. National Hockey League. June 16, 2016. June 16, 2016.
47. Web site: Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend. June 27, 2015. June 27, 2015.
48. Web site: Stars acquire Horcoff from Oilers in trade. July 5, 2013. July 14, 2013.