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Stargazing, A Dallas Stars Puckcast – Episode 308: Texas Stars Fall Update 2025

Stephen Meserve joins Mark to talk about what’s going wrong (and right) with the Texas Stars and the Idaho Steelheads.

Defending Big D's Stargazing podcast logo, featuring a Dallas Stars Victory Green cassette tape with tearaway jersey texture and nets over the sprocket holes, designed by Jason Lara
Logo design: Jason Lara | @NHLMaps

The Dallas Stars are having themselves a season, injuries and roster holes and recent losses notwithstanding. But this year, that success has come at an organizational cost — and their brethren in Cedar Park have often been the ones paying it.

Mark Zimmerman loves discussing the Texas Stars, and even more so when he can enlist Stephen Meserve to talk with. Late last week, the founder of the go-to T-Stars news site 100 Degree Hockey and co-author of We Win Here: The Definitive Essays You Need About The Texas Stars joined him for a fireside chat.

In this episode, they talk about the slump in special teams, the boost the offense needs, the long-term effects of trading away draft picks, the surprisingly happy news about the defense and goaltending, and why Texas is still in striking distance of the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs in spite of all their challenges. As a bonus, they also ponder how the Idaho Steelheads just. keep. winning. Somehow.

Who would you like to see step and be That Guy in Metro Austin? Tell us in the comments. We may even discuss your thoughts in a future cast. (No, really!)

And, as always, please rate, review, or share wherever you get your ’casts. We’re Stargazing, and we love you.

If there's one thing the Dallas Stars don't have to worry about, it's their tandem in net. But what do fans expect to see from Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith in 2026-27? In this episode of Stargazing, Wes and Mark talk about the synergy between the net and the blueline, the importance of staying healthy (and how much that's worth paying for), the factors that stats can't seem to capture, the Him vs. Dog of it all, and ever so much more. Really, who cares about save percentage? We're Stargazing, and we'd rather get credit for the wins. Let’s talk about it at Defending Big D. And please give us a rate, review, or share wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Stargazing. We love you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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