March 7: Punnett has chosen the Dallas Stars as his first NHL home, per a team announcement. The three-year entry-level contract will make him an RFA in 2027 and carries a cap hit of $870K, per PuckPedia.
Feb. 26: March 1st is the first day that teams can sign players to future contracts, ones that begin in the 2024-25 season. Accordingly, there is often an uptick in undrafted players signing those deals soon after, generally from the NCAA but also some from the CHL ranks as well. One player from the latter who appears to be heading toward signing one of those contracts is Connor Punnett; Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that seven teams have shown “sincere interest” in signing the blueliner while several others have at least checked in on him.
The 20-year-old is in his fourth and final major junior season with most of his OHL time coming with Barrie before the Colts moved him to Oshawa before their trade deadline last month. Between the two teams, Punnett has seven goals and 37 assists in 55 games. He already has set a new benchmark for assists and is on pace to set a new career-high in points as he’s four shy of the 48 he had last season. That said, Punnett is more known for his physicality and he has already reached the 100-PIM mark for the second straight year.
Punnett will be covered by entry-level contract regulations which means whoever signs him will be doing so on a three-year deal, the first of which would be the 2024-25 campaign. It’s quite rare that a player goes from being an undrafted free agent signing to the NHL the following year but whoever signs Punnett will be adding an intriguing blueliner to the mix for a possible roster spot down the road.