Stars Provide Several Injury Updates
The Stars have been one of the top teams in the NHL all season and have done so despite missing several key players for extended stretches. They also happen to be without quite a few regulars in the stretch run of the season. In an appearance on 96.7 The Ticket earlier today (audio link), head coach Glen Gulutzan provided updates on several of his players.
Earlier today, the team revealed that defenseman Miro Heiskanen was undergoing imaging for a lower-body injury. He’s set to miss the remaining three games of the regular season while Gulutzan added that he is “certainly hoping” to have his top blueliner back when the playoffs start. If he isn’t able to return, it would be the second straight postseason in which Heiskanen would miss time as he was sidelined for 10 of their 18 contests in 2025.
The other high-end player that remains sidelined for Dallas is center Roope Hintz. He sustained a lower-body last month (in his first game back following an illness that kept him sidelined after the Olympic break) and while the original hope was that he wouldn’t miss much time, he hasn’t played since. Recently, the plan was for him to get back into action before the end of the regular season but that is no longer the case. Now, the hope is that Hintz, who is still listed as week-to-week, will be ready for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Heiskanen isn’t the only Dallas defender who’s now banged up. Gulutzan indicated that Tyler Myers reaggravated an old injury on Thursday and could miss Saturday’s game against the Rangers as a result. Acquired just before the trade deadline from Vancouver, the veteran is averaging over 16 minutes per night in 13 games with his new team as he has helped stabilize the back of their back end.
It isn’t all bad news on the injury front though. Gulutzan added that center Radek Faksa and winger Michael Bunting are expected to play in multiple games before the season ends with Bunting potentially being ready on Saturday. Center Sam Steel is day-to-day with the team being hopeful that he’ll be able to return for the regular season finale on Wednesday versus Buffalo.
Injury Updates: Steel, Honzek, Jets
Stars center Sam Steel has returned home early from their road trip due to an undisclosed injury sustained on Thursday, relays team reporter Mike Heika (Twitter link). With three games left on the trip, it stands to reason that he’ll now be out at least that long. The 28-year-old is in the middle of a career year, posting 12 goals and 21 assists through 72 appearances. Dallas is now down to just 12 healthy forwards at the moment although the hope is that winger Mikko Rantanen may be ready to return for one of their games this weekend.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Flames forward Samuel Honzek returned to practice today for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in a collision with teammate Mikael Backlund back in mid-November, reports Danny Austin of the Calgary Herald. However, the team has already indicated that even though he’s skating ahead of schedule, he remains out for the season. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick in 2023 and had four points in 18 games. While he won’t be able to add to that total, the fact that he’s back on the ice now suggests he’ll be primed for a full offseason and perhaps a stint for Slovakia at the Worlds in May.
- While the Jets needed to bring two players up under emergency conditions today, that situation may not exist for too long. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press mentions that forwards Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov are on Winnipeg’s road trip and could be options to return within the next week. Both veterans are in the middle of down years, with Niederreiter notching just 19 points in 55 games and Namestnikov currently with only 13 points in 57 contests. However, both would still be viewed as welcome returns next week as the team looks to hang around in the battle for a Wild Card spot.
Dallas Stars Sign Sam Steel To Two-Year Extension
The Dallas Stars have started early in retaining one of their multiple forwards heading to unrestricted free agency next summer. Dallas announced they’ve signed forward Sam Steel to a two-year, $4.2MM extension which will take him through the 2026-27 NHL season.
Steel signed a one-year, $850K contract with the Stars on the first day of free agency in 2023 after going non-tendered by the Minnesota Wild. The former first-round pick responded well, scoring nine goals and 24 points in 77 games averaging 13:15 of ice time per game.
Although his offensive production doesn’t jump off the page, Steel’s work on the defensive side of the puck drew some attention. He had a +10 differential between takeaways and giveaways putting him in the same tier as Radek Faksa, Jamie Benn, and Jason Robertson.
His 52.0% CorsiFor% only ranked 15th on the team but it’s more impressive considering he started 58.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. For better or worse, some of that has changed this season.
Steel is similarly producing solid possession metrics but his takeaway/giveaway differential has plummeted to -22. Still, in his defense, that is true of every player on the Stars this season.
He’s averaging slightly more offensive production being on pace for six goals and 20 points which has correlated to a mild 1:30 boost in average ice time. Given his consistency in Dallas’ lineup and relative youth compared to other forwards on the roster, the extension should benefit Steel and the Stars.
Injury Updates: Dunn, Bjugstad, Steel, Eklund
Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn missed a game last week due to an upper-body injury and now he’s banged up again. Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times notes that the 27-year-old is listed as day-to-day after being injured in Friday’s victory over Philadelphia; he didn’t play in the final 23 minutes of the contest. Head coach Dan Bylsma didn’t have a timeline for his return, stating that Dunn is still waiting on further evaluation. Dunn is off to a solid start to his season with a goal and two assists in his first four appearances while logging a little under 19 minutes per night.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Utah HC center Nick Bjugstad is seven to ten days away from returning, per Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). The 32-year-old has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury that kept him out at the start of training camp. He’s coming off one of his best seasons offensively after putting up 22 goals and 23 assists in 76 games with Arizona and was originally expected to miss all of October. Now, it appears he might be able to beat that by a game or two.
- Stars center Sam Steel was injured on his final shift on Thursday against Washington and is listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest versus Edmonton, mentions team radio analyst Bruce LeVine (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has a goal and an assist through his first five appearances this season. With Tyler Seguin already out, Dallas would need to bring up a forward if Steel can’t play. However, they can’t even afford a recall making $800K per PuckPedia which will limit their options.
- Sharks forward William Eklund missed tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury, relays Max Miller of The Hockey News. He had been listed as a game-time decision on Thursday but he managed two assists in the loss; head coach Ryan Warsofsky acknowledged postgame that the 22-year-old isn’t fully healthy. With that in mind, holding him out of a back-to-back certainly made sense.
Stars Re-Sign Sam Steel
July 1, 6:08 a.m.: While the team hasn’t announced it, CapFriendly reflects that Steel’s deal has been signed.
June 30, 10:40 p.m.: Although he wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer earlier today, it looks like Sam Steel will be staying in Dallas. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports (Twitter link) that the center is expected to ink a one-year, $1.2MM contract to remain with the Stars.
The 26-year-old has actually been non-tendered in three straight years to avoid giving him arbitration eligibility which could have pushed the price tag higher than his previous teams wanted to pay. That resulted in Anaheim letting him go in 2022 while Minnesota did the same last summer, paving the way for him to sign a one-year, $850K deal with the Stars on the open day of free agency last summer.
Steel had a quality year with Dallas in their bottom six, recording 24 points in 77 games while averaging a little over 13 minutes per game including nearly two minutes per night shorthanded. He also suited up in all 19 playoff contests, picking up a goal and four helpers.
For his career, Steel has played in 339 NHL games between the Ducks, Wild, and Stars. While he was a high-end scorer in junior, that hasn’t translated to the pros as he has just 43 goals and 74 assists in those appearances; the fact that he has become a capable defensive forward will help extend his career as it makes him a better fit to play in the bottom six.
In the end, Steel will wind up with a $350K raise, a pretty good outcome as it will be the first seven-figure contract of his career. Meanwhile, the Stars were able to avoid the risk of going to arbitration while ensuring they can keep him at a rate they can afford. With at least seven more players needed to fill out their roster, expect Dallas to be busy in the coming days.
Matt Duchene, Sam Steel To Sign With Dallas Stars
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Dallas Stars are signing veteran forward Matt Duchene. NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports it’s worth $3MM. The Stars also announced a one-year, $850K contract for center Sam Steel.
Duchene was a late entrant to the UFA market after being bought out by Nashville earlier today with three years remaining on his contract. It didn’t take long for him to find a new home, however, as he joins a Dallas team that already has some strong center depth which should help take some offensive pressure off of him.
Last season, the 32-year-old took a step back offensively after putting up a career-high 43 goals and 43 assists in 2021-22. However, he still managed to tally 22 goals and 34 assists in 71 games for the Preds last year, good for second on the team in scoring which made it all the more surprising that Nashville elected to buy him out.
In a potentially more limited role (since it’s unlikely he’ll be averaging more than 18 minutes a game next season), those numbers are likely to come down, Duchene should still be able to provide solid value on this deal while giving them another above-average option at the faceoff dot, adding to a team strength.
As for Steel, he had a career year last season with Minnesota, collecting 10 goals and 18 assists in 65 games, providing the Wild with a strong return on a one-year, $825K investment. However, as the 25-year-old had arbitration eligibility, Minnesota elected to non-tender Steel, making him an unrestricted free agent for the second straight year. Technically, Dallas can control him through restricted free agency through the 2024-25 campaign but he would remain arbitration-eligible next summer.
Steel averaged nearly 15 minutes per night with the Wild last season and it’s unlikely that he’ll see that much ice time on a deep Dallas forward group. Instead, he might fit in on their fourth line with an ability to move up when injuries arise.
Looking At Five 2023 Non-Qualified UFA Targets
The 2023 unrestricted free agent class may be disappointing, especially with some high-profile names like Stanley Cup champions Ivan Barbashev and Adin Hill coming off the board in recent days. However, the market did get a bit of a boost in the last 24 hours thanks to a slew of buyouts and the qualifying offer deadline, which saw over 100 restricted free agents get released by their teams to unrestricted status tomorrow. With that being said, it’s time to take a look at some of the more intriguing targets now available for teams to sign.
Each player’s former team is listed in parentheses. You can find the full list of RFAs that went unqualified here.
D Ethan Bear (VAN)
The summer will likely end with Bear re-signing in Vancouver, but there’s nothing stopping him from heading elsewhere if a team comes calling. He could last a bit into the summer as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained while playing at the IIHF Men’s World Championship, though.
After not really finding a role in the Carolina Hurricanes lineup, Bear had a very solid season with the Canucks, posting 16 points in 61 games and providing high-end two-way play for a team that desperately needed it. Add in the fact he’s a right shot and still only 26 years old, and he makes for a rather appealing target that would have landed on our top 50 unrestricted free agents list for 2023.
He’s likely to earn a two-to-three-year deal, probably slightly under his $2.2MM qualifying offer. If so, all signs point to it being one of the better value signings of a summer poised to see some overpayments out of need in a weak UFA class.
F Denis Gurianov (MTL)
Things have been downhill for the 2015 12th overall pick since he logged 20 goals in his rookie season, a feat he hasn’t matched since. After sliding back out of a consistent top-nine role with the Dallas Stars, he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens at the deadline in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov, a move that may have paid dividends for both sides. Gurianov did show a bit of a resurgence with the Habs, scoring five goals and eight points in 23 games, looking more engaged than he did with the Stars. The Habs will likely attempt to get a deal done here, but he wasn’t worth the $2.9MM qualifying offer he was due.
This is not a case of analytics suggesting a breakout, though, in fact, it’s the opposite. There are red flags nearly everywhere in his profile, suggesting he’s a liability in isolation. There is still some obvious raw skill with Gurianov, though, and for a cheap cost, he could put up some higher point totals with picture-perfect chemistry. It remains to be seen whether he’ll ever find that.
D Caleb Jones (CHI)
The counting stats here aren’t the prettiest, but advanced metrics have long tabbed Jones as an effective player for his role. Last season, Jones’ -19 rating may not have been pretty, but he also logged nearly 20 minutes a night on a lottery team. In fact, Jones logged a career-high relative Corsi for percentage at even strength of 4.8%, and his 16 points in 73 games were a career-high.
He’ll never break the bank offensively from the blue line, nor should you expect him to, but he’s got an underrated ability to drive play and proved this season he can take on more serious minutes against tougher competition. Add in the fact he can play both the left and right side, and he should be quite a good value signing for a team looking to bolster their third pair (or potentially second).
At 26, though, Jones was nearing retirement age on a very youthful Chicago blueline, and they decided to cut ties to make room for more of their future talent. He shouldn’t cost much more than $2MM on a one-year offer.
F Daniel Sprong (SEA)
Sprong easily jumps out as the most tantalizing target here. Quickly overtaking Dale Weise for the “Dutch Gretzky” title (sorry, Canadiens fans), Sprong has grown into one of the most efficient per-minute scorers in the league. He’s notched at least 13 goals in four of the last five seasons, never averaging more than 13 minutes per game – in fact, he scored 21 goals (and 46 points) in just 66 games with the Kraken this year despite staying squarely in a fourth-line role, averaging 11:25 per game. He was 17th in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes this season among skaters with at least 25 games.
With that, he’s set himself up for more ice time and more money. He was eligible for arbitration and likely would’ve garnered a rich reward for his production – a number Seattle didn’t want to pay. That doesn’t mean another team won’t, although an underwhelming playoff performance may scare some teams off. For a fringe team looking to add a high-octane option to its top nine, though, look no further than the 26-year-old Sprong.
He could very well command above the $3MM mark on a short-term but multi-year deal, especially from a team slated toward the bottom of the league standings. He jumps out as an attractive option for teams like the Arizona Coyotes, who could bank on Sprong’s production maintaining (or even increasing) with a slight bump in minutes, parlaying it into a valuable trade at next year’s deadline. Signing him to a two- or three-year deal with cost certainty as the salary cap rises would only add to his trade value.
F Sam Steel (MIN)
Steel is the only unqualified RFA who can say they were a number-one center last year. However, it was by necessity – with the Minnesota Wild needing Joel Eriksson Ek to round out their top-six on their second line, it was an in-and-out swap all year between Steel and Ryan Hartman between their pair of star wings in Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Steel did have a career-high 10 goals and 28 points in 65 games, but you’d expect more for someone who spent over 350 minutes with Kaprizov and Zuccarello this season – especially from a former first-round pick.
That being said, you could do worse for a third-line center. Steel isn’t a liability defensively, and while he may not be able to translate his offensive acumen to the scoresheet in the NHL, he won’t take points away from those around him and can survive as a complementary player.
Still, with uninspiring production in Minnesota, he wasn’t a candidate to stick around, as the team needs every dollar available to them to stay in playoff contention. He’s flashed the least upside at the NHL level of any of the five players listed, although he does carry some certainty in terms of his defensive impacts and offensive production that others here don’t offer.
Other targets to watch: F Nathan Bastian (NJD), G Mackenzie Blackwood (SJS), F Max Comtois (ANA), F Morgan Geekie (SEA), F Tyson Jost (BUF), F Klim Kostin (DET), F Denis Malgin (COL), F Michael McLeod (NJD), F Jesse Puljujarvi (CAR)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
West Notes: Sharks, Predators, Steel, Nill, Sale
The San Jose Sharks just drafted a potential first-line center with the fourth overall pick with Will Smith, and at the draft in Nashville, there are some rumors that the team’s current top-six centers could be on the move. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that “teams have talked to” the Sharks about Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture.
Pagnotta stressed that no trade is close, and it’s worth noting that Hertl has a full no-move clause and Couture has a three-team no-trade list. It’d be a hard trade to complete, but the news that they’re listening on their two top centers signals GM Mike Grier is leaving no stone unturned as he attempts to rebuild San Jose into a playoff contender.
Some other notes from the Western Conference:
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman cites colleague Jeff Marek to report that the two restricted free agents the Nashville Predators will issue qualifying offers are center Cody Glass and defenseman Alexandre Carrier. That means notable players such as 2017 first-round pick Cal Foote and capable defensive winger Rasmus Asplund will hit the open market. It’s somewhat a surprise to see Foote go unqualified, seeing that he was recently acquired as part of the Tanner Jeannot trade and does have a first-round pedigree.
- Sam Steel won’t be issued a qualifying offer by the Minnesota Wild, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Steel had a decent season with the Wild, scoring 10 goals and 28 points playing at times in the team’s number-one center role. But the Wild could be weary of Steel’s arbitration potential given their dire cap issues, so he’ll now have a chance to hit the open market in a few days.
- Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill was named the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year, beating out finalists Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers. While Nill’s club didn’t make it to the Stanley Cup Final like Zito’s or go on a historic regular season run like Sweeney’s, Nill’s shrewd moves such as acquiring Max Domi and Evgenii Dadonov during the season helped propel the club to the Western Conference Final.
- Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that Eduard Sale, the Seattle Kraken’s recent first-round pick, is going to play for the OHL’s Barrie Colts next season. Sale has played the last two seasons in Czechia’s top pro league for Brno Kometa, and now will get the chance to play against his peers in major junior hockey. He’s an exceptionally skilled offensive player, so Colts fans should expect Sale to be among their top scorers if all goes well.
Stars/Wild Notes: Wallstedt, Eriksson Ek, Pavelski
With the Iowa Wild’s quick elimination from the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports the Minnesota Wild are expected to call up their complement of Black Aces today to be around the team while their playoff run continues. While most won’t be called up after Iowa’s exit meetings, Russo said that top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt has already been recalled and will serve as the third goalie behind the team’s tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Wallstedt, 20, didn’t have the playoff performance he wanted in Iowa, recording a .897 save percentage in two overtime losses as Iowa lost their best-of-three series against the Rockford IceHogs. It doesn’t diminish what was a promising stretch run to the season for him, wrapping up his first pro season in North America with a .908 save percentage and a shutout in 38 games for Iowa. Selected 20th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Wallstedt remains one of the best goalie prospects in the league and should gain valuable experience from being around the Minnesota team for the rest of their postseason.
- After attempting to return from injury in Game 3 and skating just one shift, things aren’t looking up for the health of Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek. Head coach Dean Evason told reporters today Eriksson Ek hasn’t skated since his latest injury, as he’s still in the process of evaluation and “not close” to returning to the lineup. Eyes now turn to Sam Steel and Frédérick Gaudreau, who have both performed well so far in the series, to shoulder Eriksson Ek’s absence.
- On the flip side, Dallas Stars winger Joe Pavelski continues to progress in his recovery after a hit in Game 1 that caused him to enter concussion protocol. Pavelski skated with the team today for the first time since the injury, and head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters Pavelski’s progressed in his recovery each day. It remains unclear whether Pavelski will return this series.
Minnesota Wild Sign Sam Steel
The Minnesota Wild have signed center Sam Steel to a one-year, $825,000 contract, according to a team release. Steel became an unrestricted free agent after the Anaheim Ducks chose not to issue him a qualifying offer earlier this summer.
The 2021-22 campaign wasn’t too kind to Steel. He did finish with a respectable six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 68 games, but he’s yet to develop into anything more than a run-of-the-mill bottom-six forward. With his ice time taking a hit, too, dropping to 12:19 per game in 2021-22 from 14:32 per game in 2020-21, Steel’s clout within the Ducks organization was dropping fast.
Steel’s game has been serviceable defensively throughout his four-season NHL career, but he’s yet to make the impact offensively he was expected to after going 30th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He’s scored exactly six goals in every NHL campaign and has never eclipsed more than 22 points in a season.
He’ll be 25 by the time next season ends, and the clock on his development is beginning to run out, but that doesn’t absolve him of being valuable to the Wild organization. The team needed another NHL forward in the lineup, plain and simple. While he may not have a breakout year in Minnesota, he’s still a very good insurance option to let players like Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime play more limited roles suited to their skill set. Steel could easily fit in on the team’s secondary scoring line alongside Frederick Gaudreau and Matthew Boldy, too, which could help spur some increased offense for him.