Stars Central Division Showdown: How Dallas Stacks Up Against The Winnipeg Jets

The Dallas Stars are in a challenging NHL division – the Central Division – and they’re going to need to be at their best if they intend on winning the Central for the second consecutive season. THN’s Stars site will be focusing on the Stars’ Central rivals, and looking at how they match up against every team in their division.

Today, we’ll start the process with a look at the No. 2 Central team this past season – the Winnipeg Jets:

DALLAS’ 2023-24 RECORD: 52-21-9

WINNIPEG’s 2023-24 RECORD: 52-24-6

DALLAS’ REGULAR-SEASON RECORD AGAINST WINNIPEG IN 2023-24: 3-1-0

HOW THE STARS STACK UP AGAINST THE JETS IN 2024-25: The Stars won their first three games against Winnipeg last season before dropping the final showdown with the Jets in April. The Jets suffered a few key losses to their roster this summer, including the departure of veteran defenseman Brenden Dillon and experienced forwards Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli and goalie Laurent Brossoit. And while their youngsters are going to be looked to for growth in their game this year, the reality is the Jets could tumble down the Central standings – maybe not completely out of the playoff picture, but certainly below accomplished teams like Colorado, as well as the vastly-improved Nashville Predators.

Related: Jets Shut Out Stars, Keep Division Title Race Alive

Both Winnipeg and Dallas have elite goalies in Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger, and both the Jets and Stars have solid defense corps. But if we had to choose between Dallas’ forwards and Winnipeg’s forwards, we’d take the Stars all day long. There’s a reason why the Stars went to the Western Conference final last season and the Jets were flushed out in the first round for the second straight year – it’s because Dallas’ depth up front was better, and we still believe that to be true.

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff doubled down on his core this summer, but so did Stars counterpart Jim Nill. And we believe Dallas is going to go far once again this season. If they do draw Winnipeg in the first or second round, the Stars are going to be the favorites to win a series against the Jets. This isn’t to say the Jets can’t enjoy a deep playoff run, but rather, we’re suggesting it’s more likely that Dallas does so.

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