The Dallas Stars had a pretty calm summer. They reached the Western Conference Finals last season but lost to the Oilers in six games. With young talents like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, and Thomas Harley getting more training, things are looking up for Dallas. This allowed for a quiet off-season with some strategic moves in the draft, free agency, and re-signings. They aim for another successful year and maybe a final push with 11 pending free agents next summer, including Jamie Benn and Jake Oettinger.
Dallas made three picks in the draft: Emil Hemming from Finland, Niilopekka Muhonen also from Finland, and William Samuelsson from Sweden. Hemming played well in TPS’ Liiga roster this season but needs to improve his playmaking skills. Muhonen is big and strong but needs to get faster . Samuelsson showed good performance as his team’s top center but got picked late due to some weaknesses.
Free Agency Moves:
Dallas was active in free agency but didn’t make any huge NHL impacts. Matt Duchene re-signed for one year at $3M after scoring 25 goals last season. Fans might think this shows his confidence in the team. Other signings included Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba to strengthen their defense after losing Jani Hakanpaa and Christopher Tanev.
The new defense lineup includes Lyubushkin, Brendan Smith, Dumba, Nils Lundkvist, Alexander Petrovic, and Esa Lindell. The right side of their defense is open for competition among these players.
Re-Signings:
Dallas re-signed Mathias Emilio Pettersen, Matej Blumel, and Oskar Back mostly for minor league roles. Blumel had an impressive AHL season with 31 goals while Pettersen showed promise after a mid-season trade.
Departures:
Some players left Dallas including Ty Dellandrea (traded), Radek Faksa (traded), Max Ellis (free agent), Craig Smith (Chicago), Fredrik Karlstrom (Islanders), Scott Reedy (free agent), Christopher Tanev (Toronto), Derrick Pouliot (Tampa Bay), Gavin Bayreuther (Lausanne NL), Jani Hakanpaa (Toronto) along with goalies Cole Brady and Scott Wedgewood.
The departure of Tanev was notable as he was traded to Toronto after it became clear he wouldn’t re-sign with Dallas.
Salary Cap Outlook:
Dallas has $6.244M cap space left which will likely be used up by extending RFA Thomas Harley’s contract before the new season starts.
Key Questions:
Where will prospects fit? Next year’s lineup will feature top prospects like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Thomas Harley along with Mavrik Bourque who had an amazing AHL season .
When will Harley sign? He still needs a contract for next season after proving himself last year with 47 points in 79 games.
What do you think about these changes?
