The Dallas Stars found their way to paydirt more often than not during the 2022-23 NHL regular season, posting the franchise’s best year-end point total (108) in seven years and beating Minnesota and Seattle in the playoffs.
That success came along with the Stars’ lack of aggression, at least in a traditional sense, during the year — with Dallas finishing near the bottom in terms of hits and fights.
With the amount of fights and hits dropping in the NHL year-by-year, people have discussed that a teams’ grit and aggressiveness doesn’t equate to being successful in the modern age of the NHL.
BetTexas utilized MoneyPuck.com to compile the amount of hits by each NHL team and HockeyFights.com to compile the amount of fights by each NHL team in the 2022-23 regular season to find the most aggressive teams.
Unfortunately, fans in the state have no Texas sportsbooks with which to wager on the Stars or any other teams.
It will be 2025 until the Texas Legislature can again debate sports wagering.
NHL’s Least Aggressive Teams
Although there are no Texas betting apps, national sites list Colorado as the Stanley Cup favorite at +800 odds.
Where Stars Ranked In Aggression
The Stars wound up as the fourth-least aggressive NHL team in 2022-23, finishing with the 26th most hits (1,648) and 17th most fights (13).
Overall, Dallas ranked in a tie with the Kings on the NHL’s least aggressive teams list, coming in behind the Hurricanes and Sabres.
The team finished ahead of the No. 5 Devils, while the Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Ducks, Oilers, Blues and Panthers rounded out the top 10.
Of the 10 least aggressive teams by our metrics, only the Sabres (91 points), Blues (81 points) and Red Wings (80 points) missed the postseason last year.
Conversely, the Hurricanes (113 points), Devils (112 points), Maple Leafs (111 points), Avs and Oilers (109 points each), Kings (104 points) and Panthers (92 points) all made playoff runs of varying lengths this year, with the Panthers making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
In a year where Dallas finished 14.5 points ahead of their preseason points total (93.5) and second overall in the NHL’s eight-team Central Division, the silver linings for the Stars were myriad during their 2022-23 run.
There is no BetMGM Sportsbook Texas, but nationally the operator ranks the Stars as +1600 to win the Stanley Cup.
