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Miro Heiskanen

Stars Sign Miro Heiskanen To Eight-Year Contract Extension

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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.

Dallas GM Jim Nill Discusses Upcoming Contract Talks For Key Defensemen

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Dallas has a pair of important contracts on the back end to look at this offseason with Miro Heiskanen set to become a restricted free agent while John Klingberg will be entering the final year of his contract, making him eligible to sign an extension at that time.  Speaking with reporters including Mike Heika of the Stars’ team site, GM Jim Nill provided some comments about the situations for both of them.

With Heiskanen needing a new deal for next season, it stands to reason that his file should be the priority.  To that end, Nill indicated that discussions have already started on that front.  When asked about Klingberg’s case, he noted the challenges that lie ahead in those talks, ones that can be easily applied to Heiskanen as well:

On their end, they have to figure out…we have a flat cap, is this cap going to be flat for the next three, four, five years? We know businesses have been hit hard and sports businesses have been hit hard. We know there is a flat cap, how long does it stay flat? We don’t know. From their point of view, are they better off to do a short-term contract hoping that revenues are going to grow? If we talk a lot about a long-term deal? What that’s number? There’s a lot of unknowns.

From our end, we have to sit down and we’re trying to project the same thing. What number works for both parties? We’re open to both ways. The short-term, we’re comfortable and I think they are, too. If it’s long term, what’s the number long-term? We’ll just have to walk through this.

This is something that started coming into play last offseason with the flattened salary cap and since then, it has only intensified.  Even with plenty of deals coming off the books this summer, most of those players will be replaced by similarly-priced ones; the cap troubles aren’t going away.  The question of when league revenues jump up to the point where the escrow shortfall is paid off which will pave the way for an eventual cap increase is a big one.  No one really knows for sure when that will happen which leads to plenty of uncertainty.

Also creating some uncertainty is what type of offensive upside Heiskanen has.  His point per game rate this season ticked up only slightly over his first couple of seasons and while there is still plenty of value in a 35-point defenseman that can do as much as he can in terms of controlling possession and logging heavy minutes (nearly 25 minutes a night), that’s not the type of production that will get him the elite money for a defender.  If Heiskanen’s camp thinks that the 21-year-old can find another level on that front, it would make sense for them to push for a short-term deal and try their hand again a couple of years from now when they have arbitration eligibility.

As for Klingberg, he has been a fixture on the back end for Dallas since breaking into the league in the 2014-15 season and has been on an extremely team-friendly deal since 2015-16 with a cap hit of just $4.25MM.  With that contract having another year on it, he will be 30 when he first takes to the ice on his next deal.  While there could be a temptation to sign a shorter-term deal in the hopes of getting more money in a couple of years assuming revenue stabilizes by then, Klingberg would also be at the age where teams are a bit more hesitant to hand out big money, long-term contracts.  Accordingly, taking a bit of a discount in terms of the AAV but getting closer to a max-term agreement may be his best course of action.

Either way, both blueliners will soon be in for significant raises.  Fortunately for Dallas, they will have some flexibility on the cap front this summer with Andrew Cogliano and Blake Comeau ($5.65MM combined) coming off the books to help cover Heiskanen’s deal.  Meanwhile, in the 2022 offseason when Klingberg will need his new contract, Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov ($13.25MM combined) will be UFAs as well, providing plenty of wiggle room for Nill to work with.  Their back end will soon be getting a lot more expensive although they should still be worth the higher price tag.

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.

Injury Notes: Benning, Maple Leafs, Heiskanen

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The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Matt Benning from his conditioning stint with the Bakersfield Condors. Benning hasn’t played in the NHL since the beginning of December, after suffering two head injuries in short succession. He played three games in the AHL on his conditioning stint, scoring one point.

Benning’s return to full health would be a very interesting addition for the Oilers, who have come to rely heavily on some of their other young defenders in his absence. The 25-year old had played in more than 200 games for the team over the last several years and will give the team even more options to consider as the trade deadline approaches. Technically Benning is still on long-term injured reserve, though the team does have the roster room to activate him if they choose.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are also getting some injured bodies back, activating Jake Muzzin and Trevor Moore from injured reserve today. The Maple Leafs are back in action tonight and are expected to keep young defenseman Rasmus Sandin in the lineup even with Muzzin returning, meaning the first year of his entry-level contract will kick in.
  • Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is expected to return tonight after missing the team’s last game with a concussion. Heiskanen suffered the injury on January 16th, but with the bye week and All-Star break will apparently only be out a single game. In 47 games during his sophomore season Heiskanen has 24 points and is averaging more than 24 minutes a night for the Stars.

Snapshots: Thornton, Faksa, Heiskanen, Sandin

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Joe Thornton has been with the Sharks since the 2005-06 season and in past free agent periods, his focus was solely on staying with San Jose.  However, with his team well out of playoff contention, some have wondered if the 40-year-old would be open to waiving his no-move clause to join a contender for the stretch run.  Thornton told reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, that it’s something he has yet to consider:

I really, I need to think about that.  I haven’t thought about it at all.  I’m just trying to win games here and see how it goes.  I’m still optimistic we can make a run at it, I really am. 

While Thornton’s numbers have tapered off significantly this season (2-17-19 in 50 games), he should still be coveted by several teams looking to add to their bottom six group of forwards and at this stage, it’s likely only a matter of time before the Sharks start selling.  With a $2MM contract (and no bonuses), he’ll be one of the more affordable rental players over the next month if he opts to waive his trade protection.

More from the around the league:

  • Dallas is expected to get some help from the infirmary on Monday night. Mike Heika of the Stars’ team website reports (Twitter link) that center Radek Faksa and defenseman Miro Heiskanen are expected to return against Tampa Bay.  Faksa has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury while Heiskanen missed their last game before the break due to a concussion.
  • The Maple Leafs appear to be set to play defenseman Rasmus Sandin on Monday night despite the pending return of Jake Muzzin, notes Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (via Twitter). That’s noteworthy as in doing so, they will officially burn the first year of his entry-level contract as it will be his tenth NHL game of the season.  The next threshold for them to watch for is 40 games on the active roster as that will accrue a year of service time towards unrestricted free agency.

Dallas Stars Activate Stephen Johns, Place Radek Faksa On IR

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The long-awaited wait for the return of defenseman Stephen Johns, who hasn’t appeared in 22 months due to post-traumatic headaches, is finally here. SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks reports that John has been activated and is expected to play Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. To make room for the blueliner, Dallas has placed center Radek Faksa on injured reserve.

“For 22 months this is the day I’ve looked forward to every second of every day,” said Johns earlier today (via The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro).

The 27-year-old Johns hasn’t played in a game since March 29, 2018, and many wondered if he’d ever return to the ice. However, the blueliner began skating several months ago and finally was cleared to play recently. He was assigned to the Texas Stars of the AHL on a conditioning stint where he played two games for them, picking up a goal and three assists and looks to be ready to return to action. He is expected to be paired with Andrej Sekera on the team’s third pairing.

Johns should provide the team with significant defensive depth as his 6-foot-4 frame and physical play should only help the Stars down the road. Johns  played 75 games for the Stars back in the 2017-18 season with eight goals, 15 points, 155 blocked shots and 201 hits. The team also is thrilled to see him return after star defenseman Miro Heiskanen went down in the second-half of Thursday’s game against Buffalo and is considered day-to-day as he is in concussion protocol.

Faksa is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and is not expected to play Saturday, their last day before the all-star break the team has. With the next game not being until Jan. 27, the team can activate him then with just one game missed.

Stars Notes: Khudobin, Pavelski, Heiskanen, Dellandrea

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In two seasons with the Dallas Stars, goaltender Ben Bishop has already appeared in 112 games if you include the playoffs. And while the goaltender put up Vezina-caliber numbers last year after posting a 1.98 GAA and a .934 save percentage in 46 regular season games. However, how long can the 32-year-old keep that pace up?

The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) writes that the team needs to turn backup goaltender Anton Khudobin into a tandem 1B goaltender. Despite appearing in 41 games with Dallas last season, his role has obviously been as a backup as he made just one playoff appearance in 13 games, and the 33-year-old played just 11:05 in that one game. Regardless, he has put up solid 2.57 GAA and a .923 save percentage.

With Bishop getting older, Shapiro writes that the team needs to include Khudobin more and give him an even bigger role, which would include making the goalie situation more of a tandem. Khudobin has never thrived when sitting on the bench cold and has proven to be stronger when he gets streaks of starts. That might make a tandem combination work better for Dallas.

  • SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks writes that while the 38 goals that new Dallas Stars’ Joe Pavelski scored with San Jose last season were nice, what the team is really hoping for is that the veteran forward can turn Dallas’ power play into an elite one. What the Stars are hoping for is that Pavelski can provide the power play with versatility and movement in the offensive zone, something that San Jose has always been great at. The Stars want the same mobility on their power play.  “When the bodies are moving, the puck’s moving, it gets hard for penalty killers to keep track of everybody,” Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. “That’s where you find the open lanes, seams for tips and one-timers.”
  • NHL.com’s Rob Reese writes that while Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen had an impressive season, it’s even more impressive when you look at the numbers that the rookie put up. The blueliner was first among rookies, averaging 23:07 of ATOI, almost two minutes more than Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin. His 12 goals was ranked 17th among all NHL defensemen and his 10 even-strength were tied for eighth in the league. With more playing time expected next season, Heiskanen should continue to evolve into one of the elite defensemen.
  • NHL.com’s Brett Amadon writes that Montgomery has made it clear that he is open to giving top prospect Ty Dellandrea a legitimate shot to make the team during training camp this season. The 13th-overall pick in the 2018 draft has been impressive in juniors and looked pretty good in a short stint with the AHL’s Texas Stars last season, but would have to make Dallas’ roster next year or be returned to his junior club, the Flint Firebirds in the OHL. “I’ve got to work extremely hard and take the stuff I learned from a bit of pro experience,” Dellandrea said at Stars development camp in June. “I’ve got to come in, do everything I can and give myself the best shot to make the team.”

 

 

Gavin Bayreuther Re-Signs With Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars have to be happy about taking a waiver on a little-known college free agent out of St. Lawrence University two years ago. Gavin Bayreuther has proven to be a more than capable pro, successfully translating his game from NCAA level. After back-to-back strong AHL campaigns, as well as 19 NHL games this past season, Bayreuther has been rewarded with a new contract. Dallas has announced a one-year, two-way extension with the blue liner. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Bayreuther, 25, is a New Hampshire native and the cousin of former Stars teammate Ben Lovejoy, who also grew up in New England. An undrafted prospect out of The Holderness School, Bayreuther played on season in the USHL before enrolling at St. Lawrence, where he immediately became a force on the blue line for the Saints. Over four seasons, Bayreuther compiled 111 points in 142 games and twice led the team in scoring. His play caught the attention of Dallas, who signed him to a two-year entry-level contract after graduation. It paid off immediately, as Bayreuther continued to dominate as a puck-moving defender, recording 32 points in his first pro season to lead all defenseman in scoring for AHL Texas, proving he was an NHL asset. He added another 25 points in just 53 AHL games this year, but also added five NHL points over 19 games with Dallas.

The challenge moving forward for Bayreuther is no longer to prove he belongs in the NHL, but to prove that he is more worthy of starts and ice time than his many competitors. The Stars are deep on the blue line, led by the likes of John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, and Miro Heiskanen. Veterans Roman Polak and Andrej Sekera will also have a leg up in the position battle, as will the re-acquired Jamie Oleksiak. That potentially leaves one roster spot available for Bayreuther, Taylor Fedun, injured Stephen Johns, and still-unsigned restricted free agents Julius Honka and Dillon Heatherington to fight over. It won’t be easy for Bayreuther to crack the NHL roster or even ensure that he spends considerable time at the top level this year, but if he continues to produce regardless of the level, the Stars may be left with little choice but to give the young rearguard a regular role.

Early Notes: Ozhiganov, Jokerit, Kunin

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As expected, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Igor Ozhiganov is heading back to the KHL. The pending restricted free agent has signed a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The Maple Leafs can retain his rights temporarily if they issue him a qualifying offer, but lose them next summer after Ozhiganov’s 27th birthday.

Meanwhile, Eemeli Rasanen is also heading back to the KHL this time to join Jokerit once again. Rasanen, a second-round pick from 2017 played five games with the Toronto Marlies this year but will continue to develop overseas for the time being. He doesn’t have a contract with the Maple Leafs currently, but they will retain his draft rights indefinitely due to his departure to the KHL before they expired in the first place.

  • Speaking of Jokerit, the team also made a trade today to acquire some pretty impressive rights. The team now owns the KHL rights for Florida Panthers forward Henrik Borgstrom and Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen. While this doesn’t mean much right now given the two young players are entrenched in the NHL, it could potentially pay off if there is another work stoppage and North American talent is looking for a place to play.
  • Luke Kunin has been added to the Team USA roster at the current IIHF World Championship, giving the team a full 25-man roster. They’re back in action this weekend taking on Denmark and Germany, before a classic battle with Canada on Tuesday evening. Kunin brings a fair bit of international experience despite being just 21, as he won gold at both the U18 and U20 World Juniors while serving as captain for Team USA. Clayton Keller, Colin White and Adam Fox were also part of that U20 team, now reunited at the Worlds.

2019 Calder Memorial Trophy Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given each year to the most proficient first-year player in the NHL, have been announced. The three rookies are Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal was the 2018 winner of the award.

While it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Canucks’ Pettersson would walk away with the award early in the season, the young Swede has gotten some good competition from Binnington as well as fellow Swede Dahlin. However, Pettersson remains the front runner. The 20-year-old came over from Sweden this year and immediately posted 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, making the loss of both Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who retired a season ago, less noticeable. What’s interesting is that Pettersson was initially pegged to play the wing for a season as he transitioned to North American hockey. Instead, within a week or two of training camp the team announced he would play center immediately and fared extremely well at that. Despite the impressive numbers, the other two candidates have a legitimate chance at the award, as much of Pettersson’s production was concentrated in the first half of the season. He tallied 23 goals and 45 points in the first 40 games of the season, but struggled more in the second half, totaling just five goals and 21 points in his final 31 games.

Binnington didn’t make his first start this year until Jan. 7, but he made it count, posting a shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers and leading a struggling Blues team to the playoffs with a 24-5-1 record with a 1.89 GAA and a .927 save percentage. The 25-year-old netminder was not even considered the team’s top goalie prospect at the start of the season, as he was behind Ville Husso in San Antonio of the AHL, but a strong start to the season with the Rampage and his immediate success with St. Louis give the goaltender a good chance at challenging for the Calder.

Dahlin comes from a much more conventional place, as he was the 2018 No. 1 overall pick and immediately steadied a struggling Buffalo defense this season. He had one of the best seasons for an 18-year-old defensemen ever, as he posted nine goals and 44 points, second most in the NHL history for his age and position. Only his former coach, Phil Housley, did better as an 18-year-old defender, as Housley put up 57 points back in the 1982-83 season. Dahlin also played the second-most minutes among NHL rookies, averaging 21:09, behind Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who many felt deserved to be among the top three in this race. Dahlin is the first Buffalo Sabres player to be a finalist for the award since Tyler Myers was nominated in 2009-10.

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