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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Takeaways From The Stars’ Stanley Cup Diary

From Klingberg’s charisma to Heiskanen’s humor, Sean Shapiro brings his “We’re Not Going Home” highlights. Plus, fantasy player predictions, Reverse Retros ranked, and more.

The Dallas Stars have released their second Stanley Cup Chronicle in two decades. And while “We’re Not Going Home” doesn’t have the happy ending of “Nothing Else Matters,” it still contains material Stars fans will be talking about for years.

The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro pulled out some of the biggest takeaways in his latest post. Additionally, he got Stars senior producer Jeff Toates to share his insights on the process – which included asking Jamie Benn for authorization to use the “raw and heartbreaking” dressing room footage he got after the Stars’ Game 6 loss:

“I was kind of holding my breath, waiting to hear back on that,” Toates said. “Beyond scrambling to replace it, that makes the whole thing, in my opinion. It’s impactful. It’s a lasting image of what the run meant to these guys.”

Benn’s lengthy stay in the locker room is why he was late coming to his postgame news conference. After players and head coach Rick Bowness had spoken, the media left the Zoom chat and was called back in. Benn was emotional throughout his 93-second news conference, taking three questions, unable to answer one and choking up while answering the other two. As we now know through the documentary, that rush of emotion began long before he stepped to the podium.

There were other standout moments, featuring Miro Heiskanen’s dry wit, John Klingberg’s on-camera charisma, and the injured Ben Bishop’s powerful behind-the-scenes influence. But perhaps the most revealing was the picture of head coach Rick Bowness that emerged from the footage:

...He challenged players by bringing up media clippings or talking about how the other team wanted to play against the Stars. He asked players to share stuff on any opposing players they had insight on from past experiences. He used outside material as well, at one point showing quotes from Wayne Gretzky and before Game 7 against the Colorado Avalanche, showing the “I’m not going home” speech from “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The Bowness that was shown in the documentary is different from what is shown in news conferences but lines up with what players have always said about him.

There’s more behind the paywall. [The Athletic DFW]

Stars Stuff

It’s baaa-aaack, and yet not. What do you think of the 21st-century Star Poncho?

Meanwhile, the previous day, Sean had this hot take ready to go.

Around The Leagues

Speaking of hot takes, here’s Matt Larkin suggesting that a rotisserie-league GM probably shouldn’t do something crazy like trading a second-round pick for Miro Heiskanen.

Mark Lazerus hates the original Star Poncho, so clearly all his taste is in his mouth. That said, you tell me if he’s wrong about his Reverse Retro power rankings. [The Athletic]

The Chicago Blackhawks are the only team that teased its new design with a full reverse shot. Ken Campbell points out the elephant in the room.

Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave died in April. His funeral is still on hold due to the pandemic. His widow shared COVID-19’s unexpected impacts in a viral Instagram post.

Finally

Big takeaway from “We’re Not Going Home”: The Stars sure do love their golf. Enjoy.

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