From ESPN's Scott Burnside:

Such an interesting experiment unfolding in the state of Texas.

The Stars, once a league power before the introduction of a salary cap and the search for a new owner caused some lean years, are looking to reinvent themselves as a Stanley Cup contender.

Ownership is solid under Tom Gaglardi.

Nill, now in his third season at the helm after apprenticing in Detroit for almost two decades, has one of the league's most explosive teams, with defending scoring champ Jamie Benn (the franchise's first Art Ross Trophy winner), Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza.

But after sneaking into the 2013-14 postseason, the Stars could not meet high expectations last season and were plagued by unreliable goaltending and suspect team defense.

Enter Sharp and Chicago Blackhawks teammate Johnny Oduya. The two have five Stanley Cup rings between them. (Well, technically three because both Oduya and Sharp have yet to receive their rings from last June's championship, the third in six years for the dynastic Blackhawks, but expect to later this month in a private ceremony with Chicago officials.)

The additions bring into focus the longstanding question of whether experience is crucial to a team's success.

Continued