The 2024 NHL Draft is over, free agency is in full swing, and the Dallas Stars are right in the thick of it. But are they making the moves that will matter next season?

NHL.com contributor and DBD editor-in-chief Taylor Baird joined Wes and Mark on the first day of silly season to sort through the Stars action. On this week's episode of Stargazing, we present a wide-ranging conversation that included topics like these:

• why a Chris Tanev deal didn't (and couldn't) happen
• • what Dallas can do with three right-handed D-men,
  • how the Matt Duchene deal fits into the plan,
  • what to make of the Casey DeSmith signing,
  • and ever so much more.

If you're fretting over fourth-line deployments, you actually may be doing pretty well. Let's go Stargazing. See if you agree. It's brought to you by our buddies at BetOnline.

For future reference, is winning the division an amateur move? Let us know at Defending Big D, or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app. (We're there for you.)

And please don’t forget to rate, review and share. Let's keep the Stars in summer.

The Dallas Stars had a good postseason showing. They took down the past two Stanley Cup champions before injuries, exhaustion, and the risks of playing five defensemen caught up to them. Now it's time to think about what the summer will hold.

In our final 2024 episode of Stargazing After Dark, Wes and Mark discuss the issues that may be keeping you awake at night, too. Such as:

• • how to get Miro Heiskanen on his strong side, once and for all,

• • why not playing games you don't have to play is a pretty good way to play fewer games,

• • whether it's better to have superstars or super depth,

• • and many, many more.

We're Stargazing, and we're assuming Chris Tanev is getting a new Victory Green contract sometime in the next several weeks. Please, help us speak this into existence. We'll bring it to you with some help from our buddies at BetOnline.

What else do you hope the Stars will do during the offseason? Let us know at Defending Big D, or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app. (We only stay there for you.)

And please don’t forget to rate, review and share. It makes us so sadly happy. Really it does.

The Dallas Stars gave up their traditional Game 1 loss. Does this mean the rest of their Western Conference Final is proceeding according to the script? It's impossible to discount the Edmonton Connors Leons Oilers at this stage, but the Victory Green Gang keeps doing what it does best – which is find ways to win.

Wes and Mark are back from their long Memorial Day weekend, and they're here to catch you up on the Death Star vs. The Superstars: surviving the first period, responding to chaos, and never, ever starting to panic.

What do Jason Robertson and Jason Voorhees have in common? Think about it. We have. It's Stargazing time! And, as always, it’s brought to you by our buddies at BetOnline.

Now that we're near the halfway point, how are your predictions holding up? Let us know at Defending Big D, or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app. (We’ll check in, but only for you. Don’t blow it.)

And please don’t forget to rate, review and share. It makes us so sadly happy. Really it does.

It's turning into A Very Special Throwback Series for the Dallas Stars. They took Western Conference Finals-style revenge on the Vegas Golden Knights. They struck down a longtime foe and legendary rival in the Colorado Avalanche.

And now that the Stars have gone through last year's Stanley Cup champions and their most lethal sibling in the #MurderDeathKill Division, they begin a battle for the West against the Edmonton Oilers. And if you're a Stars fan, you know that history even if you weren't around for it.

For a preview worthy of this event, we invited Patrick Phillips, better known on YouTube as The Oilers Fanatic. He sat down with Wes Lawrence and Mark Zimmerman to share memories of series past and to talk about what makes the present so unpredictable. They also got to the usual stuff, like McDavid & Draisaitl Vs. The World, the Jake Oettinger supremacy, how defense has shaped both squads, and how each of our favorite teams will win and lose.

What was your first experience of being devastated by sports? Let’s talk about it. We're Stargazing in the morning! And, as always, it’s brought to you by our buddies at BetOnline.

Will this Stars-Oilers series live up to the hype? Share your thoughts at Defending Big D, or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the Default Font From The ’90s app. (We’ll check in, but only for you. Don't blow it.)

And please don’t forget to rate, review and share. That high will last us all weekend. Thanks in advance.

The Dallas Stars earned some much-needed rest this week – but here at Stargazing, we never sleep. It's time to assess what went right (and wrong) in Round 2, and get ready for a really big show in the Western Conference Finals.

In this episode, Wes Lawrence and Mark Zimmerman discuss how Chris Tanev countered Nathan MacKinnon, the art of overtime playoffs line-blending, the importance of the team game to the Stars' strategy, and what may be their biggest concern going forward. Plus there's so much more – including a look at what might have happened in a Dallas-Vancouver series that's been, ahhhh, overtaken by events.

The Stars aren't facing the Minotaur. They are the Minotaur. Let's discuss it...while we're Stargazing After Dark. It’s brought to you by BetOnline.

What are you looking for in the Stars' next series? Let’s talk about it at Defending Big D – or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app.

And hey, throw us a rate, review or share. We can prove it will bring good luck. Maybe. Someday. Not now, of course.

The Dallas Stars keep finding ways to win over the Colorado Avalanche. How long until the Avs find a countermove? We've all been thinking it, because we're Stars fans, and we can't have nice things.

Wes Lawrence and Mark Zimmerman actually sat down to talk about it. In this edition, they go in-depth into what the Stars are doing right, the likelihood that the Avalanche will figure them out, the possible impact of injuries, and how the Victory Green Gang can definitively make the story their own.

If you've been keeping up with these guys, you may have noticed that their predictions tend to come true. Listen to Stargazing After Dark...and learn the future! It's all part of the service we provide...thanks to BetOnline.

Will the Stars close the deal tonight? Let's talk about it at Defending Big D – or DM us your questions and concerns @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app.

And hey, throw us a rate, review or share and keep those prognostications coming. It won't work unless you do it!

The unstoppable road team met the immoveable home team, and we saw who blinked first. The Dallas Stars copped a big win off the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend, and now, it seems, we're getting somewhere.

It's OK, Stars fans, you still have time to panic. But Wes Lawrence and Mark Zimmerman took a long look at a game the Avs were supposed to win, on paper...and they liked what they saw. No, really. In this edition, they look at how the Victory Green Gang righted the ship at home and took away the game Colorado wanted to play in their own barn. And, as always, they have ideas about how to make it continue, because something something Big Hockey Brains.

You already know a big Nate MacKinnon game is coming. The question is, how do you prepare for it? We have answers...because we're Stargazing After Dark. And now you can, too, thanks to BetOnline.

What's surprised you most about this series so far? For better or otherwise? Tell us about at Defending Big D – or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app. Casters are waiting for your call. (Heed the suggestive saxophone riff. Listen to it.)

And please throw us a rate, review or share if you're so inclined. It truly, truly makes our day. Thanks in advance.

The one period of Game 1 in which the Dallas Stars should have expected more goals than the Colorado Avalanche was overtime – i.e., the period in which they ultimately lost the match. It's just one of the infuriating twists that the postseason will throw at you, if you get that far.

Settle down – this isn't a doomcast. But Wes and Mark do have some thoughts about line matchups, the important role of chaos, and whether the Stars should try to make the Avs' top line play every third shift and clean up on all the others.

Maybe it's time for Mason Marchment to come back. It's definitely time for Stargazing After Dark. And it’s brought to you by BetOnline.

What has you most hyped about Round 2 – for better or otherwise? Let’s talk about it at Defending Big D – or DM us @WesALawrence or @KETibbetts on the short app. Casters are waiting for your call. (We even have a suggestive saxophone riff, so you know we mean it.)

And if you throw us a rate, review or share, we'll clap like Nugget the Circus Seal. Thanks in advance.