The Dallas Stars have re-signed Jason Dickinson to a two-year deal worth a total of $3MM. Dickinson was a restricted free agent and had filed for arbitration, but will no longer require his hearing on July 20. GM Jim Nill released a short statement:
Jason is a conscientious player who plays a very detailed, 200-foot game. As last season progressed, he began impacting games night in and night out, and he really established himself during the playoffs. We fully expect him to continue to build upon that and be a big part of our team for years to come.
Dickinson, 24, looked for a time like he might be one of the countless first-round picks that never make much of an impact in the NHL. Selected 29th overall in 2013, he had played just 38 career games coming into the 2018-19 season and had just five points. As Nill says though, that has all changed as he finally established himself as a real full-time option for the Stars and a core piece moving forward. The two-way forward took on a much bigger role in the playoffs and ended up with five points while averaging close to 16 minutes a night.
With a new pair of veteran wingers added to the Stars forward group and an emerging Roope Hintz, Dickinson will need to continue to work hard for every shift of ice time next season. That said, he’ll now be surrounded by even more talent and should be expected to shatter the career-high of 22 points he set last year. The Stars have struggled to find reliable secondary scoring for some time, but will hope Dickinson can add that while not losing any of his defensive acumen.
Dallas now has just two restricted free agents left to sign, most notably defenseman Julius Honka. It’s not clear where Honka fits into the picture for the team next season and with less than $1MM left in cap space there very well could be a trade coming at some point.