The Dallas Stars left the playoffs having gone deeper than in the last few years, but feeling a sense of unsatisfaction, as if their job wasn’t done. Because it wasn’t.

The Stars ended the regular season at the top of the Western Conference. They had the best offense in the League, and while their goaltending and defense were messy, Pittsburgh showed you can have a messy defense if your offense is great enough.

Dallas wants to believe that their offense was good enough. Without Tyler Seguin, it was absent in their series with the Blues, placing pressure upon their non-playoff worthy defense.

Maybe a healthy Tyler Seguin changes everything. Maybe the playoffs in the West changes next year, and the defensive built teams are out first round. But maybe the Stars have deeper flaws, ones that will haunt them if they change nothing.

Presented here are the reasons, and what, to change. The Stars have a good GM in Jim Nill, they have a stellar offense. But behind that, this team needs to change.

None of this should be the new information to fans of the Dallas Stars. Those who truly know this team know the fundamental flaws lying at the heart of the team, those things that need to change if the Stars will beat the Blackhawks, the Ducks, next year the Sharks, and in the future the Jets.

1. Goaltending

Kari Lehtonen and Antii Niemi are not the goaltenders they once were. Lehtonen posted a 2.67/.905 in the regular season, a 2.81/.899 in the playoffs. Niemi posted a 2.76/.906 in the regular season, a 3.29/.865 in the playoffs. Neither of the two goaltenders were nearly good enough in the playoffs, and it wasn’t because of them that the Stars won games in the regular season. A team shouldn’t have to score 5 goals a game to win, and the Stars came pretty close.

The solution is buying one of the two out, probably Niemi, and either trading or using Lehtonen as a backup. The Stars will need a true starter, and there should be plenty available this year.

Someone like Pekka Rinne or Henrik Lundqvist could come in and immediately improve both the Stars. The trouble is making a good enough offer for either of those players, and the prospects aren’t there. The team would have to lose someone from their offense, and, dependent upon who that is, that may counteract the impact of the goaltender.

But the Stars need new blood in net. And unless the team is giving up Spezza, Sharp, Benn, or Seguin, a new goaltender will improve the team.

2. Defense

The Defense of the Stars also needs new blood. Throughout the playoffs, it was a mess. It could not stop a lacking Blues offense, and was the downfall of the Stars throughout the regular season and the playoffs. While the goaltending did not help, the defense, apart from a select few, was also lacking.

So how can Dallas change their defense? They have a perfectly good three members in Stephen Johns, Johnny Oduya, and John Klingberg. Unfortunately, Klingberg and Johns, even with all the potential in the world, are very young and still developing, and Oduya is a top 4 defenseman, but not a top 2. This means that Klingberg is without a partner, and Oduya and Johns barely make up a top 15 second pairing.

The Stars need new members for their defense. Prospect Julius Honka should be one of them, but Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, Jordie Benn, and Kris Russell could all be gone. The Stars will need new defensemen, and if last year is any indication, a new defensive system.

The defense will need a large revamp if the Stars are going to contend, and that defense will be largely different than this year’s.

3. Depth

Each of the Dallas Stars’ fourth line members are UFAs this summer. That means that the Stars will either need to re-sign them, or the more likely route, they use their farm system to develop better depth players.

This year, the Stars could lose Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Eaves, and Colton Sceviour, who together put up 62 points in the regular season and 14 in the playoffs.

They have replacements in the minors however, including Brett Ritchie, who played two games in the playoffs for the Stars. If the Stars are unsatisfied with their current forward corps in Texas, they still have their first round pick, and can use it on a depth forward who can turn into something more (after all, Patrick Sharp is now a 35+ plus player).

If the Stars wanted to re-sign one of these players, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their game, the natural choice would be Sceviour, 27, who put up 5 points in the playoffs and 23 in the regular season. If the Stars continue to use their offensive mold – and why fix what isn’t broken – Sceviour will be important on the bottom 6.

Which brings us to the unpopular move of the day…

4. Fire Lindy Ruff

But you’re saying “why? He’s nominated for the Jack Adams award this year, why do you fire one of the best coaches in the league” – I don’t think the Jack Adams award goes to the best coach of the year. The five most successful coaches as of recent – Joel Quenneville, Daryl Sutter, Mike Babcock, Mike Sullivan, and Claude Julien – have not been nominated in recent years, but have won cups instead. The best coach isn’t decided by the Jack Adams, just as the best GM isn’t decided by GM of the Year. Stan Bowman has never won that award but has 3 cups. Quenneville hasn’t won the Jack Adams as Blackhawks HC but also has 3 cups.

Ruff has never won a Stanley Cup. “Neither has a lot of other coaches”. His best season in Buffalo he reached the finals but lost in 6. Since then, he hasn’t reached the Finals, even with talented rosters. “Again, why does postseason success matter”? Because this is why we play the game. This is why we write about this sport. The playoffs are where the talented shine through and those who get outcoached get outcoached. And Ruff was outcoached by Ken Hitchcock. He would have been easily outcoached by Q.

The Central is the toughest division in hockey, and the Stars won the regular season, but as the greatest player to ever step foot on ice once said “the regular season does not matter.” Ruff’s regular season success is not an indication of his ability, just like regular season success ultimately didn’t matter for Bruce Boudreau and ultimately won’t matter for Barry Trotz.

For the biggest reason I think Ruff needs to leave this team, look no further than the goaltending and defensive issues this year. That defense should have been fine, but under Ruff’s system it wasn’t. Ruff has stuck by Lehtonen, and if he hadn’t, maybe the Stars have better goaltending in the playoffs and got past the Blues. I have to believe Ruff was a part of the mistake that was bringing in Niemi, as well.

The mess on the back end would cost most coaches their job. So why not Ruff?