The Stars have added some grit and experience to their back end. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports (Twitter link) that Dallas has inked defenseman Roman Polak to a one-year contract.
Polak has spent the last four seasons with Toronto (aside from a brief stint with the Sharks as a rental player in 2015-16) but has seen his playing time and role decrease lately. Last season, he played in just 54 games, collecting a dozen points while averaging 17:39 of ice time, primarily on their third pairing.
It’s likely that the 32-year-old will fill a similar role with Dallas. They’ve already lost one right-shot defender in Greg Pateryn in free agency while veteran Dan Hamhuis is also an unrestricted free agent.
The Stars will be counting on Polak to provide some grit and shot blocking, elements that have long been a part of his game. He has averaged nearly 3.4 hits per game over the last four years along with just shy of 1.9 blocks per night in that span.
Hopefully just a 7th defenseman.
Lindell – Klingberg
Methot – Johns
Heiskanen – Honka
Polak
God let him be the scratch D. If they signed him to play over Honka I’m going to be pissed. Hate this move..