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Tyler Seguin’s Surgery Delayed

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It was a month ago that we learned that Stars center Tyler Seguin was set to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum but GM Jim Nill told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers, that the procedure hasn’t happened just yet.  Instead, due to complications from the pandemic, the new plan is that Seguin will be able to go under the knife sometime next week.

The timeline for recovery remains the same at four months.  All of a sudden, instead of potentially being ready to start the season (or at least soon after), he could be out at late as early March and miss considerable time.  Even with the start date for the 2020-21 campaign still up in the air, all indications point to the league trying to get underway at some point in January.

That would certainly be a big loss for Dallas as even though Seguin is coming off a quiet season offensively by his standards (17 goals and 33 assists in 50 games), he still led the team in scoring by a considerable margin while logging more than 19 minutes a night for the third straight year.  While that’s not a great return on a $9.85MM price tag, replacing a number one center is tough for any team to have to try to do for any extended period of time.

It would be difficult for Nill to make a move to try to replace him as well.  While they have more than $4MM in cap room still, a good chunk of that will be going to RFA winger Roope Hintz.  Meanwhile, while Seguin would potentially be eligible for LTIR which would give them some space to work with to replace him, they’d have to get back into cap compliance before he could be activated.  Given how difficult it has been to move money in the offseason where there is technically more flexibility, having to free up cap space in-season will be a challenge.  Accordingly, the Stars will likely have to fill Seguin’s spot from within and hope to manage without him in the early going next season.

Dallas Stars Sign Julius Honka

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After a season-long hiatus, defenseman Julius Honka is back with the Dallas Stars. The team has announced a new one-year, two-way contract for Honka, who they were unable to sign last off-season. CapFriendly reports that Honka will make the minimum $700K in the NHL and $90K in the AHL.

Honka, 24, returns to Dallas after spending the 2019-20 season with JYP of Finland’s Liiga, his hometown team. The Stars and Honka could not agree to terms on a new contract last off-season, but by extending the restricted free agent a qualifying offer, the club retained his exclusive negotiating rights. The two sides returned to talks this off-season in hopes of a reunion.

Unlike fellow Finn Jesse Puljujarvi of the Edmonton Oilers, who also spent this past season in the Liiga instead of with his NHL team, Honka did little to help boost his bargaining power with his play this year. The streaky, one-dimensional defenseman put up just modest numbers with JYP, recording 15 points in 46 games. This was good enough for only fourth among club defensemen in scoring. In fact, his younger brother, Carolina Hurricanes prospect Anttoni Honka, was JYP’s best offensive defenseman at just 20 year old.

It is still unclear whether Honka truly has the talent to stick at the NHL level. Although he was a first-round pick in 2014 and has put up big offensive totals in juniors and in the AHL, he has struggled to find consistency in Dallas. He again showed with JYP that playing against mature, physical opponents at top pro levels may be too much for an undersized and defensively deficient player. Dallas seems willing to gamble on his offensive ability with a low-risk one-year, two-way deal, but that doesn’t mean Honka will be handed a regular role with the club right away. He will have to earn that with his performance or he could find himself separated from the Stars once again.

Rick Bowness Officially Named Dallas Stars Head Coach

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The entire organization had basically already confirmed that Rick Bowness would be back as the head coach of the Dallas Stars in 2020-21, but today they made it official. Bowness has left behind his interim tag and becomes the full-time head coach moving forward. Stars GM Jim Nill released a statement on the move:

The Stars are very excited to officially announce Rick as the team’s head coach. After being called upon in a difficult situation, Rick stepped into the interim head coaching role seamlessly and used his unmatched experience to lead the team to a successful second half of the season and a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. Watching the team throughout our playoff experience, you really saw the team become his. His ability to connect with our players and our staff is remarkable, and it leads to a situation where everyone is competing for him because they want to see him win.

Bowness of course led the Stars all the way to the Stanley Cup Final as an interim coach, taking over midseason after Jim Montgomery was fired for unprofessional conduct. The team had a 20-13-5 record down the stretch with him behind the bench, before winning the Western Conference in the return to play tournament.

For that, and the way players have obviously responded to the long-time NHL coach, it was an obvious choice to bring him back next season if Bowness wanted to. Amazingly, it might have been the unique bubble situation that actually convinced Bowness to return as head coach, a position he hasn’t held on a full-time basis in more than 20 years. Bowness explained:

My wife Judy and I are thrilled to have this opportunity to continue our work here in Dallas. This team is very special for me, that time in Edmonton was unlike any experience I have ever had in hockey, and it brought us together as a staff and as a team. We had a great run to the Stanley Cup Final, but we have some unfinished business left and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to build on what we started.

The Stars, armed with one of the most valuable players in the entire league, Miro Heiskanen (relative at least to his entry-level salary), will bring back mostly the same unit next season after mostly passing on the free agent market. It will be Bowness’s job to somehow get that group back to the promised land.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Central Notes: Heiskanen, Tolvanen, Wallmark

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The Dallas Stars have been working to improve their team this offseason in hopes of getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals once again. However, the team has also had another focus this offseason, which is to free up enough cap room for the 2021-22 offseason when the entry-level contract of defenseman Miro Heiskanen is up and the 21-year-old will be a restricted free-agent who the Stars would like to lock-up long-term.

Heiskanen has been a key reason for the dominant defense that the Stars have used to push their way to the top. The 21-year-old may have only posted 35 points in 68 games last season, but his defense is what makes him special and it is critical to get the blueliner signed to a long-term deal. To free up cap room, the Stars absorbed the full amount of their cap overages ($3.05MM) for next year as opposed to splitting it between the next two years, saving them $1.52MM in cap room for 2021-22 and chose not to buy out any players to keep extra cap penalties away from that year.

Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News writes that assuming the plan is to sign Heiskanen to a long-term deal, it likely will cost them somewhere between $8-9MM if you compare his deal to that of Ottawa Senators’ defenseman Thomas Chabot, who signed his long-term deal a year ago with an $8MM AAV. Now with newer contracts such as Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo and Nashville’s Roman Josi, the market seems set for Heiskanen when the two sides can begin negotiating at the start of the 2020-21 season.

  • With the Nashville Predators having moved out quite a few veteran players during the offseason including Mikael Granlund, Kyle Turris, Nick Bonino and Craig Smith, the team looks likely to be forced to insert a number of young players into their lineup to fill it out. While The Athletic’s Adam Vingan (subscription required) writes the team is still working on trying to bring in Mike Hoffman or Anthony Duclair to fill one of those roles, the Predators will be putting quite a bit on the shoulders of Eeli Tolvanen this year. The 2017 first-rounder is a likely candidate to take on a top-six role with the team after sitting in the AHL for the past two seasons. Tolvanen has only appeared in seven NHL games during that time, but after a 21-goal campaign with Milwaukee last season, he is the most likely candidate to step into the lineup, although it isn’t out of the question that 2019 first-rounder Philip Tomasino could also make the team with a strong camp.
  • While he hasn’t been loaned out to a European team, newly signed Lucas Wallmark is training overseas with Bjorkloven of the Allsvenskan, who play in his hometown of Umea in Sweden, according to a report in HockeyNews.se (translation required). Wallmark will practice and train with the team until the NHL season starts. The 25-year-old joined his third time in a year after being traded at the trade deadline to the Florida Panthers as part of the Vincent Trocheck trade and then was not issued a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free-agent. He opted to sign with the Blackhawks.

Martin Hanzal Retires From NHL

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It’s been talked about for quite some time. Martin Hanzal has been considering retirement for quite a while, but he finally decided to retire from professional hockey, according to Arizona Coyotes’ beat writer Craig Morgan. The 33-year-old Hanzal was a solid forward for many years with the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, but back injuries cut his career short. He finished his career scoring 127 goals, 338 points and 574 penalty minutes in 673 career NHL games.

“It’s a little bit of a relief because the last couple of years I wasn’t sure if I’d play another NHL game or be healthy again so now it’s official: I am retired from the NHL,” Hanzal said by phone. “If I was healthy, I would probably still be playing, but after three back surgeries and especially after the last one, I just can’t do it anymore. I was doing everything I could after this last one and it took me a year to get back on the ice. When I went to see the doctor again, it was either do another surgery or be done playing. Even the doctor said, ‘We’re not sure another surgery will help.’ I still have a long life ahead of me. I don’t want to do another surgery when it’s not 100 percent sure it will even help.”

Hanzal was a first-round pick by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005 (17th overall) and debuted with his team in 2007 and played 10 years for the franchise, who at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, served as a power forward, who gave the Coyotes’ much of their grit. After 10 years and with an expiring contract, the Coyotes decided to trade Hanzal at the trade deadline to Minnesota in 2017 for a slew of draft picks (which eventually netted Arizona defensemen Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Kevin Bahl – both since traded). Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to help much with Minnesota’s hope of a long playoff run as they were eliminated in five games that year. He then signed a three-year deal to sign with the Dallas Stars, but back issues allowed him only to appear in 45 games over that time before his contract ran out this past year.

Dallas Stars Re-Sign Landon Bow

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Saturday: The Stars have made Bow’s deal official.

Friday: Anton Khudobin isn’t the only goaltender sticking with the Stars. Dallas has re-signed free agent keeper Landon Bow, according to both CapFriendly and PuckPedia. Bow had lost RFA status when the Stars declined to extend him a qualifying offer, but the young goalie has opted to stay in Dallas nevertheless. He has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth the minimum $700K at the NHL level and $90K in the AHL. Bow will be an RFA once again at the conclusion of this contract (if he receives a qualifying offer that is).

Though his limited NHL numbers suggest otherwise, Bow is not exactly considered a current asset for Dallas and may never be. Those he was stellar in a pair of emergency appearances for the Stars in 2018-19, Bow’s AHL numbers are pedestrian. He is buried behind an elite NHL tandem and superior prospects in Jake Oettinger and Colton Point, making him no more than the fifth option in net for Dallas. In fact, though Point spent much of this past season in the ECHL, it would not be a surprise if he leapfrogs Bow this year, making the former WHL standout the third-string option for AHL Texas.

Of course, it never hurts to have depth in net and Dallas could do far worse than the 6’5″ Bow. With a goalie pipeline that is almost entirely bare beyond the pro level, Bow’s experience with the organization and willingness to play a depth role contributed to Stars’ decision to bring him back. Now the 25-year-old just needs to reward the organization’s loyalty by finally putting together a complete season in the minors and re-asserting himself into the prospect battle for NHL opportunities.

Dallas Stars Sign Denis Gurianov

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The Dallas Stars have reached an agreement with young restricted free agent Denis Gurianov, signing him to a two-year contract according to Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News. DeFranks reports that the contract will carry an average annual value of $2.55MM. Gurianov was not eligible for arbitration.

There was a time not too long ago that Gurianov was one of the most disappointing prospects in the Dallas system. He was even made a healthy scratch in the minor leagues at one point, and seemed like he would never live up to the 12th-overall pick the team used on him in 2015. That had all changed by the 2020 playoffs, when the 6’3″ forward became a legitimate star for the team, scoring nine goals and 17 points in 27 bubble matches.

Gurianov had only 29 points during the regular season, but 20 of those were goals, leading the entire Dallas team. His quick-strike capacity and ability to get behind defenders resulted in a player that could change a game at a moment’s notice, and at 23 years old he still has time to polish the rest of his offensive game.

A two-year contract isn’t the long-term extension that some were expecting for Gurianov, but it does keep him in the organization and leaves him a restricted free agent when the deal expires. He’ll be arbitration-eligible at that point and will likely have a lot of leverage should his growth continue, but for now he represents a ton of excess value for the Stars.

The team still has Roope Hintz to sign, but the Stars have more than $4MM in cap space even while paying Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin close to $10MM each. That’s thanks to the strong contributions of young, inexpensive players like Gurianov and superstar defenseman Miro Heiskanen (who will need a new deal next offseason).

That leaves them a little bit of room for another addition if they choose, or they can continue to roll with basically the same group that got all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

Central Notes: Dumba, Honka, Colorado

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The Minnesota Wild have been quite aggressive in re-shaping their roster this season, which includes adding Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstadt and Cam Talbot, while also re-signing a number of key free agents and eliminating significant cap space. However, one move that hasn’t happened yet was the expected trade of defenseman Matt Dumba.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that it might be a while before a trade for the blueliner is found. This is not the best time to find a trade partner with few teams ready to give Minnesota a significant return and a number of previously interested teams have already filled their need on defense. Russo suggests that one team that might still be interested is the Florida Panthers, who still need help on defense and have the prospects to make a deal happen.

Russo adds that he heard that Minnesota tried to pry Florida’s first-round pick from this year’s draft, who the Panthers used to select Anton Lundell, as part of a package for Dumba, which Florida rejected, but mainly because they wanted Lundell. Regardless, the Wild need to stay patient and hope it can find a match with Florida or any other team ready to get into the running.

  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) writes that Dallas Stars first-round pick Julius Honka, who didn’t sign as a restricted free-agent last summer and spent the season playing in Finland, is interested in returning to Dallas next season. The 24-year-old Honka’s rights are owned by the Stars until he turns 27, but despite demanding a trade last summer, he was forced to play in the Liiga and wasn’t necessarily a standout player there. Honka has played 87 career NHL games, but never was able to establish himself into the Stars’ defensive lineup. If he does opt to sign what would likely be a mininum-salaried deal, Honka would have to beat out a number of blueliners to get into the lineup, including Mark Pysyk, Taylor Fedun, Thomas Harley, Joel Hanley and Stephen Johns (assuming he returns to the team).
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater (subscription required) writes that if the NHL is required to set up divisional bubbles next season as it is starting to look more and more likely that getting fans in the stands is looking less and less likely, then Colorado could be a likely candidate to host teams. In fact, Dater writes that he’s heard that the Pepsi Center, the Avalanche’s arena, is a leading candidate to be a host-city if the NHL opts to go that route, although it’s too soon to make a decision.

Dallas Stars Re-Sign Radek Faksa, Joel L’Esperance

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The Dallas Stars are bringing back a pair of restricted free agent forwards. The team has announced a five-year, 16.25MM extension with Radek Faksa. They have also revealed a new two-year, two-way contract with Joel L’Esperance, expected to be worth his qualifying offer of $725K at the NHL level.

There was some skepticism that Faksa would receive a long-term deal and significant raise this off-season, but that is exactly what he got. Playing on a $2.2MM AAV for the past three years, Faksa has failed to surpass his point total from the year prior to signing his previous extension. The 2019-20 campaign was especially disappointing, as Faksa recorded just 20 points after totaling 30 points or more in each of his three full NHL seasons. The two-way center also saw his defensive effectiveness slip this past season. Yet, none of this seems to matter. Faksa is still a useful player and Dallas was happy to keep him around, no matter the cost. Faksa is locked in to five more years with Dallas and will count for more than $1MM more against the cap with his new $3.25MM AAV.

While he’s a helpful two-way presence, handing Faksa a raise that his statistics don’t necessarily back up could come back to bite the Stars. The team still needs to re-sign RFA forwards Denis Gurianov and Roope Hintz, both of whom absolutely proved that they are top-six players deserving of significant contracts. However, they only have about $6.66MM in cap space remaining and Gurianov and Hintz alone would not fill out the roster. The Stars likely needed to get creative with the cap this off-season anyhow, but the pressure is now on to figure out their roster – before Gurianov or Hintz receive an offer sheet.

L’Esperance could be an affordable option to take on a roster spot for the cap-strapped club. The young center has played in 21 games with Dallas over the past two seasons and has been a productive player for AHL Texas. While he has yet to make much of an offensive impact in the NHL, experience and affordability could lead to opportunity for L’Esperance.

Stars Sign Mark Pysyk

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The Stars have added some veteran depth, announcing the signing of defenseman/winger Mark Pysyk to a one-year deal.  The contract will pay him $750K.  GM Jim Nill released the following statement about the signing:

Mark is a solid, puck-moving defenseman and gives us another right-handed shot on the backend. We feel that his skillset lends itself to how we ask our defensemen to activate and he will be a good fit.

The 28-year-old has played defense for the majority of his career but was moved up front to the right wing for most of last season.  Pysyk certainly made it work as he potted nine goals along with picking up nine assists in 58 games, good for career highs in goals and points.  He wasn’t exclusively on the fourth line either as he did play up in the lineup at times and logged nearly 13 minutes per game.

With the Stars, there’s a fit for Pysyk in either role.  With Stephen Johns injured for most of the postseason, there could be an opening on the right side of their back end if he’s unable to return to start next season which seems to be the early indication and that’s where they envision Pysyk for now.  On the other hand, with right winger Corey Perry a free agent, Pysyk could slide into his spot in the lineup as well.  Positional versatility can be very useful in the NHL and as someone that can comfortably play both defense and the wing, he could be an important role player for the defending Western Conference champions.

Sportsnet’s Nick Alberga was first to report that Pysyk was nearing a deal in Dallas.

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