Dallas Stars NHL Season Preview: Betting Odds, Predictions, Key Games | Dallas Observer
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The Dallas Stars Are Back, But Will They Be Better Than Ever?

The experts seem to think the Stars have a big season ahead of them. Here's how to keep up.
Young Stars like Wyatt Johnston (53) and Logan Stankoven are a big reason Dallas will succeed in 2024–25.
Young Stars like Wyatt Johnston (53) and Logan Stankoven are a big reason Dallas will succeed in 2024–25. Getty Images
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We were so close, yet so far. Just four months ago the Dallas Stars were, yet again, in the NHL’s Western Conference Final, fighting for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. But the final four of hockey might as well have been the final 40, given the way the Edmonton Oilers powered their way through the series to send the Stars home for the offseason.

But there’s always next year, they say. Even if “they” have a point, it doesn't mean that the next season will be a good one. The Stars have had a really good run lately, so who's to say that the window to glory hasn’t closed? As it turns out, just about everyone says that it hasn’t.

Thanks to the Stars' talent-packed roster of really, and we mean, really, young players, the media isn’t yet ready to give up on picking them not just to win their division in 2024–25, but to make some serious noise when the playoffs roll around. And for those of you who like to put a little money on the line, the sportsbook oddsmakers are also rather high on your local hockey club.

The New York Post predicts the Stars will again win the Central Division, writing “Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell anchor a deep blueline, while the forward group is as deep as any team in the league and should only get better with Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque receiving bigger roles.”

In its team preview, NHL.com noted that youngsters such as Mavrik Borque, Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankhoven will provide perhaps the biggest keys to the team's success this season.

The sportswriters at USA Today are also among the members of the hockey media who think the Stars have a lot more left in the tank, and one of them picks the Stars to win it all. The Athletic’s NHL staff was polled to name a 2025 champ, and Dallas received the second-highest percentage of votes, behind, you guessed it, Edmonton. All-star scorer Jason Robertson also was named as one of the top favorites to win the Hart Trophy this season, awarded annually to the league’s MVP.


As for that grand prize, the chance to skate around the rink with Lord Stanley’s Cup after the final buzzer sounds, the betting experts seem to think our Stars have a realistic shot as well. The FanDuel sportsbook, for example, has the Stars tied for third-best odds to win the Stanley Cup right now at +1,000, just behind defending Cup champs Florida Panthers and those dastardly Oilers, who are the betting favorites to take it all this year at +800.

Here’s some key information for the 2024–25 Dallas Stars season:

How to Watch

For the first time ever, the Dallas Stars are making their regional broadcasts available to the public for free on the Victory+ app. Viewers do not need an existing cable or streaming subscription to watch the vast majority of regular season games that in the past have been broadcast on Bally’s Sports Southwest. A small number of games, however, will be exclusively broadcast on national channels/streamers including Max, Hulu, ESPN+, TNT and ABC.

Key Games

  • Thursday, Oct. 10: Dallas Stars @ Nashville Predators (opening night)

  • Saturday, Oct. 12: New York Islanders @ Dallas Stars (first regular season game available on Victory+)

  • Saturday, Oct. 19: Edmonton Oilers @ Dallas Stars (2024 Western Conference Finals rematch)

  • Friday, Nov. 1: Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers (Global Series Game 1 in Finland against defending Stanley Cup champion)

  • Saturday, Nov. 2: Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers (Global Series Game 2 in Finland against defending Stanley Cup champion)

  • Friday, Nov. 29: Colorado Avalanche @ Dallas Stars (first game against top Western Conference rival)

  • Monday, Dec. 2: Dallas Stars @ Utah Hockey Club (first game against first-year NHL expansion team)

  • Wednesday, March 26: Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers (final regular season game against Edmonton that could help determine playoff position)
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