Stars trying to revive NHL-worst penalty kill

FRISCO, Texas -- Fixing an NHL-worst penalty kill was one of the main priorities this offseason for the Dallas Stars, which is why they acquired center Martin Hanzal and defenseman Marc Methot.
"Hopefully I can help with that," Hanzal said Tuesday during his formal introduction. "Hopefully I can bring my size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), my penalty-kill specialist, my size in front of the net, and I think we'll be fine."
The Stars signed Hanzal as a free agent on July 1, and made a trade for Methot with the Vegas Golden Knights on June 26 after the Ottawa Senators lost him in the NHL Expansion Draft.

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Last season, the Stars' penalty kill was at 73.9 percent, the NHL's worst statistical penalty kill since the 1993-94 Senators killed 73.3 percent of their penalties. Dallas failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs after winning the Central Division in 2015-16.

"If we're going to be a consistent playoff team, we've got to be in the top 10, 12 of your special teams," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "Part of that is penalty kill, and that's important. If you're going to win games late -- 2-1 game with two minutes to go and you get a penalty -- you've got to kill those off. And these guys are both going to be a big part of that."
Hanzal's faceoffs will be a key in defensive situations, Nill said. Hanzal won 56.4 percent of his faceoffs last season for the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild, and also could move into Dallas' top six forwards, with Jason Spezza moving to wing.
"Win the faceoff, get it down, and you gain 30 seconds (on the penalty kill)," the 30-year-old said. "So it's part of my job. I think I've been doing a good job so far in the circle and hopefully I can do it here in Dallas."
The two are among several significant additions made by the Stars, including goalie Ben Bishop, forward Alexander Radulov and coach Ken Hitchcock.

Methot, 32, is a veteran who can pair with one of their three young right-handed defensemen: John Klingberg, Stephen Johns or Julius Honka.
"It's a good mix, some veterans and some younger guys as well, it's what you want," Methot said. "When you've got guys that can maybe show a little bit to the younger guys with that veteran leadership, and at the same time you've got young guys that keep us moving and keep us young at heart."
Methot played on the Senators' top defense pair with Erik Karlsson and could find himself with Klingberg, another offensive-minded defenseman.
"They're both fantastic defensemen, in a sense maybe a little different," Methot said. "I think with guys like that, you've just [got] to give them the puck when you can and support them when you can, and being able to skate with them and keep up is huge too. And I think I can do that and I think I can keep up with just about anybody."