How Seguin has shown up for Dallas and embodied the definition of depth

Tyler Seguin has said on several occasions this season that "things happen for a reason."
That theory seems to be playing out perfectly on the ice for the 31-year-old forward.
Seguin has endured a lot in recent years, overcoming a sliced Achilles tendon, knee and hip surgeries, and an odd recovery that took away a lot of strength in his quadriceps. He missed most of the 2020-21 season and then had to find a way to get himself back into the flow of the game last season. The highly skilled forward, who once relied upon speed as his primary weapon, turned into a grittier player who fought to get space in front of the net. It was a tough fight, but Seguin ended up with 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games in his return to play last season.
It was an important step in understanding what he can do to help the Stars.

"You have to fight through it, you have to find a way," he said. "So that's what I did."
This season, Seguin has been able to stretch his game more, showing some speed and using his trusty old one-timer. In trying to find chemistry with Mason Marchment and Max Domi, Seguin has looked like his old self at times. But when Joe Pavelski was hurt in Game 1, the Stars needed Seguin to merge everything that has happened in the past two seasons. In taking Pavelski's place on the top line and the first power play, Seguin has found himself playing more like Pavelski.
In Game 2, Seguin had a perfect deflection for a key power play goal. In Game 4, he battled in front and helped create enough chaos to allow another man advantage goal to slip through a crowd of bodies. Late in the game, he snapped in a power play goal for what would turn out to be the game-winner. Seguin is meshing the old with the new and seems to have found a healthy balance to his play.
It was a nice sign for a team that hasn't had too many injuries this season, and as a result is still learning to manage them.
"We need him, and I think he knows that," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "He did it earlier in the year. Roope Hintz went down, and we plugged Seggy in there for I think it was probably six, seven, eight games, and he really played well and filled Roope's shoes. I think that's what scoring depth gives you. It's a great luxury to be able to have a guy like Seguin playing in the depth of your lineup, so when someone goes down at the top, he's played that role his entire career."
Seguin even calls himself a depth scorer these days. He has played most of the season on the second power play unit, and one could call his line the "third" line on most nights because the Wyatt Johnston / Jamie Benn line has been so good. Seguin still was able to come up with 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) in 76 games, but he's clearly down from where he was when he was a point-a-game player for his first six seasons in Dallas.
That said, he's in a pretty good place when you consider everything he's been through.
"It's about practicing those things you never really have," Seguin said of the things he has learned in the past two years. "That's something I've taken a lot of pride in and continue to do. I looked at different areas of the game to play a different kind of style, and getting to that net-front, getting in those dirty areas, I just continue to try and work on that."
He's picking a good time to do it. Injuries have hurt Seguin in previous postseason runs, and he just hasn't had the numbers when he's been healthy. His best playoff performance was four goals in 13 games in 2019, and he already has three goals in four games this season. That's huge, because the Wild are trying to play a physical game, and the Stars' best defense is scoring on the power play. Dallas leads the playoffs with seven power play goals and is second in efficiency at 43.8 percent.
"It's critical. It's been the series," DeBoer said when asked the importance of the man advantage in dictating style. "We've talked about this. They're a physical team, they chase physical play, and we have to make them pay for that when they do. I think we've done that."
Dallas has capitalized on these opportunities, in large part because Seguin has stepped up and displayed some important versatility.
"A lot of that hockey in the playoffs is about being uncomfortable and doing things you don't usually do," Seguin said when asked about answering to the physical play.
He's showing that grit in a goal-scoring capacity, but the theory is still the same. Seguin has learned over the years the importance of playing outside of his comfort zone, and now there's a real opportunity to use those lessons.
"He's a great player," goalie Jake Oettinger said. "I mean, he's Tyler Seguin, so it's not really shocking."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika