Stars Re-Sign Sam Steel
July 1, 6:08 a.m.: While the team hasn’t announced it, CapFriendly reflects that Steel’s deal has been signed.
June 30, 10:40 p.m.: Although he wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer earlier today, it looks like Sam Steel will be staying in Dallas. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports (Twitter link) that the center is expected to ink a one-year, $1.2MM contract to remain with the Stars.
The 26-year-old has actually been non-tendered in three straight years to avoid giving him arbitration eligibility which could have pushed the price tag higher than his previous teams wanted to pay. That resulted in Anaheim letting him go in 2022 while Minnesota did the same last summer, paving the way for him to sign a one-year, $850K deal with the Stars on the open day of free agency last summer.
Steel had a quality year with Dallas in their bottom six, recording 24 points in 77 games while averaging a little over 13 minutes per game including nearly two minutes per night shorthanded. He also suited up in all 19 playoff contests, picking up a goal and four helpers.
For his career, Steel has played in 339 NHL games between the Ducks, Wild, and Stars. While he was a high-end scorer in junior, that hasn’t translated to the pros as he has just 43 goals and 74 assists in those appearances; the fact that he has become a capable defensive forward will help extend his career as it makes him a better fit to play in the bottom six.
In the end, Steel will wind up with a $350K raise, a pretty good outcome as it will be the first seven-figure contract of his career. Meanwhile, the Stars were able to avoid the risk of going to arbitration while ensuring they can keep him at a rate they can afford. With at least seven more players needed to fill out their roster, expect Dallas to be busy in the coming days.
Free Agency Notes: Wedgewood, Girgensons, Necas
Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood is expected to test free agency on July 1st (as per Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside). The 31-year-old is coming off a two-year, $2MM that was the first one-way NHL deal of Wedgewood’s career. The Etobicoke, Ontario native has made it clear that he would like a raise on his $1MM and given that he didn’t start making NHL money until he was 29, it makes sense that would attempt to maximize his earning potential while he has a window to do so.
Wedgewood wasn’t great last season, posting a 16-7-5 record with the Stars, a 2.85 goals-against average, and a .899 save percentage. However, the free-agent goalie market is very thin this summer and he should have an opportunity to get a multi-year deal at bigger money than his last contract.
In other free agency notes:
- The Buffalo Sabres are still waiting to hear if forward Zemgus Girgensons plans to test free agency (as per Lance Lysowski). It was reported a month ago that the Sabres wouldn’t re-sign the 30-year-old, but they have reportedly offered him a contract to stay in Buffalo. The Riga, Latvia native has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Sabres, dressing in 688 games. Girgensons has only topped 20 points twice in his career and not since the 2014-15 season. He signed a one-year $2.5MM last June to forgo free agency but had the worst offensive season of his career with just eight goals and six assists in 63 games. While he didn’t produce much offense, his possession numbers at even-strength weren’t awful with a CF% of 49.2%.
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that the Carolina Hurricanes could change their mind on trading forward Martin Necas. The Hurricanes have been trying to sign pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel and if he leaves Friedman believes the team could keep Necas and go to arbitration or sign a one-year deal. Carolina let the Columbus Blue Jackets negotiate a contract extension with Necas in an attempt to trade for the fourth overall pick, but the two sides weren’t able to reach an agreement.
Dallas Stars Expected To Re-Sign Matt Duchene
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, forward Matt Duchene is not expected to reach unrestricted free agency on Monday as he and the Dallas Stars are making significant process on a contract extension. The news comes shortly after the Stars organization made a hard pivot away from pending UFA Chris Tanev as they traded his signing rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this afternoon.
Last offseason, Duchene had the final three years and $24MM of his contract with the Nashville Predators bought out shortly before the start of free agency. The Stars organization quickly pounced as they signed Duchene to a one-year, $3MM contract. As a rare low-risk, high-reward move; Duchene promptly became one of the better value contracts from last summer’s offseason.
One season removed from scoring 22 goals and 56 points for Nashville in 71 games, Duchene got out to a scorching start in the Lone Star State that lasted nearly two-thirds of the season. Through his first 55 games in Dallas, Duchene put up 22 goals and 55 points while averaging less than 17 minutes of ice time per game. Not only was Duchene strong on the puck’s offensive side, but he also put up quality defensive and possession metrics as evidenced by his 92.1% on-ice save percentage in all situations and 54.0% CorsiFor%.
Unfortunately, Duchene could not keep the good times rolling down the stretch as he managed only three goals and 10 points over his last 25 games of the regular season. Despite the slow ending to the season for Duchene personally; Dallas still managed to capture the best record in the Western Conference and guaranteed home ice through the Conference Finals.
Through Round One of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Duchene was held to two points in total in seven games as the Stars knocked out the defending Stanley Cup Champions Vegas Golden Knights. Duchene appeared to pick up some steam in Round Two as he scored one goal and four points in six games against Dallas’ Central Division rival — the Colorado Avalanche. The fire that Duchene may have caught during Round Two was quickly extinguished in the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers as Duchene failed to put up any points and was limited to only nine shots in six games.
Regardless of some slight inconsistency towards the end of the season and the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was clear that Duchene blended well on and off the ice with the Stars organization. With the team expected to lose out on veteran Joe Pavelski to retirement at some point this offseason, Duchene might have access to a larger opportunity in Dallas for the next several years.
Stars Will Hire Joe Pavelski In Front Office If He Retires
- If everything is to go as expected, Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars has already played his last game in the National Hockey League. He will not have to wait long for a job offer though as Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside reports the Stars organization is more than willing to give Pavelski an opportunity in the front office if he officially decides to retire. It would not be surprising to see Pavelski land a front-office job after his playing career officially concludes, as the veteran star has largely operated in a leadership role throughout his professional career as a player.
[SOURCE LINK]
Maple Leafs Acquire Rights To Chris Tanev
The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired the rights to pending unrestricted free agent Chris Tanev from the Dallas Stars (Twitter link). The return is depth forward Max Ellis and a 2026 seventh-round pick, shares Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link). Toronto will have two days to negotiate with the prolific defensive-defenseman before he enters free agency on July 1st.
This trade reunites Tanev with his hometown of Toronto late into his career. Now 34, Tanev has pulled together a career to be proud of, totaling 190 points in 792 games, spending 10 years with the Vancouver Canucks, four years with the Calgary Flames, and then one brief playoff run with the Dallas Stars. His role has held steadfast through the changes of scenery – with Tanev among the most popular top-pair shutdown defenders in the league. He’s vindicated that reputation over the last five seasons, with plenty of teams reportedly in the market when Vancouver and Calgary traded him away.
It’s Toronto who will win the Tanev sweepstakes this time around, though they show up to the race a bit late in Tanev’s career. That might not stop them from giving him healthy term, though, with TSN’s Darren Dreger reporting that Tanev’s next deal could run for as long as five-to-eight years (Twitter link). That term would carry Tanev to, or beyond, 40 – though it could also help keep the deal’s cap hit down. The Leafs could use every dollar they can save, with $18.83MM in cap spcae to re-sign a daunting 15 pending free agents. That list includes players like Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi, as well as the rotation of backup goaltenders in Ilya Samsonov, Martin Jones, and Matt Murray.
While Toronto has the luxury of not needing to re-sign every player, they’re bound to commit more money than they’d like to the few they do bring back. It’s hard to think Tanev is in line for a team-friendly deal, even if he were to land substantial term with his hometown club. But with a deadline right around the corner, fans may not have to wait long for the mysteries of his deal to be revealed. When they are, Toronto will be locking up a stout, reliable defensive-defenseman who should compliment Morgan Rielly‘s offensive style much better than his previous linemates.
Tanev’s representation did not speak with Toronto before the trade, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Stars Buy Out Ryan Suter
June 28, 12:33 p.m.: The Stars made Suter’s buyout official on Friday. Since his contract carried a no-move clause, he doesn’t need to pass through unconditional waivers before being bought out. He will be eligible to sign anywhere as a UFA starting Monday.
June 27, 2:23 p.m.: Suter’s camp was informed of the buyout by the Stars last night, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports. There are already multiple teams interested in signing him when he becomes a free agent in the coming days, per LeBrun.
June 27, 9:07 a.m.: Jeff Marek of Sportsnet is reporting that the Dallas Stars are buying out the final year of defenseman Ryan Suter’s contract. Suter was owed $4.3MM in actual salary and was set to carry a cap hit of $3.65MM as part of the four-year $14.6MM contract he inked in July 2021. The buyout marks the second time in Suter’s career that his contract has been cut short, as the Minnesota Wild bought out the final four years of his 13-year, $98MM contract back in July 2021.
With the move, Dallas will add a $1.4MM charge to their cap for the 2025-26 season, but they will save $2.866MM this season (as per CapFriendly). Typically, a 35+ contract buyout wouldn’t lead to any savings, however, Suter’s contract was not frontloaded and had no signing bonuses after the first year, meaning the Stars will see some savings.
Suter played in all 82 games last season for Dallas but saw his offensive production drop for a second consecutive season as he tallied just two goals and 15 assists. His average ice time dropped to the lowest it has been since his rookie season with Nashville back in 2005-06.
While Suter isn’t the elite rearguard he once was, he remained an effective player for the Stars as he never missed a game in his three years with the team and was still a decent possession player, posting a CF% of 51% at even-strength. Suter can still skate and block shots and is responsible in his end, he is still an NHL defenseman despite being 39 years old. Suter will likely have interest from other teams in free agency if he elects to continue his career.
For the Stars, the move is surprising, but it makes sense given that they are hoping to retain pending unrestricted free agents Chris Tanev and Matt Duchene. Dallas had just over $16MM in available cap space coming into today and also has to try and re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Thomas Harley. If they do sign those three players, it will eat into most of their remaining cap space and would have left little room to fill out the remainder of their roster.
Stars Sign Alexander Petrovic To Two-Year, Two-Way Extension
The Dallas Stars have signed depth defenseman Alexander Petrovic to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The details of the contract haven’t been released, though Petrovic’s last four contracts have come at a league-minimum price tag.
Petrovic played in his first NHL games since 2019 when he stepped in for one regular season game and seven postseason games this season. He wasn’t able to change his stat line much, recording no scoring, one penalty, and a -1. He’s otherwise spent the rest of his time over the last five seasons in a stout minor league role, capable of playing most of the games in a season and posting modest scoring totals. He lived by that calling card this year, recording 22 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -6 in 70 games with the AHL’s Texas Stars.
But Petrovic wasn’t always a lock for the minor leagues. He once held a consistent role on the Florida Panthers defense, after being drafted with the team’s fourth selection in the 2010 NHL Draft. Petrovic joined a draft class of Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad, and Zach Hyman – though none of the quartet ever carved out much of a role with the Panthers. For Petrovic, he muddled around Florida’s bottom pairing, before a 2018 trade to the Edmonton Oilers kicked off his run in the minor leagues. He’s since totaled 283 AHL games in the years since, boasting 101 points and 213 penalty minutes. Petrovic will be set to return to that minor-league role on his new contract, though he could be a popular option for Dallas’ role of seventh-defender, after the team bought out veteran Ryan Suter.
Chris Tanev Seeking Four-Year Deal
- Chris Tanev is looking to cash in on a solid 2023-24 NHL season as Jonas Siegel and James Mirtle of The Athletic (Subscription Required) report the veteran defenseman is looking for a four-year contract this offseason. The veteran defenseman is already engaged in contract discussions with the Dallas Stars on a new deal, but it is unknown how long the organization is willing to go on his next contract. If Tanev makes it to the open market, plenty of defensive-needy teams will be interested in his services, but the pack may thin out if teams are unwilling to make that long of an arrangement.
[SOURCE LINK]
Stars Are Continuing Contract Talks With Tanev
- The Stars are continuing discussions with pending UFA blueliner Chris Tanev, relays Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 34-year-old proved to be a strong pickup at the trade deadline, helping to anchor their back end through a run to the Western Conference Final. Tanev finished the season with 19 points and a career-best 207 blocks in 75 games between Calgary and Dallas and will have strong interest next week; LeBrun puts the Maple Leafs as one of his likely suitors.
Stars, Oskar Bäck Agree To Two-Way Deal
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.