Latest On John Klingberg
The Dallas Stars are looking to be active this offseason after bringing Peter DeBoer in as their new head coach, and multiple reports suggest Dallas is full-steam ahead on trying to stay in contention with this core. However, it seems they’ll now be doing that without defenseman John Klingberg, who Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports is heading to the free-agent market without “an avenue forward at the moment to keep him in Dallas.”
With the Pittsburgh Penguins all but certainly reaching an agreement to retain Kris Letang, Klingberg is undoubtedly the highest-quality defenseman for bidders looking to add this offseason. There’s some solid depth in the form of players like Ben Chiarot, Josh Manson, Nick Leddy, and Nikita Zadorov, but none have the ability to score 45-plus points like Klingberg.
He did have a bit of a rough 2021-22 campaign, though, likely limiting any contract he signs from exceeding the $7-8MM mark annually. While he did have a respectable 47 points in 71 games, he had the worst defensive season of his career with a -28 rating and a 49.7% Corsi for at even strength. It was his first season under the 50% Corsi mark since 2016-17.
Dallas has Miro Heiskanen ready to assume his role at the top of the depth chart, and it seems they’ll be able to reallocate Klingberg’s previous $4.25MM cap hit to improve their depth at all positions. The Stars have a projected $18.5MM in cap room per CapFriendly, but new contracts are also in order for Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger. Even without Klingberg back in the fold, they’ll likely only have about $5-7MM worth of space to spend in free agency.
Klingberg will have a fair amount of suitors come July 13.
Offseason Notes: Chychrun, White, Dallas
It’s been a while since we’ve heard Jakob Chychrun‘s name atop trade rumors, especially when considering how he was viewed as one of the hottest commodities ahead of the Trade Deadline. It’s not often an under-25 defenseman with top-pairing pedigree becomes available, but the Arizona Coyotes decided not to move him just yet. That could change, however, as the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that the Blue Jackets and Coyotes are talking about a deal. While he couldn’t offer Chychrun’s name specifically, he also reminds that Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said that the team could move their 12th overall pick at the 2022 draft in exchange for a young NHL player with term.
Chychrun certainly fits that bill, signed at just $4.6MM through 2025. It also matches up with the rumblings that Columbus is looking to add aggressively on defense, as multiple reports suggested they were in discussions with the Tampa Bay Lightning about landing Ryan McDonagh. If Arizona acquired the 12th overall selection, it would give them a jaw-dropping four first-round picks in addition to their five second-round picks.
- There’s significant interest in soon-to-be free agent Colin White after he was placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout today by the Ottawa Senators. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that up to 14 NHL teams have shown interest in White over the past few months, which could lead to a significant bidding war for his services once free agency opens. TSN’s Darren Dreger specifically names the Montreal Canadiens as a team that could be a fit, as general manager Kent Hughes was his agent prior to getting hired in Montreal.
- The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta says the Dallas Stars are looking to add a significant punch at forward this offseason, specifically to add a jump to a line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Dallas will reportedly be active on both the trade and free-agent markets, looking to be aggressive and squeeze out whatever this core has left in them to try and win a championship. Neither Benn nor Seguin, who are making above $9MM per season each, cracked the 50-point mark last year.
Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars
Free agency is now less than two weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next up is a look at the Dallas Stars.
Key Restricted Free Agents:
F Jason Robertson – The first full season of Robertson’s career established him as a key member of the Stars’ offense and earned him a quality pay-day at the end of his ELC. Robertson’s second full season, however, established him as a superstar in the NHL and not only gave him a shot at a big contract, but gave the hockey world an intriguing offseason storyline. Robertson amassed an outstanding 41 goals and 38 assists in just 74 games this season, leading the team in goals and helping put Dallas back in the playoffs. Now an RFA and soon to be 23-year-old, Robertson will have some leverage in negotiations, with Dallas presumably looking to lock him up long-term. A deal with term isn’t out of the question for Dallas, but it’ll come at a premium, as recent contract given to Andrei Svechnikov ($7.75MM AAV), Jack Hughes ($8MM AAV), and Brady Tkachuk ($8.2MM AAV) likely set the baseline for Robertson in negotiations, with the possibility to push for even more.
G Jake Oettinger – Robertson wasn’t the only one to significantly boost his value this season, as Oettinger too turned an impressive debut into an outstanding sophomore campaign. After a .911 save-percentage and 2.36 goals-against average in 29 games in 2020-21, Oettinger posted a .914 save-percentage and 2.53 goals-against average in 48 regular season games in 2021-22 before an incredible playoff performance that saw him record a .954 save-percentage and 1.81 goals-against average in a seven-game series against the Calgary Flames. Like Robertson, Oettinger should have some control of his destiny, namely the term of the contract. One comparable, at least as a base, could be Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, who signed a three-year deal worth $3.979MM per season following the 2020-21 season, which included two comparable seasons to Oettinger, followed by a poor 2020-21.
F Jordan Kawaguchi, F Alexey Lipanov, F Marian Studenic, D Ben Gleason, G Colton Point
Key Unrestricted Free Agents:
F Vladislav Namestnikov – A solid contributor, Namestnikov doesn’t have the star power of a Robertson, but has frequently found himself as a deadline-day asset in recent years. Coming off a season where he scored 16 goals to go with 14 assists in 75 games between Dallas and the Detroit Red Wings, Namestnikov is a proven commodity to provide secondary scoring for a competitive team. With the Stars’ need to lock up a couple of core pieces, he may be a luxury they can’t afford, but if they can replicate the two-year, $2MM AAV that just expired, an extension may be hard to pass up.
F Michael Raffl – Much like Namestnikov, Raffl isn’t going to compete for the Hart Trophy, but does provide a valuable service to a competitive team. The two-way forward is coming off a 16 point season in 76 games with a career-worst minus-19 rating, but the veteran did line up in his own end more than 70% of the time, showing the Stars’ reliance on Raffl’s defensive ability. The Austrian has never earned more than $2.35MM in a season, most recently making $1.1MM on a one-year pact, an affordable rate for his services and one, like Namestnikov, could return at the right price as a role-player in Dallas.
D John Klingberg – Perhaps the least likely to return of all players on this list, Klingberg is a well-regarded puck moving defenseman who will assuredly find term and salary on his next deal. Given the Stars cap situation with the contracts that are due, they may be priced out. Even so, the transition away from Klingberg will allow the team to give elevated minutes and responsibility to Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley. Still, it wouldn’t be completely accurate to say that Klingberg is absolutely on his way out, with both sides indicating a mutual desire for a reunion, but with a player like Torey Krug earning a seven-year, $45.5MM contract two offseasons ago, an extension with Klingberg may be tough to justify.
F Blake Comeau, F Joel L’Esperance, F Alexander Radulov, D Andrej Sekera, G Braden Holtby
Projected Cap Space:
Dallas will head into the offseason with a comfortable $18.56MM in salary cap space, plenty to work with, but with what figures to be two expensive RFAs. If, for argument’s sake, Robertson was to sign an $8MM AAV contract like Hughes and Oettinger a $4MM AAV just above Hart, Dallas would be left with $6.56MM in cap space. If they want to keep Klingberg, it may take letting a few names, like Raffl and Namestnikov, walk and likely another move too. On the other hand, they could bring back most players, including those two, allowing Klingberg leave, and find themselves at or just below the cap ceiling, but with little room or opportunity to improve.
Their first round defeat at the hands of Calgary was a rather impressive showing, but if the franchise wants to take another step forward, while losing Klingberg, there will need to be some improvements. One way to create additional space would be to deal goaltender Anton Khudobin, who has one more year at $3.33MM on his contract. A trade of Khudobin may cost Dallas an asset or two, but the team has all but its seventh to offer out of its 2022 class of draft picks. If Dallas can bring in a player or two, they still must be weary of their cap situation, with a raise to Roope Hintz and his $3.15MM cap hit due after this coming season.
Stars Hire Steve Spott And Alain Nasreddine As Assistant Coaches
Peter DeBoer’s coaching staff in Dallas is starting to take shape. The Stars announced that they’ve hired Steve Spott and Alain Nasreddine as assistant coaches, joining goalie coach Jeff Reese and video coach Kelly Forbes behind the bench.
Spott is no stranger to DeBoer as the two have worked together many times in the past. That includes their days back in the OHL in the late 1990s when Spott was DeBoer’s assistant first with Plymouth and then with Kitchener several years later. Once DeBoer took over behind the bench in San Jose back in 2015, he quickly brought Spott over and the two have been joined at the hip since then through five seasons with the Sharks and the last two with Vegas before the pair were let go earlier this offseason.
As for Nasreddine, he spent the last eight seasons with the Devils, most of the time as an assistant with the exception of 2019-20 when he took over as a midseason replacement for John Hynes. He remained on New Jersey’s staff when Lindy Ruff took over the following season although it was revealed back in May that they would not be renewing his contract.
Between Spott and Nasreddine, Dallas has added 16 seasons of assistant coaching experience to their bench with DeBoer himself having parts of 14 seasons of NHL head coaching experience. The Stars have a veteran-laden roster and will enter 2022-23 with a veteran-laden coaching staff as well.
Logan Stankoven Named CHL Player Of The Year
Prior to the conclusion of the Memorial Cup, the CHL announced their end-of-season award winners with several NHL prospects taking home hardware. Those include Stars forward Logan Stankoven who was named Player of the Year after putting up 45 goals and 59 assists in just 59 games with WHL Kamloops. The 47th pick from the 2021 draft also averaged a goal per game in 17 playoff contests. Still just 19, Stankoven won’t be eligible to play in the AHL next season. Meanwhile, Rangers prospect Dylan Garand was named as Goalie of the Year following a strong showing with Kamloops that saw him post a 32-9-3 record in 45 games with a 2.16 GAA and a .925 SV%. The 20-year-old will turn pro next season.
Dallas Stars Sign Scott Wedgewood
While the Dallas Stars have a big negotiation coming up with starting goalie Jake Oettinger, they won’t have any more negotiating to do to find his backup. The team announced today that they have re-signed goalie Scott Wedgewood to two-year, $1MM AAV deal.
Wedgewood originally came to the Stars as part of a mid-season trade with the Arizona Coyotes, who had claimed him off waivers from the New Jersey Devils. It had been Wedgewood’s second tour of duty with the Coyotes, a far more successful tenure than his first time in the desert. In 2017-18, the Coyotes acquired Wedgewood and he ended up playing 20 NHL games there, going 5-9-4 with an .893 save percentage. This year, Wedgewood flipped the script, posting a strong .911 save percentage on a Coyotes team that finished among the league’s worst teams.
While Wedgewood only played eight games with the Stars, his overall performance in 2021-22 is the primary reason why GM Jim Nill and the Stars can be confident in him as their choice to back up Oettinger. In total this year, Wedgewood started 32 games and had a .910 save percentage, which is especially impressive when you consider that the bulk of his starts came in Arizona. The Stars clearly believe that Wedgewood has what it takes to be a strong backup for their up-and-coming star, and the numbers support them in that belief.
At only 29 years old, Wedgewood still figures to have a long career in front of him. The former top-100 pick at the 2010 draft took his time developing in the minors, starting first in the ECHL before eventually reaching the NHL after three seasons with the AHL’s Albany Devils. While he has bounced around quite a bit so far in his career, as part of three trades and a waiver claim, he seems to have found a home in Dallas.
Dallas Stars Extend Riley Tufte
The Dallas Stars continue to make quick work of some minor deals, this time signing Riley Tufte to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The young forward was set to be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer.
This contract follows similar pacts with Ryan Shea and Joseph Cecconi over the last few days, moves that assured the depth of the organization will continue through next season. Unlike the other two though, Tufte was selected in the first round six years ago and hasn’t quite reached the level that the Stars had hoped for at this point.
Standing 6’6″ with a reach that seems to extend the entire rink, the Minnesota native was a force in college, winning two consecutive national championships with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. There were few players at that level who could knock him off the puck, and he fit in well with a team that was always on top of you, grinding the puck in the corner or laying big hits.
The offense hasn’t really shown up at the professional level though, with just 44 points in 143 AHL games. Tufte made his NHL debut this year and scored one goal in ten games, though it is still unclear where exactly he fits into the long-term plan.
Because of his age, he will actually qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer, should he fail to play in 70 games this season. While there’s certainly a chance he locks down a bottom-six role and plays that many, it’s no guarantee. One thing helping him out is that in order to send him to the minor leagues, Tufte would now need to clear waivers. His size and draft pedigree would likely be of interest to some teams, meaning the Stars might be forced to keep him in the NHL or risk losing him for nothing.
Stars To Hire Alain Nasreddine
- Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Alain Nasredding will be joining the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach. He leaves the New Jersey Devils after seven seasons, including the 2019-20 campaign when he stepped in as interim head coach for a time. The Stars will have a brand new look behind the bench after hiring former New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer earlier this month. Interestingly enough, Nasreddine only joined the Devils the season after DeBoer was fired as head coach, meaning this will be the first time they work together on an NHL bench.
Dallas Stars Sign Ryan Shea
The Dallas Stars have inked Ryan Shea to a one-year, two-way contract extension for next season, avoiding arbitration. The young defenseman has yet to play in the NHL but does not qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency because he has just two pro seasons under his belt.
Shea, 25, was originally a fourth-round pick of to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 but after failing to sign with them, hit the open market in 2020 following his college career. He played four years at Northeastern, eventually being named captain of the club in 2019 as a senior. After waiting until August, he signed an entry-level deal with Dallas, and quickly entered their AHL program with the Texas Stars.
After participating at the World Championship last summer, Shea showed a stark improvement this season, scoring 32 points in 66 games for Texas, helping the club reach the playoffs (but not advance). This deal will give the 6’2″ defenseman another opportunity with the minor league club, though it seems unlikely he will challenge for an NHL roster spot.
Just yesterday, the team signed pending UFA Joseph Cecconi, who like Shea could see the odd injury call-up this season. The difference of course is that because of his relatively late start as a pro, Shea is still waiver-exempt for 2022-23 and can be sent to the minor leagues without issue.
The Stars have now locked up a good amount of depth at the position, as Alexander Petrovic was also signed earlier this month.
Vegas Golden Knights Make Coaching Hires
The Vegas Golden Knights announced a series of coaching hires Tuesday night, adding John Stevens as their assistant coach, Sean Burke as their goalie coach and Director of Goaltending, and naming Mike Rosati as Manager of Goaltending Development and Scouting.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon gave the following statement on the hires:
John Stevens is a very respected NHL coach with an extensive resume that adds considerably to our staff. We are excited to add a two-time Stanley Cup winner with head coaching experience. Sean Burke is a great addition to the organization, with tremendous experience as an elite NHL goaltender and an accomplished coach and executive. We are pleased to keep Mike Rosati in an influential role across the organization. With those two and Henderson goaltending coach Fred Brathwaite, we have proven, qualified expertise at the goalie position.
While new head coach Bruce Cassidy won’t get to build the entire bench from scratch, he does get some fresh faces in here to join assistants Ryan Craig and Misha Donskov, who were retained in the wake of Peter DeBoer‘s firing. Stevens comes in to replace both Steve Spott and Ryan McGill as an assistant, who were both fired days after DeBoer. Stevens has been an assistant for the Dallas Stars for the past three seasons, but most hockey fans will remember him as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers (2006-2009) and the Los Angeles Kings (2016-2018). In all, the 56-year-old Stevens has 15 years of NHL coaching experience.
Burke’s hiring isn’t huge news, as it was reported earlier in the week that Vegas would bring him on. Burke was not on an NHL staff during the 2021-22 season, but he spent seven years as the goalie coach of the Arizona Coyotes and a handful of months in 2021 as the goalie coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He replaces Rosati as the goalie coach, who moves to a more behind-the-scenes role in the organization.