Ryan Suter Drawing Interest From Islanders, Bruins
There was no doubt that veteran defenseman Ryan Suter was going to be a hot commodity on the free agent market after being bought out by the Minnesota Wild. While fair for the Wild to be hesitant about paying the 36-year-old over $7.5MM for four more seasons, especially with cap and Expansion Draft concerns compounding the issue, Suter’s buyout is not an indictment on his play. Suter showed some decline this season, seeing a 13-year low in time on ice and points per game. However, those marks were still impressive at 22:11 per night and an 82-game pace of 28 points. Add in his invaluable experience and leadership and Suter is one of the more valuable names available on the open market.
Two teams who just recently battled in the postseason, the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, are back at it off the ice, as The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that the clubs are competing for Suter’s services. Boston has been looking for a competent top-pair defenseman who can skate with Charlie McAvoy for several years and that weakness was further exposed this season with the departure of Zdeno Chara. The Islanders just traded away the veteran leader of their defense and a top-four left-hander as well in Nick Leddy. Both contenders could use Suter in a major way and each seem like attractive landing spots for the veteran.
Surprisingly, both teams can engage in a bidding war for Suter as well. The Bruins were under the salary cap this season right up until acquiring Taylor Hall at the trade deadline. Even after re-signing Hall, the Bruins still have their two largest contracts – that of David Krejci and Tuukka Rask – coming off the books this summer. Both could re-sign, but neither at the full amount, leaving more than enough space to add Suter at his asking price. Meanwhile, the Islanders have gone from cap crisis to comfortable flexibility in no time, with Leddy, Andrew Ladd, and Jordan Eberle all out the door, leaving behind newfound space.
While New York and Boston may be in the lead in the race for Suter, Shinzawa notes that they are not alone. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are also considered to be contenders for the veteran, each looking to replace a recent departure on the left side, Ryan Graves and Jamie Oleksiak respectively. There are certainly other team in the mix as well. Where Suter ultimately lands could be a domino that impact the rest of the free agent blue line market.
Vancouver Canucks Trade For Jason Dickinson
Before the Expansion Draft roster freeze went into effect at 2:00pm CT, it was confirmed that both the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars had a trade waiting in the queue at NHL Central Registry. As it turns out, the deal was with each other. As first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Canucks have acquired center Jason Dickinson from the Stars. The return is a third-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. Dickinson had been on the fringe of expansion protection consideration for Dallas and the team determined that he was not worth protecting, but was not worth the risk of losing for free either. Vancouver is now of course expected to protect Dickinson from the Seattle Kraken.
Dickinson’s value lies in his versatility, both positionally and on special teams. While it is hard to argue against him not being one of Dallas’ top seven forward to be protected from expansion, he was undoubtedly a top-nine forward for the team. Dickinson has been nothing if not consistent in his scoring over the past three seasons as well; with the opportunity to finally play 82 games this season, one can safely predict at least ten goals and 25 points out of Dickinson this season. Vancouver is a club that cherishes two-way ability and players who can move up and down the lineup. They could use more dependability in their scoring as well. Dickinson unequivocally fits that description and should mesh well with the team. Given the history of GM Jim Benning, it would not be a surprise to see the restricted free agent center sign a multi-year extension this summer before ever suiting up for the team.
The minute that Ben Bishop waived his No-Movement Clause for the Expansion Draft, allowing Dallas to protect veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin instead, Dickinson immediately became the odds-on favorite to be selected by the Kraken if left exposed. The Stars will miss the useful forward moving forward, but at least were able to recoup a small return rather than lose him for nothing. Dallas will likely look to replace Dickinson with a similar versatile, high-floor, bottom-six forward this summer.
Stars Sign Miro Heiskanen To Eight-Year Contract Extension
The Stars have locked up their franchise defender as they announced that they’ve signed Miro Heiskanen to an eight-year, $67.6MM contract. He was set to become a restricted free agent when his entry-level contract expired at the end of the month. The deal makes him the highest-paid Finnish player in NHL history. GM Jim Nill released the following statement:
We are excited to announce that we have signed Miro to a long-term contract. Since joining us, it has been clear that Miro is part of a collection of young, rising stars that are now playing in the National Hockey League. As an organization, we truly feel that Miro has just scratched the surface of his ability and will be in the Norris Trophy discussion for years to come. On behalf of Tom Gagliardi, his family, and our organization, we want to thank Miro for his commitment to the team and we all look forward to watching him as he continues to evolve into one of the elite players of the game.
Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News reports (Twitter links) that the breakdown of the contract is as follows:
2021-22: $5MM (including $3MM signing bonus)
2022-23: $7MM
2023-24: $10MM
2024-25: $11MM
2025-26: $11MM, NMC
2026-27: $9MM, NMC
2027-28: $8MM, NMC
2028-29: $6.6MM, NMC
As the first four years of the deal were RFA-eligible seasons, Heiskanen was not eligible for any form of trade protection in those years.
The soon-to-be 22-year-old has quickly become the lynchpin of their defense corps. He was the third-overall pick in 2017 but waited a year to make his NHL debut, a move that certainly looks wise at this point. He was able to step into a prominent role as a 19-year-old rookie, logging over 23 minutes a night and has only gotten better since then.
Heiskanen was an integral part of the Stars making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final back in the bubble a year ago where he averaged nearly 26 minutes a game in playing time while recording 26 points in 27 games, good enough to lead all defensemen while finishing third overall in scoring.
That led to extremely high expectations for Heiskanen heading into 2020-21. He actually took a small step back offensively, recording 27 points in 55 contests which created the possibility of his camp preferring a bridge contract where he’d be able to have a better platform season a couple of years from now, bolstering his value in the process. Instead, the two sides have been able to agree on a record-setting contract as this beats Thomas Chabot‘s eight-year, $64MM pact as the biggest deal handed out to a defenseman coming off his entry-level pact. The $8.45MM AAV also makes him the sixth-highest paid defenseman in the NHL.
With this signing, one of the three high-end RFA defenders are now signed with Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Colorado’s Cale Makar being the others that will need a new contract in the coming months. It’s clear that their agents will be using this deal for Heiskanen as a comparable in those negotiations.
Dallas now has just over $5.8MM in cap space for next season, per CapFriendly. Joel Kiviranta and Jason Dickinson are their only remaining restricted free agents while Jamie Oleksiak is their most prominent pending unrestricted free agent. That doesn’t leave Nill with a lot to work on this summer so it wouldn’t be surprising to see discussions on an extension for John Klingberg pick up now. The 28-year-old has one year left on his contract at a below-market price tag of $4.25MM and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Heiskanen was nearing an eight-year deal. Line Movement’s Nick Kypreos was the first to report the $8.45MM AAV.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
No Discussions On A New Contract For Jamie Oleksiak
- One player whose stock may have been boosted by the playoffs is Stars blueliner Jamie Oleksiak. Between that and recent contracts handed out to similar players, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News posits that the 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent should be able to land a contract of $3.5MM or more on the open market. That may be more than Dallas can afford knowing that Miro Heiskanen is up for a big-ticket contract in his first trip through restricted free agency this summer. Oleksiak told DeFranks that things have been quiet so in terms of discussions on a new deal.
Ben Bishop Agrees To Waive No-Movement Clause For Expansion
The Dallas Stars may not have to expose Anton Khudobin to the Seattle Kraken after all. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News reports that Ben Bishop has agreed to waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, meaning the Stars will not be forced to protect him. Bishop’s agent, Allain Roy, explained why his client made the decision:
I thought that was a good move for him and the team. In the big picture, the goal is to win the Stanley Cup, so I think he felt that was the right move for the team to be the best team possible next year. Makes sense.
The 34-year-old Bishop missed the entire 2020-21 season due to injury, but remains an enticing option for the Stars if he can get back to full health. Since arriving in the NHL, the 6’7″ netminder has been one of the league’s best, posting a .921 save percentage over 413 appearances. That number has Bishop sitting fifth in NHL history, with Tuukka Rask the only active netminder ahead of him (Dominik Hasek, Johnny Bower, and Ken Dryden are the other three). A three-time Vezina Trophy finalist, he was outstanding in his first three years in Dallas, posting a .923 in 143 games.
Of course, that success would also make him a very attractive choice for Seattle, if only they knew he would be healthy enough to play. That uncertainty and the $4.92MM cap hit likely keeps him off the Kraken’s radar, but waiving the no-movement still helps out the club. Jake Oettinger, the team’s presumed “goaltender of the future” is still exempt from selection, meaning the team can protect Khudobin and keep their depth intact.
Expansion Primer: Dallas Stars
Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
Presumably by design, the Dallas Stars were able to protect all of their core players in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and have done so again this year. Last time, Vegas selected capable center Cody Eakin, but it was a relatively painless loss for the team. Ironically, it could a very similar result this time around as Seattle takes their pick. The Kraken do have a couple other intriguing options, but the Stars should again escape somewhat unscathed.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Jamie Benn (NMC), Alexander Radulov (NMC), Tyler Seguin (NMC), Nicholas Caamano, Blake Comeau, Jason Dickinson, Radek Faksa, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, Tanner Kero, Joel L’Esperance, Adam Mascherin, Joe Pavelski
Defense:
Ben Gleason, Joel Hanley, Miro Heiskanen, Julius Honka, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Andrej Sekera
Goalies:
Ben Bishop (NMC), Anton Khudobin, Colton Point
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
F Andrew Cogliano, D Jamie Oleksiak, D Sami Vatanen
Notable Exemptions
F Mavrik Bourque, F Ty Dellandrea, D Thomas Harley, F Joel Kiviranta, G Jake Oettinger, F Jason Robertson, F Riley Tufte
Key Decisions
The Stars really have not left much up to the imagination when it comes to the Expansion Draft. In 2017, they protected Benn, Faksa, Seguin, Klingberg, Lindell, and Bishop and there is no reason to believe that all of those core players won’t be protected again. In fact, No-Movement Clauses ensure that Benn, Seguin, and Bishop, as well as Radulov, must be protected. Klingberg and Lindell remain reliable top-four defensemen and Faksa is a strong defensive center who just signed a long-term extension last off-season.
There also isn’t much competition for spots to force any of these players out of the protection slots they owned four years ago. With three forwards and a defensemen still able to be protected, there is plenty of flexibility. On the back end, elite young Heiskanen is the obvious choice to join Klingberg and Lindell, which only leaves free agent Oleksiak and 34-year-old veteran Sekera as exposed players with any reasonable value. Up front, top scorer Pavelski and young top-six forwards Hintz and Gurianov, who signed new deals alongside Faksa last summer, seem almost certain to be protected to complete the protection group.
Could there be a surprise selection? Unlikely, but if so it will come at forward. Dallas may be thinking that Pavelski’s age and contract could make him expendable in favor of a longer-term investment. The 36-year-old was phenomenal in 2020-21, but entering the final year of his contract and at a price tag of $7MM, Pavelski is an expiring asset in more way than one and if selected by Seattle his cap space could come in handy this off-season. With that said, the Stars will have a hard time replacing Pavelski’s production for next season with any potential off-season addition. As they look to get back to the postseason, Pavelski would absolutely come in handy. Maybe they are instead wary of Faksa’s declining offense, especially on a long-term deal. If they feel that there is another young forward on the roster who could be a better future piece, they may not mind getting out from underneath his remaining four years. However, Faksa’s real value comes in his physicality, face-off ability, and other two-way strengths. The $3.25MM AAV on his contract is not a major issues given his continued assistance in those areas.
As improbable as it may be that Pavelski or Faksa are not protected, the next question would be who might take their place. Seemingly the only candidate would be 25-year-old forward Dickinson, a versatile player whose role with the Stars has been ever-increasing over the past five years. However, Dickinson is not an irreplaceable asset, especially compared to Pavelski or Faksa. Dickinson himself helped to replace a similar player in Eakin, who Dallas allowed to be selected in the last round of expansion. History could repeat itself this year. Yet, Dickinson is also a restricted free agent, meaning the Kraken would have to value him enough to make him one of their maximum ten non-termed players selected in the Expansion Draft.
Projected Protection List
F Jamie Benn (NMC)
F Radek Faksa
F Denis Gurianov
F Roope Hintz
F Joe Pavelski
F Alexander Radulov (NMC)
F Tyler Seguin (NMC)
D Miro Heiskanen
D John Klingberg
D Esa Lindell
G Ben Bishop (NMC)
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (2): Blake Comeau, Tanner Kero
Defensemen (2): Joel Hanley, Andrej Sekera
GM Jim Nill has telegraphed his expansion moves going all the way back to October. In less than a week’s time early that month, the Stars extended aging veterans Sekera and Khudobin knowing full well that they would meet Expansion Draft exposure requirements at positions where, at the time, they didn’t have any other options. Nill did not plan ahead the same way at forward and at the end of this regular season the team did not have any players to meet the exposure quota. However, he took care of that quickly by re-signing two impending unrestricted free agents over the past two months in Kero and Comeau, both of whom just needed a new deal to meet the requirements for exposure, but neither of whom were key players this season and signed affordable extensions.
Khudobin’s extension may have had additional ulterior motives. Whereas Comeau, Kero, and Sekera are not exactly attractive options for the Seattle Kraken, Khudobin is. An experienced netminder who has been one of the best backups in the NHL for much of his career and was Dallas’ starter this season in place of the injured Bishop, Khudobin would be a nice pickup for Seattle as either a member of their inaugural roster or as a valuable trade chip. Yet, Dallas has Bishop returning to health and top prospect Oettinger ready to share the net. The Kraken selecting Khudobin would arguably be doing the Stars a favor.
While Khudobin has long been the expected target of Seattle, the aforementioned Dickinson could be a candidate for selection. Young players Caamano, Mascherin, or Gleason could be other outside-the-box options. The Kraken may also be interested in striking a deal with UFA Oleksiak, who many expect to re-sign with Dallas, but otherwise would be one of the better defensemen on the open market this off-season. Oleksiak – assuming the Stars have a handshake extension in place – would be the biggest potential loss for the team, but they know the risks of leaving him unsigned. No Seattle pick should come as surprise or sting too much for Dallas, which is exactly how Nill planned it.
Stars Facing Bonus Overage Penalty Of Nearly $1MM Next Season
- Dallas is facing a bonus overage penalty of nearly $1MM for next season, notes Mike Heika on the Stars’ team website. Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, and Jake Oettinger each reached their allotted Schedule A bonuses, creating a penalty after proration of just over $927K. Penalties from 2020-21 could be amortized over two seasons but that provision isn’t available now so that amount will be deducted from their spending limit for 2021-22.
Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars
Free agency is now just under a month 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 late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Dallas has a handful of veterans that will be reaching unrestricted free agency but their biggest contract this summer will be their top young defenseman.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Miro Heiskanen – The highest-picked defenseman from the 2017 draft class (third overall) didn’t waste much time establishing himself as a focal part of Dallas’ back end and logged nearly 25 minutes per game this season. He wasn’t able to maintain his strong production from the bubble last summer but still managed 27 points in 55 games which is above average for a defenseman. A big payday is coming with the question being how long the contract will be. The Stars would undoubtedly love to give him a max-term eight-year contract, buying four extra years of team control in the process. However, with the cap flat now and Heiskanen not eligible for arbitration this time around, a bridge deal would give him a chance to improve his numbers and enter negotiations in hopefully a better financial environment plus arbitration rights.
F Jason Dickinson – His offensive numbers on a per game basis were comparable to his previous two seasons which saw him surpass the 20-point mark. But Dickinson is known more for defensive prowess and was tied for second in SH ATOI among Dallas forwards. He’s a capable third-liner who can play the wing and down the middle, making him a useful player to have. However, Dickinson is owed a $1.6MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights that could push the price tag into the $2MM range. If the Stars want to buy themselves some extra wiggle room this summer, that might be a bit too pricey. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dallas try to get something done before the qualifying offer deadline.
F Joel Kiviranta – After spending most of 2019-20 in the minors, the 25-year-old didn’t see any AHL action this season and got into a career-best 26 NHL games where he had 11 points. Kiviranta is best known from his play in the bubble where he had five goals in 14 postseason contests last summer but that alone won’t give him too much leverage in talks even though he’s arbitration-eligible. He should be able to get a small raise from the $925K he made on his entry-level deal but not too much more than that.
Other RFAs: F Nicholas Caamano, D Joseph Cecconi, D Ben Gleason, D Julius Honka, F Adam Mascherin, G Colton Point, D Jerad Rosberg
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Jamie Oleksiak – It was a disappointing year for quite a few Dallas veterans but that wasn’t the case for Oleksiak. The 28-year-old stepped into a regular role in the top four for the first time in his career and responded with arguably his best NHL season, notching 14 points while logging over 20 minutes a game. He’s not the fastest of skaters – few his size are – but Oleksiak is a capable stay-at-home defender and may be starting to show some offensive potential as well, scoring six goals during the season after notching five last postseason. There was trade interest in him at the deadline and given his age and improvement, he should be able to land a bit more than the $2.5MM salary he received this year if he makes it to the open market.
F Andrew Cogliano – In his prime, Cogliano was a speedy two-way forward. However, in recent years, the production has tailed off for the 34-year-old who is basically just a checker now. There is still a market for those types of players but it will have to come at a much lower price tag than the $3.25MM he made over each of the past three seasons. Half of that may be tough to get, even.
D Sami Vatanen – This was a tough season for Vatanen, to put it lightly. After not getting much interest in free agency, he opted to go back to New Jersey in the hopes of building his value back up. It didn’t happen. Instead, he dropped to the third pairing, didn’t produce much (six points in 30 games isn’t great for a blueliner known for some timely offense), and wound up being waived after they couldn’t find a trade taker for him. That’s what got Vatanen to Dallas where he did even less. After taking less than half of his previous contract for this season (from $4.875MM to $2MM), another cut is coming for the 30-year-old.
Other UFAs: G Landon Bow, F Justin Dowling, D Taylor Fedun, D/F Mark Pysyk
Projected Cap Space
The Stars currently have a little over $15MM in cap space with 16 players signed. That’s not a bad spot to be in although more than half of that will go to Heiskanen if they can get any sort of medium or long-term deal in place. If that happens, they’ll basically be filling out the rest of the roster with cheap contracts and basically be at the Upper Limit. Barring trades, it could be a quiet summer for Dallas.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Snapshots: Coyotes’ Coach Search, Nylander, Ak Bars
With head coaches flying off the market and one of the top available names being the guy they just let go, the Arizona Coyotes’ hunt for a head coach is in an interesting spot. From the get-go, the word was that the ‘Yotes and GM Bill Armstrong could be looking for a fresh voice, perhaps even a first-time NHL coach, so they may be unfazed by the recent run on big names. Yet, insider Craig Morgan reports that one of their top candidates is in fact a seasoned veteran. Morgan writes that Dallas Stars assistant Todd Nelson is scheduled to have his third interview for the vacancy, by all accounts the most of any candidate. Nelson has been in the NHL (or AHL) since 2006, including a brief stint as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. He has found great success in the minors, winning two Calder Cups, and never really got a fair shake as the bench boss in Edmonton, so in a way he would be somewhat of a first-time NHL head coach. He has picked up experience in Dallas over the past three years under Jim Montgomery and Rick Bowness and could be ready for another shot at the top job.
Morgan considers Nelson’s greatest competition to be Andre Tourigny, the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and most recently an assistant for Canada’s gold medal World Championship entry. Tourigny briefly coached in the NHL as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators over three years, but has mostly coached at the major junior level and has been the bench boss of Canada’s World Junior team the past two years. Tourigny has found immense success working with young players; he has been named OHL Coach of the Year (twice), QMJHL Coach of the Year, and the overall CHL Coach of the Year, not to mention medals at four World Juniors. Can he translate that ability to the pros and lead a Coyotes team that needs to take a step forward rather than continuing to tread water? That is the question that Armstrong must answer. According to Morgan, he has already decided that St. Louis Blues assistant Mike Van Ryn and AHL Providence head coach Jay Leach are not the men for the job.
- The Chicago Blackhawks just gained some Expansion Draft flexibility. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Alexander Nylander has been declared exempt from the impending selection process. In order to be eligible for the draft, a player must have three pro service years. Nylander, who has been playing professionally in North America for five seasons, may seem like an impossibility to avoid that label, but somehow he does. Despite playing in 116 AHL games between 2016-17 and 2017-18, he played in only seven combined NHL games and his rookie contract underwent the entry-level slide each season, meaning service time did not accrue. He then played countable NHL season in each of the past two years. However, this season – in what was meant to be his third year of service – Nylander missed the entire campaign due to injury. This means that, again, his service time will not clock. After five years in and out of the NHL, Nylander will be considered a second-year pro and untouchable for the Seattle Kraken. As Powers notes, Nylander was expected to be protected by the Blackhawks next month. Now off the board, it will allow the team to protected another forward that they may not have expected. He suggests deadline addition Adam Gaudette or reliable fourth-liner David Kampf could be the pick, while young, high-upside assets Brandon Hagel and Henrik Borgstrom should now be locks.
- The KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan has succeeded in keeping a pair of drafted prospects away from their NHL teams for a while longer. The team announced that they have re-signed Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov and Anaheim’s Artyom Galimov to multi-year extensions. At their age, this is not an NHL career death sentence for either player, but it is likely disheartening to their teams who would like to get them on North American ice as soon as possible. 20-year-old Voronkov, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, has signed a two-year deal with Ak Bars after setting career highs across the board in the KHL this season. The impressive youngster has already played two full seasons in the KHL and has been dominant for Russia on the World Junior stage as well. Voronkov’s name carries weight as a prospect and the Jackets undoubtedly hope that he will follow WJC teammate Yegor Chinakhov to Columbus as soon as his new contract expires. There is a bit more cause for pause when it comes to Galimov. The 21-year-old was an overage pick by the Ducks just last year and despite his age has signed a three-year extension with Ak Bars. Galimov is a grassroots product of Kazan and has loyalty to the club, as they do to him after two successful seasons to begin his KHL career. Galimov has actually outpaced Voronkov to this point, showing that he too is a serious NHL prospect. However, Galimov will be 25 years old before he could ever step onto Anaheim ice and will have that much more attachment to Ak Bars. His ability should keep him interested in the NHL and the Ducks in him, but it is not a guarantee.
Dallas Stars Re-Sign Rhett Gardner
The Dallas Stars have finished some business with one of their pending restricted free agents, signing Rhett Gardner to a new two-year contract that will keep him in the organization through the 2022-23 season. The deal will be a two-way contract in the first year, one-way in the second, and carries an NHL salary of $750K in each.
Gardner, 25, is coming off his entry-level deal with the Stars, signed in 2019 after he finished his four years at the University of North Dakota. The fourth-round pick played in 28 games for the Stars this season, but managed just a single goal and two points. Offense has never really been the calling card of the 6’3″ forward, but he served as a reliable depth checker whenever needed.
Of course, he’ll have to provide a little more scoring to stay in the lineup over the length of this next contract, or at least establish himself as a reliable option on the penalty kill. More likely, Gardner will keep his role as the 13th or 14th forward for the Stars, if not go back to the AHL full-time.
Interestingly, though this kind of deal may appear to be expansion-related, Gardner is actually not even eligible for the upcoming Seattle draft because he has just two years of professional experience. The 11 games he played for the Texas Stars at the end of the 2018-19 season were under an amateur tryout contract, not his entry-level contract, and thus do not make up a year of service time in regards to the draft. Instead, this is simply a move to retain a depth forward that has a little versatility and size.