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May 27, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) skates with the puck past Dallas Stars defenseman Cody Ceci (44) during the first period in game four of the Western Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Stars Learning the Hard Way That Cody Ceci Is a Defensive Liability

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jesse Courville-Lynch | Last updated May 28, 2025 3:40 PM ET

The Dallas Stars are on the brink of elimination as they trail the Edmonton Oilers, who have a 3-1 series lead after four games, and are hoping for a miracle as they try to get to the Stanley Cup Final. Before the 2025 Trade Deadline, they acquired both Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks as they tried to bolster their depth for a deep playoff run. While Granlund has played extremely well and has contributed at both ends of the ice, Ceci has not played well. Oilers fans, who had to sit through Ceci on their team last season, were aware of how weak he was defensively, but the Stars are learning the hard way that he was not a smart acquisition.

Ceci, who is 31 years old, has three assists through 17 playoff games this season. In the regular season, he played 85 games between two teams scoring four goals and adding 20 assists for 24 points. Throughout his career, he has scored 52 goals and added 183 assists for 235 points through 871 games, which comes out to a 0.27 points-per-game average. His offensive production doesn’t jump off the page, but his defensive play does, because it’s not great. During the playoffs, when he is on the ice, the Stars are worse than when he is off the ice, and by a wide margin.

At 5v5 in this series:

Dallas with Cody Ceci: 44 xG%, -10 in HD chances
Dallas without Cody Ceci: 61 xG%, +10 in HD chances

lmao
— Sid (@NHL_Sid) May 28, 2025

Stars fans were hoping the heavy criticism from Oilers fans was just them being hard on a player, and Ceci could bounce back and showcase why he’s been in the NHL for so long, but he has done quite the opposite. What’s even more concerning is that Ceci is on the Stars’ penalty kill and has been eaten alive in the defensive zone. In Game 4, when the Oilers took a 2-1 lead on a goal from Corey Perry, Ceci was the player who let the pass get under his stick so that Perry could tap it in. He has been a liability for the Stars, and is one of the key reasons why they haven’t been able to win more than one game in the series so far.

Stars Aren’t Out of it Yet, Though

The one positive for the Stars is that they aren’t out of it yet. They have a huge hill to climb but with some offensive production from Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson, they could make the series interesting. Rantanen has had a tough time in this series as he struggles to find offensive consistency, but he can break out at any time and become a problem for the Oilers defenders. The main thing the Stars will have to focus on is shutting down the Oilers’ depth, since they aren’t relying on just Connor McDavid and Leon Draisairtl anymore.

At the end of the day, the Stars likely won’t make any major lineup changes before Game 5, and will have to hope that Ceci, and the rest of the lineup, can fight their way back into the series. Time will tell what happens, but we are just two games away from having a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final between the Oilers and Florida Panthers.

As the 2024-25 postseason moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news from around the NHL and the hockey world.