Dallas Stars’ Up and Down July 1st
For the Dallas Stars, the first day of the NHL’s free agency period was, for the most part, bad news.
This off-season has seen its highs and lows.
From losing a franchise future piece of the puzzle, to resigning a fan favorite.
Dallas this summer, in the salary-cap world, has already seen quite a bit.
Dallas Mav Will Be Missed
Mavrik Bourque has been traded to the Nashville Predators. Undoubtedly, the biggest downside to the day for the Stars and their fans. Bourque fit in well and provided depth scoring. But in the business that is the NHL, sacrifices have to be made, especially in the salary cap world.
Moving Bourque does clear a little bit of cap space. But losing a proven depth forward that looked to be a part of the team’s future is a bitter pill to swallow. Dallas will likely have to pull another guy up from the Texas Stars or try to make a trade between now and next spring to fill that gap.
Dallas Can’t Deal
The NHL’s no-trade clause prevented the Stars from trading a player and adding another guy. Dallas and the Seattle Kraken had a deal in place to trade Robertson. But the deal was declined by Robertson, and the no-trade clause. Robertson wants to stay in Dallas (he also declined to go to the St. Louis Blues) but is trying to make as much money as he can.
It wasn’t just about not being able to deal with Robertson when the players’ no-trade clause kicked in. Dallas had a deal in place to trade Thomas Harley and Mavrik Bourque to the Blue Jackets for Zack Werenski. An agreement between the two teams, vetoed by Werenski himself. He wanted to stay out east, close to his family. Harley is making over 10 million a year through 2024. So he should be fine. Understanding the nature and logistics of the business.
Is Nill Peaking Over the Fence?
Connor McDavid’s current contract with the Edmonton Oilers is up next year. Auston Matthews’ contract in Toronto with the Maple Leafs will be up in 2028. Nill would surprise nobody if he tried to acquire either of those two guys next summer or at any other time.
The Stars are going to have a lot more cap space to work with next summer. Especially with Tyler Seguin’s contract coming off the books. By then, more likely than not, Nill and the Stars will be looking to jump-start the team if the team falls short of playing in June.
It Wasn’t All Bad
Good news for Stars fans, Joel Kiviranta resigned with his old team. JFK is back in Dallas. That cult following amongst Stars fans is back in Dallas. For a team looking for depth, and timely goal scoring they’re hoping Kiviranta can add that scoring touch and get the Stars back to one of the West’s best and (hopefully) more.
Already having a cult following amongst Stars fans, Kiviranta re-joining Dallas was the best news on a largely sour first day of NHL free agency. Time will tell how much scoring Kiviranta will provide to the team. But a morale boost from a guy who created one of the greatest memories in a Stars uniform is more than welcome.
Since July 1st…
Dallas continues to make moves after this past Wednesday. Jamie Benn will be playing his 18th NHL season. His entire NHL career has been in Dallas. Many Stars fans are on the fence about the re-signing (that everybody saw coming), given his decline in production and ill-advised penalties in the postseason.
Nill and the Stars have also made many minor moves. The biggest story of those smaller transactions has been the extension given to Arttu Hyry. The Stars liked what they saw from the young Fin last year and hope he can provide more depth scoring for the team.
Odds are likely that Robertson will still be a Star come October. Already going into arbitration, Robertson wants to stay in Dallas. He’s also looking to get paid as much money as he can get away with.
Robertson has been great for the Stars. It’s also unfortunate for Dallas that he’s trying to take so much from their cap space.
But it’s also his right as a player.
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Categorized:Stars