During the off-season, the Dallas Stars have made a few acquisitions. Some moves will be questioned by fans, such as acquiring Colin Miller from the Buffalo Sabres. Other moves are seen as a slam dunk. Notably who we will be talking about today: Mason Marchment.
Offensive ability
A big need for Dallas is depth at scoring. One who can support one of the top lines in the NHL; Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski and Jason Roberson. Preferably a guy who can play, and score on the second line. So, the Stars signed forward Mason Marchment to a four year deal. Stars GM Jim Nill is happy about the catch this year of free agency.
“Mason is a young and talented two-way player that will immediately bolster our lineup,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “He possesses offensive skill and has shown he has the size, physicality and grit to make an impact on both sides of the puck.”
Physical play
Not only is scoring being added to the lineup, but so is a physical element that has been missing since Jamie Oleksiak left for the Seattle Kraken. After John Klingberg got rat at by the Calgary Flames in the postseason this spring, Jim Nill surely knew the Stars needed a tough guy on the team to stand up for the team’s star players. Mason Marchment can certainly fight. This is great news for guys like Jason Roberson, Miro Heiskanen, and Roope Hintz.
2022 breakout
Last season with the Florida Panthers, Mason Marchment had a breakout season. 2022 being the final year in his contract, the winger posted career numbers. The Stars rewarded him with a four year deal, and are hoping last season was no fluke.
Of course there is a risk in signing a guy who is coming off of a career year that was also a contract year. However, the Stars have had problems with depth scoring for the past five years. So this is can be seen as a calculated risk. Plus, Mason Marchment doesn’t have an injury plagued history so that makes his four year deal all the more stable.
He wants to be here
As important as anything else that can be said, Mason Marchment wanted to be a Star. In particular Stars new head coach Pete DeBoer, and assistant coach, Steve Spott. Marchment talked about his friendship with both coaches in a zoom call.
“Spotter and my old man were friends for a long time, and I used to go watch games with my dad in Kitchener and see Spotter after the games and he was always great to me,” Marchment said in his first zoom call with the media on Thursday. “I met Pete when he started coaching the Sharks and my dad worked there. I had a little conversation with him, and it seems like he really believes in this group. I do too, so I think it’s going to be a great fit.”
Photo credit: lastwordonsports.com
Conclusion
Signing Mason Marchment was a win for the Dallas Stars. They picked up a guy who is going to provide depth scoring. Barring injury. Marchment also adds an enforcer role to the team that was missing when the Stars played the Calgary Flames in the playoffs. Jim Nill killed two birds with one stone.
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