Offseason Keys: Dallas Stars

The offseason is now upon us with the Stanley Cup being awarded earlier this week.  Having covered all of the teams that missed the postseason or were eliminated before the Stanley Cup Final, let’s take a look at the teams in that final matchup, beginning with the Stars.

The Stars managed to qualify for the seeding portion of the NHL’s Return to Play on the backs of solid defensive play and goaltending as only three teams scored fewer goals than they did before the pandemic hit.  While their offensive scuffling continued for parts of the playoffs, they were able to get past Calgary, Colorado, and Vegas before ultimately falling to Tampa Bay and did so with their backup goalie in net for the overwhelming majority of the postseason.  Accordingly, GM Jim Nill’s keys to a successful offseason largely revolve around taking care of his own players (while he waits on Rick Bowness to decide if he wants the full-time coaching job) rather than trying to make any significant splashes in terms of adding top talent from elsewhere.

Re-Sign Or Replace Khudobin

With Ben Bishop only able to make three playoff starts, Anton Khudobin was forced to carry the load.  While he had struggled in the undisputed number one role in previous opportunities over the years, he made the most of it in the playoffs, posting a 2.69 GAA with a .917 SV% in 25 games played.  He already was on his way to being one of the more intriguing unrestricted free agents between the pipes.  With this performance under his belt, he certainly has cemented himself as one of the top free agents available which is great news for him, but not so much for Dallas.

Bishop has been limited in recent years in terms of starts, making no more than 51 in any of his three seasons with the Stars.  Part of that is due to injury but part of it is also managing his workload.  He turns 34 next month and still has three years left on his contract.  Khudobin, a backup that is capable of playing more of a 1B role, was a perfect fit in that sense.  But now the Russian has a chance to command a cap hit that could be close to the $4.916MM AAV that Bishop carries on his deal.  With several other players to re-sign (more on them later on), they may not be able to afford to keep Khudobin, especially if they want to try to add least add another forward to give them a bit more scoring depth.

The good news for Dallas here is that there is no shortage of free agent options available and by all accounts, there are a few netminders available in trades as well.  But they’re not their first choice – they’ve made it clear already that keeping Khudobin is their priority – so if they have to pivot elsewhere, they will have other options to consider.  If they can find a way to keep Khudobin at a rate that works for them though, that’d be even better.

Work On Heiskanen Extension

Last season, Miro Heiskanen narrowly missed out on being a finalist for the Calder Trophy.  This year, he was even better before the pandemic hit before taking his game to another level for most of the playoffs to the point where he’d have been a strong candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy had the Stars defeated the Lightning.  With two years out of three now completed on his entry-level deal, he’s now eligible to sign a contract extension.  It’s safe to say that this is going to be high on Nill’s priority list.

There aren’t a lot of great comparable options for Heiskanen as, quite frankly, there aren’t many highly-drafted defensemen that have done what he has this early in his career.  The best options are probably Thomas Chabot (9.82% of the cap at the time of signing) and Aaron Ekblad (10.27%).  In current-year figures, that’s an approximate range of $8MM per year and $8.37MM.  For someone that can play upwards of 25 minutes a night (he logged nearly 26 per game in the playoffs) and contribute significantly at both ends of the ice, a price tag in that range makes sense, even with the cap being flattened out.  There’s no point in working on a bridge contract one year out from the deal being up; it’s a long-term pact or nothing.

Getting something done now would take the pressure off both sides for next season and give Nill some extra certainty of his 2021-22 cap situation which could come in handy depending on whether or not he’s interested in adding a player or two signed beyond next season.  It’s something that’s easier said than done but getting Heiskanen’s extension done sooner than later would be a big accomplishment.

Re-Sign Key Youngsters

The list of their restricted free agents isn’t the longest but each of their three young regulars present intriguing cases that will need to be addressed.

Radek Faksa’s bridge deal has come to an end and the center is now a year away from unrestricted free agency.  While his offensive game hasn’t progressed like they would have hoped, he has become a capable checking pivot at the very least that can still chip in with a few goals here and there.  He can opt for arbitration which would take him to UFA status next offseason so if Dallas wants to keep him on a multi-year deal, they’ll have to deal with this case before too long.

Denis Gurianov’s presence on the roster to start the season was uncertain after spending most of his first two seasons in North America in the minors.  By the time the pandemic hit, he led the team in goals with 20.  In the playoffs, he was even better with 17 points (9-8-17) in 27 games.  All of a sudden, he has gone from a player on the fringes to a key part of their attack.  Still, given the small track record, how willing will either side be to commit to a long-term deal?  A one-year deal could be the safer play here and would also give them a bit more cap room to try to add someone in the coming weeks.

As for Roope Hintz, he was their breakout performer in the 2019 postseason and carried that into this year where he had 33 points (19-14-33) in 60 regular season games before going quieter in the playoffs with just two tallies.  His track record is a little longer than Gurianov’s overall but they may not be willing to lock him up long-term yet either.  Both he and Gurianov aren’t arbitration-eligible so these could linger if not dealt with quickly.

It would be difficult for Nill to try to add to this group without knowing what these three will cost along with signing another goalie so getting these done in the near future would certainly be ideal for the Stars.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.