There's a scene in the movie Rounders, where John Malkovich playing Teddy KGB displays what in poker is known as a 'tell'; a signal of information that need not be positive or negative in order to be dramatically revealing. The Dallas Stars could have been the mad Russian, cracking open a warm Oreo cookie for every made hand in Poker, showing the hockey world what they're truly holding as a team. Instead they're still carrying along, bucking the trend of what they revealed last season.
Easily coaxed broad narratives are what we call "hot takes" in the sports world.