Trey

Using all remaining cap space means we are locked in. No more moves possible. What we have now is what we are going to the playoffs with. I hope it is enough.

The top-6 winger addition is exactly what this team needed. Another legitimate scoring threat means opposing teams cannot focus their entire defensive scheme on one line. The first-round pick cost hurts but you have to pay to win.

Texas being the 7th-largest state for youth hockey is a stat that would have been laughable in 1993. The Stars franchise deserves enormous credit for investing in grassroots development rather than just focusing on the NHL product.

Going from 2,000 youth players to 18,000 in 30 years is remarkable growth. In a state with no natural ice and no hockey tradition, the Stars organization built this from nothing. The StarCenter investment was critical.

STH Facebook groups are the secret. Season ticket holders who cannot make a game will sell below face value just to recoup something. I have gotten $100 seats for $50 multiple times.

Miro Heiskanen is going to be the best defenseman in franchise history when it is all said and done. He is 26 and already one of the top 10 defensemen in the NHL. The ceiling is Norris Trophy.

Sergei Zubov being in the Hall of Fame was long overdue. His skating ability at 6-1, 200 pounds was mesmerizing. He could carry the puck through an entire team and make it look effortless.

The 1999 and 2020 playoff runs both had elite goaltending. Belfour at .930 and Khudobin at .917 carried their teams. That is the baseline for a deep Stars playoff run.

Goaltending is THE position in hockey playoffs. Nothing else matters if your goalie is not stopping pucks. The starter needs to be .916 or better for us to have a chance in a 7-game series.

Colorado games at AAC still hit different. The crowd is louder, the intensity is higher, and there is a respect for the history of the matchup that newer rivalries do not have.

The upcoming free agency decisions are going to be painful. There are players on this team that fans love who simply cannot be re-signed under the cap. That is the reality of the hard cap.

The logarithmic decibel scale explanation is important. 115 dB is not just a little louder than 105 dB. It is perceived as approximately TWICE as loud. The AAC during a Stars playoff game is genuinely painful to your eardrums. I wear earplugs now and I am not ashamed.

The Texas Stars AHL affiliate is doing good work developing players. The jump from AHL to NHL is real but having a well-run development league team matters.

The top forward prospect is going to be a player. 68 points in 58 AHL games at age 22 is legitimately dominant. He should make the team out of camp next year and play top-6 minutes.

Jersey number 9 being retired was emotional. The ceremony at AAC was packed. Modano tearing up on the ice was the most human moment I have seen from a professional athlete.

Modano is the reason hockey exists in Texas. Not the owners, not the coaches — Modano. He personally went to elementary schools and taught kids how to hold a stick. That grassroots work built a fanbase.

The Colorado WCF in 7 games was actually harder than the Final. That Avalanche team was loaded. Beating Sakic, Forsberg, and Roy in 7 games was the real championship moment.

I was 11 years old watching Game 6 in triple overtime. It was past midnight. My parents let me stay up. When Hull scored I screamed so loud the neighbors called. That goal made me a hockey fan for life.

Tip for newcomers: sit lower level behind the glass at least once. When a 200-pound player hits the boards 3 feet from your face at 20 MPH, you understand why people love this sport.

I grew up a football fan and went to my first Stars game in 2022 knowing nothing about hockey. It is now my favorite live sport. The speed, the physicality, the atmosphere — nothing else compares in person.

The power play adjustment in November was the turning point of the season. Going from 18% to 24% on the PP is massive. That is an extra goal every 4-5 power plays. It adds up over a season.

Fastball going from 96.2 to 97.8 in the postseason is the adrenaline factor. He threw harder when it mattered more.

Combining multiple spring training games makes the trip incredible. Surprise Saturday, Scottsdale Sunday, Tempe Monday.

Health monitoring is quietly the most valuable application. Keeping pitchers healthy saves tens of millions in replacement costs.

The revenue increase justifies the ownership investment. But the public should have negotiated harder for their $500M contribution.

The 40% attendance increase in August tells you everything. People were avoiding heat stroke, not the team.