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Stars Re-Sign Jerad Rosburg

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While Dallas saw one of their restricted free agents head overseas this morning, they’ve taken care of another one as the Stars announced the re-signing of defenseman Jerad Rosburg to a two-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 25-year-old signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent back in March of 2020 after four seasons at Michigan State.  Rosburg spent last season with AHL Texas, notching a goal and six assists in 36 games along with a team-high 34 PIMS.  He was never a big offensive threat at the college level either with his career-best in points with the Spartans being 17 so the low output in his freshman professional season doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

Despite his age, Rosburg is actually waiver-exempt for one more season so Dallas will be able to send him back to Texas in the fall where he can continue to develop.  This deal will take him to UFA eligibility in the summer of 2023 so if he isn’t able to establish himself with Dallas by then, he’ll have an opportunity to try to catch on elsewhere at that time.

The Stars now have just one restricted free agent remaining in AHL blueliner Joseph Cecconi who elected not to file for salary arbitration by yesterday’s deadline.

Stars RFA Adam Mascherin Signs In Sweden

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After three years in the minors, Stars RFA Adam Mascherin has decided that it’s time for a change as Skelleftea of the SHL announced that they’ve signed the winger to a one-year contract.  Dallas will still retain his rights having tendered him a qualifying offer last month.

The 23-year-old has taken a bit of a unique route so far in his career.  Originally drafted in the second round by Florida (38th overall) back in 2016, Mascherin elected not to sign with them and chose to re-enter the draft in the hopes of finding a better opportunity.  Dallas then took him in the fourth round in 2018 (100th overall) and quickly signed him to an entry-level deal.

However, there has yet to be an NHL opportunity for Mascherin with Dallas despite two strong seasons with AHL Texas.  He had 44 points in 75 games in his rookie season in 2018-19 and, after a tough sophomore year, rebounded nicely with 18 goals and 16 assists in 37 games with Texas last season, good for second on the team in points and third in the league in goals.  That still wasn’t enough to even earn him a stint with the taxi squad let alone a recall.

Instead of trying to earn a spot in camp with the Stars, Mascherin will try his hand overseas where a strong showing could give him some more leverage in contract talks with Dallas a year from now or boost his stock to the point where another team could trade for his rights and give him an opportunity.

Ryan Suter Hopes To Play In The NHL Until He's 45

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  • The four-year contract that the Stars gave Ryan Suter may have raised some eyebrows considering the defenseman is already 36 but if he has his way, he’ll be playing long past this deal. Speaking with reporters including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers, Suter indicated that he believes he can play in the NHL until he’s 45.  That would certainly be an impressive feat, one that hasn’t been done since Chris Chelios (although if Zdeno Chara plays next year, he’ll accomplish that as well).  Suter has logged heavy minutes throughout his career but with the depth that Dallas has in front of him, he shouldn’t have to play as much which would certainly help his chances of playing beyond this contract.

Stars Re-Sign Joel Kiviranta And Ben Gleason

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The Stars reached contract agreements with two of their restricted free agents.  The team announced that winger Joel Kiviranta signed a two-year, $2.1MM deal while defenseman Ben Gleason inked a one-year, two-way deal.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Gleason will make $750K in the NHL and $95K in the minors.

It was a bit of a tough year for Kiviranta.  He started the season on IR and after being activated, he was shuffled to and from the taxi squad on several occasions.  The 25-year-old then missed more than a month due to a lower-body injury.  In the end, he wound up playing in 26 games last season, notching six goals and five assists.  He had just 11 career NHL regular season contests under his belt heading into the season but had gotten himself on the radar with five goals in 14 playoff contests in the bubble in 2020.  Kiviranta was eligible for salary arbitration but instead will bypass that option and will now be eligible for unrestricted free agency two summers from now.

As for Gleason, he made four NHL appearances in his rookie professional season in 2018-19 but has exclusively played with AHL Texas since then.  Last season, he had four goals and 13 assists in 37 minor league games and will now need to pass through waivers in order to return there in 2021-22.

Kiviranta was the last NHL regular on the Stars to need a new deal although they have a trio of minor leaguers that remain as restricted free agents.  They now sit roughly $3MM above the cap ceiling per CapFriendly but with Ben Bishop appearing to be unable to play to start next season, they will be able to place him on LTIR and remain in cap compliance.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Ondrej Kase

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High ceiling, low floor. That’s what comes with skilled forward Ondrej Kase. When healthy, Kase’s talent is apparent. The 25-year-old winger has a 20-goal season on his resume and has scored at nearly a half-point per-game pace in his young career. The problem is that Kase has only played in 207 games through five NHL seasons, averaging just a half-season’s worth of games per year due to injury. The Boston Bruins learned the hard way that Kase cannot be relied upon, as he played in just nine regular season games total with the team after coming over from the Anaheim Ducks at the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline. This past year, he missed all but three games due to a head injury in the second game of the season and left his return game early, unable to handle getting checked.

Yet, the Bruins still nearly extended him a $2.6MM qualifying offer this summer. Bruins GM Don Sweeney had planned on retaining the dynamic, but fragile forward but changed course. The fact that Kase even remained in consideration for a new deal at that price point speaks to the upside that he brings if he can get healthy and stay healthy.

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear willing to take that chance. The team has announced a one-year, $1.25MM with Kase. While the term mitigates some risk of Kase being unable to return to form following a year missed almost entirely due to concussion symptoms, the Maple Leafs still had to commit over $1MM in order to sign Kase. That signing puts Toronto right up against the salary cap with their projected 23-man roster; so much so in fact that if Kase is on regular injured reserve, the Leafs will not have the room to even recall a minimum salary player to replace him. The trade-off of course is that a healthy Kase will be an excellent addition to their forward corps as a player who can skate with their stars and produce points. It is the ultimate boom-or-bust bargain for Toronto.

Dallas Stars Sign Nick Caamano, Colton Point

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The Dallas Stars made some big splashes when free agent frenzy began, but are now also taking care of some more internal contract work. Nicholas Caamano and Colton Point, two of the team’s restricted free agents, have been signed to one-year, two-way contracts for 2021-22. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News tweets that both deals are worth $750K at the NHL level.

Caamano, 22, was one of the Stars players who tested positive for COVID-19 in training camp, leading to a delayed start to the season. After that, however, he spent the entire year with the team, bouncing back and forth between the active roster and taxi squad. He played in 24 games, but failed to score a single goal, registering just a single assist. Known more for his size and strength than his goal-scoring ability, he did rack up 41 hits in limited action and even took part in one of Dallas’ 12 fights. He’ll be in a battle for playing time once again, but the Stars obviously like him enough in that fourth-line role.

Point meanwhile will only be getting an NHL look if the Stars run into injury trouble. The 23-year-old goaltender played in 16 games for the Texas Stars this season, posting an .898 save percentage. Standing 6’5″, Point’s development will continue with the hope that he can reach the NHL at some point down the road. That probably won’t be this year, as after signing Braden Holtby, Dallas has four NHL-level netminders under contract. While it’s not clear what will happen in Ben Bishop’s case, the trio of Holtby, Anton Khudobin, and Jake Oettinger will surely take the full slate of games this season.

Dallas Stars Sign Jani Hakanpaa, Michael Raffl

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The Dallas Stars are bringing in some size on defense, signing Jani Hakanpaa to a three-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.5MM. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweets that there was something of a bidding war for Hakanpaa, but he chose Dallas to play with the strong core of Finnish players already in place. GM Jim Nill released a short statement on his newest defenseman:

Jani is a big, physical defenseman that sees the ice well and skates at a high level for a man of his size. He is a reliable penalty killer and will help balance out our backend.

If you missed Hakanpaa’s rookie season and didn’t even realize he was on the market, you probably wouldn’t be alone. That’s never-noticed attribute is the calling card of the 29-year-old defenseman, who quietly had a pretty successful season. He played 42 games with the Anaheim Ducks, registering just a single point but racking up 168 hits, before being acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes at the deadline. While his offensive production exploded in Carolina—three points in 15 games!—he won’t be asked to do any of that in Dallas.

Instead, Hakanpaa offers a huge, intimidating frame that punishes forecheckers and net-front players. He can skate well enough to keep up with today’s game even at a hulking 6’5″, and will replace some of the size that Dallas lost when Jamie Oleksiak left in the expansion process.

That won’t be the only physical presence the Stars will add today though, as they have also signed Michael Raffl to a one-year deal. Raffl’s new contract will carry an NHL salary of $1.1MM. Nill released a short statement:

Michael is a solid two-way forward with good hockey sense, allowing him to play in a variety of situations. He has a strong, physical presence on the ice and will add veteran savvy and depth to our lineup.

Not only did the Stars lose Oleksiak on the back end, but with Andrew Cogliano signing in San Jose, they also lost a big part of their bottom-six. Raffl will help fill that gap as a two-way winger who can chip in offensively when needed. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Philadelphia Flyers before a trade took him to the Washington Capitals for last year’s playoff push. In 44 total games, he scored 11 points.

Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News broke the news on Twitter

Dallas Stars Bring In Alexander Petrovic

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The Dallas Stars tweeted today that they’ve signed defenseman Alexander Petrovic to a one-year, two-way deal. CapFriendly reports that the contract will pay Petrovic the minimum $750K in the NHL and $325K in the AHL.

Petrovic, 29, has not played in an NHL game since 2018-19, though he has produced in the AHL in the meantime. Once a highly-regarded defenseman with the Florida Panthers, Petrovic combines size, skating, and offensive ability, but not to the level of an everyday NHL defenseman. The Stars likely see him as a strong AHL depth option should they suffer a streak of injuries.

Dallas is deep on defense, especially after the addition of Ryan Suter, and has no shortage of size or skill. However, where they are weak is on the right side. On paper, Petrovic would technically be the second-best right-handed defenseman on the roster behind John Klingberg.

Braden Holtby Signs With Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars have brought in another veteran goaltender, signing the recently bought out Braden Holtby on a one-year contract. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports that it will be a $2MM deal for Holtby, which certainly raises some further questions about the health of Ben Bishop.

One of the more unpredictable moves of the day, Dallas now finds themselves with four NHL-caliber goaltenders for the coming season in Holtby, Bishop, Anton Khudobin, and Jake Oettinger. Oettinger is still waivers-exempt, if the Stars want to go that route, while Bishop’s injury could see him back on LTIR, leaving a tandem of Holtby and Khudobin. The team may also plan to trade one of Khudobin or Bishop.

Whichever way the Stars go, it seems Holtby will play an important role for the team in 2021-22. While his short stint with the Vancouver Canucks did not go well, Holtby is still a decorated NHL netminder and at 31 should still have plenty of gas left in the tank. As a short-term, relatively low-money gamble, Holtby could be a nice addition as a reclamation project. If he returns to form, the Stars will have at least two good goalies no matter which direction they go. If that isn’t enough to get them back into the playoffs, then he also becomes a valuable trade chip in February. Compared to some of the other contracts handed out to goaltenders today, Holtby’s new pact looks like a wise investment, even from a team without an apparent need in goal.

Luke Glendening Heading To The Dallas Stars

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Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Dallas Stars have signed forward Luke Glendening to a two-year deal. The contract comes in at a $1.5MM cap hit and takes him through the 2022-23 season.

It’s the end of an era in Michigan, as Glendening wraps up a nine-year stint with the Detroit Red Wings to begin his NHL career, which was preceded by four seasons at the University of Michigan. The 32-year-old Grand Rapids native has only played in 30 games for teams outside the state since high school, both on minor league loans. Yet, all good things come to an end. Despite holding on to Glendening at the trade deadline, this season and last, despite considerable interest, the Red Wings were unable to retain the veteran.

The Dallas Stars were hoping to improve their team defense this summer and did just that in adding Glendening, one of the most technical, defensive-minded centers in the NHL. Elite at the face-off dot (60.9% this year) and on the penalty kill, Glendening may not play big minutes, but he makes a major impact when he is on the ice. Given his defensive ability, it is surprising that the Stars were able to sign Glendening at such a low number. It is a deal that should be a much-appreciated bargain for the cap-strapped team.

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