After failing to make the playoffs in the 2016-17 season, the Stars reloaded in earnest. Dallas' hockey club brought back coach Ken Hitchcock, who led the team to its only Stanley Cup championship in 1999, traded for goaltender Ben Bishop and signed him to long-term extension, and signed Russian play-making forward Alexander Radulov to a five-year contract. Mix in the acquisition of defender Marc Methot, who should help shore up the team's balky back line, and the Stars have the look of a team that could be among the best in the Western Conference, as it was in 2015-16. The future looks bright, too. Because they missed the playoffs, the Stars landed the third pick in the 2017 NHL draft, picking Finnish defenseman Miro Heiskanen. Heiskanen is expected to play in Europe for at least one more season, but he is the kind of smooth-skating, puck-handling defenseman teams dream about.