The Stars have agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with center/right wing Oskar Bäck, per a team release. It carries a $775K cap hit and pays him $120K in the minors with a $135K guarantee, PuckPedia reports. He’ll return for his fourth season in the Dallas organization after wrapping up his entry-level contract this year.
Dallas is the only NHL home Bäck has known. The Stars picked up the Swedish forward in the third round of the 2018 draft, signing him to an entry-level contract three years later. He played out the entirety of the deal with the AHL’s Texas Stars, where he’s put up 88 points (19 goals, 69 assists) in 196 games.
2023-24 was a high point for Bäck, who recorded career highs with 29 assists and 36 points despite making only 59 appearances, his fewest since joining the AHL club. He’s a good-skating pivot with NHL size at 6’2″ and 205 lbs, but his lack of goal-scoring ability means he’s yet to receive an NHL call-up. The Karlstad, Sweden native is a skilled playmaker, though, and could be a depth NHL option at some point in the right situation.
Given he’ll be 25 next summer, Bäck will almost certainly reach UFA status early as a Group VI free agent. He’ll have accumulated enough professional seasons to hit the open market early while playing fewer than 80 career NHL games. Therefore, it’s an important season for Bäck to try and at least earn a recall to earn another big-league opportunity in 2025-26 and avoid heading back to Europe.
The Stars are up to 33 out of a maximum 50 contracts signed for 2024-25 after re-upping Bäck, per CapFriendly.
Looks like they want Oskar back.
Bäck, Bäck, Bäck…GONE! To the AHL. Or, worse yet, the European Tour. With Jim Nill’s track record, though, the latter is far less likely.