Yes, indeed, despite the promise of impending labor Armageddon and a prolonged work-stoppage, your friends at Puck Daddy are previewing the 2012-13 NHL season (whenever the heck it starts). Why? Because this is the most important election in the history of all-time ever, and you need to know the candidates — like the Dallas Stars.

Under new ownership (Tom Gaglardi) and with a new bench boss (Glen Gulutzan), things remained the same in Big D as the Stars missed out on the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

It all started well as Dallas opened up 11-4-0 and sat second in the Western Conference on Nov. 11. But that night, defenseman Alex Goligoski broke his thumb and missed almost a month of action. During his absence, the Stars went 4-7-1 and fell to eighth in the conference, a spot they would hover around for the remainder of the season. While Goligoski was out of the lineup, goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who was 13-4-1 at the time, missed over a month with a groin injury.

You see where this is going? Injuries stopped the Stars from building on their early season momentum and rather than making strides toward the playoffs, the team was instead moving in the direction of the trainers' room.

Over the summer the Stars brought in experience and skill hoping to make waves. Is it enough to find a spot in the West's top eight?

"Seriously, What the Hell is Jagr Doing Here?"

There weren't many players on the Stars roster last season that were born in the 1970s, but within the first few days of the free agent market opening on July 1, two more were added. Signing separate $4.5 million deals, 40-year olds Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney will provide over 40 years of professional experience and playmaking ability.

Uber-pest and fan favorite Steve Ott was shipped to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for center Derek Roy. With Mike Ribeiro getting a new address in Washington, D.C., it'll be a new-look for the Stars' top six.

Also moving on were penalty killers Adam Burish (San Jose), Radek Dvorak (UFA) and Sheldon Souray (Anaheim). Adam Pardy was part of the Ott deal and Andrew Raycroft signed to play in Italy. Helping to re-fill the back line will be Aaron Rome, who signed a 3-year, $4.5 million deal after spending the last three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.

At forward … Dallas finished 2011-12 22nd in the league with 2.49 goals/game and featured just three players -- Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder -- with more than 20 goals. Bringing in Whitney, Jagr and Roy will help improve that area, as well as last season's 30th-ranked power play. After posting the worst power play success rate in franchise history (13.5-percent), Jagr and Whitney (20 power play points each) will be looked upon to help to keep the Stars away from the cellar -- and history -- again.

It's a contract year for both Ryder and team captain Brenden Morrow. In his first season in Dallas, Ryder led the team with 35 goals after back-to-back 18-goal campaigns with the Boston Bruins. Morrow, meanwhile, could make for an interesting trade chip should GM Joe Nieuwendyk need to make improvements. The 33-year old is coming off a 57-game, 26-point injury-filled season. He's a heart and soul guy who's been through the great times and more recent bad times in Dallas, and one you'd love to have on your team. But with the pressure of needing to turnaround the franchise, Nieuwendyk must go forth with improving the team if the right offer comes along, even if it means dealing away another fan favorite, who happens to be the captain.

Once Roy returns healthy, he's expected to be an offensive aid unless his surgically-repaired shoulder continues to give him issues. After that, the offensive depth on the Stars is lacking. Can Eric Nystrom chip in double digit goals again? Will any youngsters like Reilly Smith and Cody Eakin earn a place in the lineup?

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