Adam Burish #16 RW

• 28 years old. Will be entering his sixth season of NHL play next year.
• 1 year left on his contract. Restricted free agent in the 2012-2013 season.
• Will make $1.15 million next season.

The Adam Burish effect on the Dallas Stars is, in a word, perplexing. Even though he had peak numbers in many of his offensive stats, he didn't exactly score a lot of goals or garner a lot of assists. And yet, there could be a case made that Burish was one of the most important players on the team.

Mark Fistric #28 D

• 24 years old. Will be entering his fourth season of NHL play next year.
• 1 year left on his contract. Restricted free agent in the 2012-2013 season.
• Will make $1 million next season.

Mark Fistric hasn't quite lived up to his expectations since being drafted in the first round in 2004 and this year was more of the same, although it might not be entirely his fault. Fistric is out there to do one thing, hit people and be a physical presence out on the ice. 

Jamie Benn #14 LW

• 21 years old. Will be entering his third season of NHL play next year.
• 1 year left on his contract. Restricted free agent in the 2012-2013 season.
• Will make $821,667 next season.

After watching the Stars this season, it's become obvious that the future of this team will rest on the shoulders of Jamie Benn. The 21-year-old was drafted two years ago in the 5th round of the NHL draft, and quickly became one of the best prospects in the organization.

Tom Wandell #23 C

• 24 years old. Will be entering his fourth season of NHL play next year.
• 1 year left on his contract. Restricted free agent in the 2012-2013 season.
• Will make $775,000 next season.

Tom Wandell did this year what a third/fourth line player is supposed to do; get on the ice and play hard during your limited time on the ice. He's not someone who is expected to score goals, only check hard and win puck battles. Through team injuries and other circumstances, Wandell found himself playing more than expected during the year. Before the injury bug hit the team in latter half of the season, Wandell's minutes flucuated and he played anywhere from six minutes to fifteen minutes a game.

• 27 years old
• 6 years left on his contract. Unrestricted free agent in the 2017-2018 season.
• Will make $3.3 million next season.

In a disappointing season (at the end at least), one of the brightest spots was the play of Trevor Daley. Due to a combination of injuries and lack of roster depth, Daley was thrust into the top pair of the defense for much of the season. He responded by putting up or tying career highs in goals, assists, points and basically every other offensive category on the board. After Alex Goligoski came to Dallas in a trade, Daley was moved back to the second line, which is where he belongs on this team.

Brad Richards #91 C

• 30 years old
• Unrestricted free agent
• Made $7.8 million last year

Despite another injury shortened season (his fourth in a row), Brad Richards was the Dallas Stars' leader in points and top-three in goals and assists. As one the key pointmen in the power-play, Richards was their leader in power-play assists and it was obvious that the offense ran through Richards.

With a healthy Richards, Dallas was rolling along and looked like a solid bet to break their playoff drought. Richards started the season on fire, recording multiple points in the first four games of the season which were all Dallas wins. Richards had at least 14 points in the first four months of the season and was a consistent goal scorer.

Brenden Morrow #10 LW

• 32 years old.
• 2 years left on his contract.
• Will make $4.1 million next year.

Season stats and career high comparison:

The captain of the Dallas Stars was, as usual, the heart and soul of the team again this year. He played through numerous injuries throughout the season and for only the third time in his 10 year career, he played in all 82 regular season games.

Reports surfaced yesterday from Dallas Morning News reporter Mike Heika that Tom Gaglardi, a Vancouver businessman, has become the latest leading candidate on the carousel to buy the Dallas Stars.

The 43-year-old Gaglardi is the current president and heir to a billion-dollar Canadian hotel and restaurant chain called Northland Properties. He is the majority owner in the Kamloops Blazers (that's an interesting name), a team in the Western Hockey League andd was part of a team that tried to buy the Vancouver Canucks when they were up for sale in 2004. Hockey seems to be pretty high up on his priority list so that would a welcome change from the Tom Hicks era. 

Coming into the season, the Dallas Stars had question about the ownership of the team. Unfortunately, six months later, those questions still remain unanswered as their offseason rolls around and roster changes come to the forefront of the mind.

The Stars were ranked number 23 out of 30 in the league in terms of payroll at the end of the season. Despite their low payroll, they were one point away from making the playoffs.

Heading into the next season, the Stars will have eight free agents to think about and somewhere a little over $20 million to play around with. It is still unknown whether or not the Stars will spend money near the cap limit, although it's quite doubtful. The salary cap had a limit of $59.4 million this year and that number is expected to expand by $3 million more for next year.

The most scrutinized free agent will be Brad Richards, who has already come out and said that he will not return to the team if they do not get an owner. With things looking as they are for the Stars, it's going to be a tough time trying to re-sign Richards.

After watching the first set of games in the NHL playoffs, I've realized that without the Stars, I have absolutely no rooting interests this year. Playoff games are exciting enought as they are, but a team to root for would certainly be nice. So as Stars fan, what team would be acceptable? The city closest to Dallas (Nashville Predators)? The team with the most goals (Vancouver Canucks)? The most exciting player (lots of choices here)?

After juggling a few ideas, I've decided that the team with the most former Dallas Stars would be the most appropriate, that is if you don't already have a team to root for. So without further ado, here's the list of former Stars in this year's NHL playoffs and a few reasons why, or why not, to root for their respective teams.