No matter how the Dallas Stars finish the year, 2023 will be remembered by Stars fans for years to come. Two guys on the team are setting or are on the verge of setting point totals in Dallas history. Jason Robertson has already established a franchise record, and Miro Heiskanen is on the verge of setting another.
Robo passed Modano
A record that has held up for 29 years has finally been broken. In Dallas’ inaugural season after the relocation from Minnesota, Mike Modano posted up a 93-point total for the 1993-1994 season. Jamie Benn twice, and Brad Richards would flirt with the record but would fall just short. Football great Walter Payton famously said that records are meant to be broken. Friday night on March 31st at the Arizona Coyotes, that nearly three-decade-old Dallas record was surpassed.
Stars’ head coach Pete DeBoer put the record, as well as passing Modano, into perspective. “When you are breaking records of guys like Mike Modano, that is something pretty special,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “That’s rare air, and that’s the kind of thing you’ll be able to tell your grandkids about.”
100 point man in Texas
April 3rd, hosting the Nashville Predators, Robertson clinches the 100 points mark of the season. He hit the plateau, scoring a goal and three assists that night. That feat has been accomplished four times in Minnesota North Stars history by Bobby Smith, Neal Broten, and twice by Dino Ciccarelli, and Roberson is the first to do it in Dallas.
Hitting triple digits is big for Dallas hockey. Right now, clinching a playoff berth and fighting for first in the central division is where Roberson is focused.
“We want that first seed, but you have to clinch first,” Robertson said. “You’ve got to get that X on your name; then you can move forward. We kind of have the opportunity to really try to move up the standings in these next couple of games. Playoff hockey is coming back to Dallas, so that’s big, and [hitting 100 points is] a special milestone.”
Heiskanen’s sights on Zubov
You know you’re having a great NHL career when you’re chasing a Hall of Famer you often get compared to five years into your career. Already sitting at over 200 career points, the top-scoring defenseman of March this season.
Miro Heiskanen also finished as the top-scoring defenseman in the @NHL in the month of March.
— Owen Newkirk (@OwenNewkirk) April 1, 2023
15 GP, 23 points (4 goals, 19 assists).#TexasHockey https://t.co/J4iPR7Eswd
There are three games left in the season. Heiskanen is sitting at 69 points. All he needs are two more points to break Sergei Zubov’s record for points from a Dallas defenseman at 70. The Stars’ last three games of the year are at the Detroit Red Wings and a home and home back-to-back vs. the St. Louis Blues. Heiskanen is capable of breaking that record against against two teams that are already eliminated from playoff contention but two teams that aren’t elite on defense or goaltending.
Bonus: Joe Pavelski staring down 1k
Sitting at 999 career points heading into game # 80, Joe Pavelski will soon have 1,000 points attached to his career. The 38-year-old is not showing any signs yet of hanging up the skates either. His veteran leadership is going to prove valuable once the Stars start their playoff trek.
While the bulk of Pavelski’s great career was with the San Jose Sharks, Captain America looks to continue to be one of the Stars’ top contributors past 2023. A 1,000-point pregame ceremony for Pavelski in Dallas looms shortly—perhaps on the season and home finale, Thursday, April 13th, vs. the Blues.
Featured Image: Nouvelles Du Monde
