Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tyler Seguin

Dallas Stars Announce Playoff Injuries, Remove Interim Coaching Tag

at CDT | by 15 Comments

Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill has finally spoken to the media about the injuries their team suffered through the return to play, and it is quite the list. From Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, captain Jamie Benn was playing through a shoulder injury. Blake Comeau suffered a separated shoulder, Jason Dickinson suffered foot and ankle injuries. Radek Faksa broke his wrist, while Roope Hintz suffered an injured hip and fractured ankle. Esa Lindell and John Klingberg were playing through hand and shoulder injuries, respectively, while Ben Bishop had undergone knee surgery in May. Tyler Seguin, who perhaps took the most criticism for his play in the postseason, suffered a torn labrum in his hip and will be out for the next four months. Anton Khudobin, who played throughout and was the team’s playoff MVP, had surgery to relieve numbness in his hands because of a nerve issue.

Nill also announced that Rick Bowness will return as head coach and removed his interim tag. Bowness took over when Jim Montgomery left the Stars midseason and took the team all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals despite this long injury list. He’ll return to try again, though it’ll have to be without his postseason star.

Khudobin, 34, will test free agency according to Nill, who explained that their cap situation couldn’t handle bringing him back at the price he is going to command. More than just your average backup, Khudobin proved that he can be the perfect 1B for a contending team looking for elite goaltending, even if he may not be able to handle the full load of a starter. In 30 regular season games he posted a pristine .930 save percentage and would likely have won the Conn Smythe trophy if the Stars had been able to find a way to win the Stanley Cup.

Oscar Klefbom, Tyler Seguin May Need Surgery

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers were one of the more disappointing return to play stories, ousted by the Chicago Blackhawks in four games despite having the Hart, Lindsay and Art Ross winner and Connor McDavid on the roster. Oscar Klefbom led all Oilers defensemen in minutes during that four-game stretch but may not see the ice again for some time.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Klefbom is “weighing options” regarding injuries he suffered this season and could be out long-term if he chooses surgery. Those decisions are likely complicated by the fact that no one knows for certain when the next NHL season will begin, but as Friedman points out Klefbom’s absence from the Oilers lineup “would need to be addressed.” The 27-year-old is one of Edmonton’s best defensemen and is under contract for three more years at a $4.17MM cap hit.

If you watched Tyler Seguin in the Stanley Cup playoffs it seemed obvious that he was struggling with an injury of some sort, but teams were not revealing any of those specifics while the series was still on the line. It turns out, it wasn’t just one injury. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period tweets that Seguin was dealing with wrist, hip, groin, and knee injuries in the playoffs. Those ailments will be evaluated this week to see if surgery is necessary. Seguin had just two goals in 26  postseason games and both came in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite his lack of scoring, he still averaged more than 22 minutes of ice time during the finals.

Seguin still did manage to supply five assists during the six-game series, but it’s a disappointing finish for a player who carries a $9.85MM cap hit and is expected to lead the offense in Dallas. Because of salaries like his, the Stars head into next season without a ton of cap room to maneuver. Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov are all restricted free agents that need new contracts and Anton Khudobin has likely priced himself out of a return with a strong postseason.

Today, Friedman wrote that the Stars “will try to move one big salary” though doesn’t clarify which one and only says that trade protection is an issue. That doesn’t clear it up much, as Seguin, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov, and Ben Bishop—the team’s biggest cap hits save Esa Lindell—all have trade protection of some sort.

2020 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Jason Zucker of the Minnesota Wild.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim: Cam Fowler

Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston: Patrice Bergeron

Buffalo: Jack Eichel

Calgary: Travis Hamonic

Carolina: Jordan Staal

Chicago: Jonathan Toews

Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog

Columbus: Cam Atkinson

Dallas: Tyler Seguin

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader

Edmonton: Leon Draisaitl

Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky

Los Angeles: Trevor Lewis

Minnesota: Matt Dumba

Montreal: Carey Price

Nashville: Pekka Rinne

New Jersey: P.K. Subban

NY Islanders: Matt Martin

NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk

Philadelphia: Kevin Hayes

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby

San Jose: Evander Kane

St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn

Toronto: Mitch Marner

Vancouver: Alexander Edler

Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

NHL All-Star Selections Announced

at CDT | by 18 Comments

Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:

Atlantic Division

G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)

Metropolitan Division

G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

Central Division

G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild

Pacific Division

G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames

Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:

Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner

Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie

Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine

Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty

Dallas CEO Rips Into Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin

at CDT | by 17 Comments

In the modern world of sports management and media, very rarely do upper executives of a team express anything but mild frustration if their team isn’t doing well. They may issue marching orders, or make sweeping changes in the front office, but almost never pick out individual players and air their grievances. Perhaps it’s something about the Texas heat that leads Dallas sports to act differently, but that market may be used to unusual outbursts given the bombastic personalities of Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. The Dallas Stars, who play arguably the least personality-driven of the four major sports, were getting by relatively unscathed when compared to their Texas counterparts. Until today.

In an incredible piece by Sean Shapiro of The Athletic (subscription required), Stars CEO Jim Lites goes into an on-the-record, expletive-filled rant about his best players, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. The entire piece is an absolute must-read for hockey fans thirsting for this kind of drama, but one (expletive-free) paragraph explains his thoughts on the situation:

These guys are not good enough. They’re not good enough for me, they’re not good enough for the owner, and they’re certainly not good enough for the general manager, who I can’t speak for, but it’s not good enough for the job he’s done. But we’ve had meeting after meeting after meeting. The accountability on the ice is not there. These guys were signed to big contracts because they were the third- and sixth-leading scorers in the National Hockey League over the past five years. They get their money, we expect them to not be outplayed every game we play in. And if they were as good as they’ve been in the past we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Amazingly, this tirade comes at a time in the season when the Stars are actually sitting in a playoff spot. Because of the struggles of many of the other top teams, Dallas sits in the second wild card spot with a 19-16-3 record, and are actually just three points behind the Colorado Avalanche for a divisional playoff spot. They sit just nine points behind the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Central Division, and are by no means out of the race entirely. In fact, they beat the Nashville Predators 2-0 yesterday (a game in which Seguin and Benn were both held scoreless).

Still, Lites—and apparently owner Tom Gaglardi—are not happy. The Stars signed Seguin to an eight-year, $78.8MM extension just a few months ago after the star forward publicly expressed his disappointment that they hadn’t worked out a deal yet, and are already paying Benn an average of $9.5MM per season to captain the Stars for majority of the next decade. That kind of money puts both among the very highest paid players in the league, but Lites apparently doesn’t think they’ve played up to their capacity. Seguin is on pace for just 69 points this season, which would break his streak of five consecutive seasons of at least 72 points. The 26-year old forward set a career high with 40 goals last year, but is on pace for just 23 this year thanks to a career-low shooting percentage and league leading number of posts hit. Lites clearly doesn’t buy the post excuse:

He’s hitting posts, ‘wah-wah.’ That’s what I say about hitting posts. Get a little bit closer to the action, actually go to the spot where you score goals. He doesn’t do that, he never does that anymore. He used to be a pest to play against, people hated playing against Tyler Seguin, they don’t anymore.

Benn meanwhile has 30 points in 38 games, which is also a pace that would give him his lowest total since the 2012-13 shortened season. The captain surprisingly has just one powerplay assist this year which drastically hurts his totals, but is still leading the club with 15 goals.

The fact that Benn and Seguin are still at the top of the Dallas scoring list may lead some fans to point out how weak the rest of the roster has performed this season, but Lites clearly isn’t buying it. He’s put the onus on his best players to step up their game, an done so in such a public way that they will not be able to escape questions about it for the rest of the year. The Stars are back at home tomorrow night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Tyler Seguin Signs Extension With Dallas Stars

at CDT | by 12 Comments

The Dallas Stars have signed superstar center Tyler Seguin to an eight-year contract extension that will carry an average annual value of $9.85MM. Seguin was headed into his final year under contract and scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer, but will now remain with the Stars through the 2026-27 season. The contract is heavily front-loaded, and also contains a no-movement clause that will also cover the upcoming season. The full breakdown:

  • 2019-20: $13.5MM
  • 2020-21: $9.0MM
  • 2021-22: $13.0MM
  • 2022-23: $13.0MM
  • 2023-24: $8.45MM
  • 2024-25: $8.0MM
  • 2025-26: $7.1MM
  • 2026-27: $6.75MM

Seguin, 26, has established himself as one of the very best players in the league in recent seasons, and took that to a whole new level in 2017-18. Along with an improved defensive game, Seguin tallied a career high 40 goals and broke 70 points for the fifth consecutive season. While the Stars disappointed and didn’t make the playoffs, Seguin and linemate Jamie Benn were still devastating in all situations and are the core of a team that should rebound this season. This deal likely means that Seguin will play out the rest of his career in Dallas, but is still in his prime and should be a Hart Trophy candidate going forward.

The fact that the Stars got him locked up for under $10MM per season is a testament to how much Seguin truly wanted to stay in Dallas. Though he was clear in his disappointment earlier this summer, he never did waver from the fact that he would like to stay with the organization moving forward and was hoping something would get done. Easily compared to John Tavares who reached unrestricted free agency this year and has had a similar career path, Seguin likely could have made close to (or even more than) the $88MM contract handed out by the Toronto Maple Leafs just a few months ago.

Dallas now has more than $55MM committed to just 13 players for the 2019-20 season, but with Benn, Seguin, Alexander Radulov, John Klingberg and Ben Bishop locked up can feel happy with their core moving forward. Jason Spezza’s $7.5MM cap hit will come off the books in less than a year, giving them more flexibility moving forward to lock up their other young talents.

Though long-term deals always come with some risk, the Stars have done well to limit it in this contract. The salary cap will likely increase at least somewhat in the next few seasons, and by the time Seguin starts to experience a decline in performance the actual salary left on the deal will have started to decline appropriately. For now, they have locked up a top talent for considerably less than he would have received on the open market and set their franchise up for success.

This deal continues a trend of 2019 UFAs signing long-term extensions, and takes another one of the potential superstars off the market. Seguin, Max Pacioretty, Ryan Ellis, Ryan McDonagh, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Drew Doughty were all scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next summer but have instead signed lengthy deals to stay with their (sometimes new) teams. Teams hoping to get their hands on the remaining players may have to pay up quickly or risk them being unavailable for years to come.

Dallas Stars “Deep In Discussions” With Tyler Seguin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Tyler Seguin speculation came to a head recently when the superstar center repeatedly used the word “disappointed” in reference to his contract situation. Seguin and the Dallas Stars got back together soon after that, and now according to Mark Stepneski of NHL.com the team believes they’re headed in the right direction. In fact, GM Jim Nill used exactly those words to explain how he feels about the negotiations:

We are deep in discussions. It’s moving in the right direction. We’ll go from there.

I’d like to get it done before the season starts, but with negotiations, you never know. But I think both parties would like to get it done before.

Getting Seguin under contract before the season starts would be a huge boost for a Dallas team looking to bounce back from a disappointing season in 2017-18. Though their top offensive players produced at an extremely high level, they weren’t able to find enough secondary scoring to have any real consistency. They’ve tried to address that problem by bringing in players like Valeri Nichushkin and Blake Comeau, while also signing Anton Khudobin to make sure they have a solid goaltending tandem once again. Seguin’s contract situation will be a daily distraction if it lingers into the season, especially given the recent example set by John Tavares.

Seguin would easily be one of the top free agents on the market next summer, and if the season progresses without a contract the Stars would be forced to consider a trade. Though they obviously want to keep their star first-line center for as long as possible, watching an asset of that level walk out of town with no return is a tough pill for an organization looking to compete. Regaining cap space is one thing, but the Stars want to be among the Stanley Cup contenders as soon as this season and would have no internal replacement for a player of Seguin’s quality.

Just six forwards are scheduled to carry a cap hit of at least $10MM in the 2018-19 season, but Seguin could easily find his way into that group. It will be interesting to see though if captain Jamie Benn’s $9.5MM is a sort of internal threshold that the team isn’t willing to eclipse, and whether they can get Seguin under contract for a similar number. Currently carrying just a $5.75MM cap hit, Seguin is one of the best bargains in the NHL. Watch for his 15-team no-trade clause for this season to potentially be upgraded to a full no-movement clause if an extension is reached, guaranteeing his place in Dallas for a long time.

Tyler Seguin “Hopeful” After Renewed Contract Talks

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Dallas Stars were suddenly thrust into the spotlight recently when Tyler Seguin spoke about his current contract situation. Seguin described it as “disappointing” that there hadn’t been much in the way of extension talks this summer, but took a different tone today with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com. According to Seguin, contract talks with the Stars have increased since his media appearance at the BioSteel Camp in Toronto, and he’s now “hopeful” that the two sides will come to an agreement before the season begins.

Seguin is one of the big fish in the 2019 unrestricted free agent class, and has expressed a desire in the past to stay in Dallas long-term. That kind of a contract would likely approach what John Tavares landed on the open market, something that Dallas has to make sure they can fit in before signing. The Stars already have Jamie Benn under contract for $9.5MM per season and have been linked to other star players like Erik Karlsson and Artemi Panarin, if only in passing. Inking what could be an extension that eclipses $80MM for Seguin is a huge commitment, though he certainly has deserved it through his on-ice performance.

The 26-year old Seguin is one of only a few players who can claim real 40-goal capability, and added even more defensive responsibility to his repertoire last season. In 2017-18 he recorded his fifth consecutive season of at least 72 points, and should considered among the very best centers in the NHL. In fact, he recently landed just outside the top-10 in our PHR community-voted rankings and would be arguably the best player available next summer if he reached free agency.

Bruins Notes: Seguin, Heinen, Krejci, Leach, McQuaid

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin showing unhappiness recently that he hasn’t signed an extension yet, speculation is beginning to increase that Seguin may be considering taking the same course that John Tavares took this offseason before eventually signing a seven-year, $77MM deal. Seguin, who is coming off a 40-goal, 78-point season and at 26 years old, could garner as much as Tavares after his contract expires at the end of the year.

The Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy writes that while the team did make an offer to Tavares, he doesn’t think it would make sense to make a similar offer to the former Bruin. The scribe does admit that Peter Chiarelli made a big mistake when he and Boston’s brass traded away Seguin, who at 21, showed immaturity and a lack of professionalism. A more mature Seguin has shown over the last five years that the Bruins probably should have held onto him. Regardless, Conroy said Seguin wouldn’t be worth such a big, long-term deal, although a rental situation at the trade deadline might be a different story.

NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty adds that he also wouldn’t recommend for Boston to attempt to bring Seguin back despite the fact that he still has several friends on the team, including Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. While current GM Don Sweeney was just an assistant GM when Seguin was traded, there are still enough personnel remaining in the organization that probably wouldn’t want Seguin to return to the franchise. However, he added never say never.

  • Joe McDonald of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Bruins are still considering whether they want to break up their top line after their super line of Bergeron, Marchand and David Pastrnak were shut down by the Tampa Bay Lightning, and no other line was able to step up. The idea has been suggested to move Pastrnak to the second line to create a more balanced attack. If that’s the case, McDonald feels that Danton Heinen might be ready to replace Pastrnak on the first line. Heinen had a solid rookie season, scoring 16 goals and 47 points last season.
  • Haggerty also wonders how much longer center David Krejci can hold onto the No. 2 center position? The team made an obvious attempt to sign Tavares this offseason, suggesting that they are interested in eventually moving on from Krejci in that spot with the hopes of dropping him to their third line. However, at the moment, they lack a player who is ready to challenge him for that spot. The team’s third-line center position is going to be a battle among rookies, including Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic.
  • The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes that Providence Bruins’ coach Jay Leach continues to work to develop those three prospect centers. The coach has been sending Forsbacka Karlsson, Studnicka and Frederic videos of Bergeron, the young Bergeron, for the three to study in hopes of teaching them everything they need to know about adjusting to the NHL. “Honestly, if you’re looking for a centerman to show you how to do things,” Leach said of Bergeron, “this is the guy. Just little things of nuances this guy can do.”
  • In another article, Haggerty questions whether defenseman Adam McQuaid will remain with the Boston Bruins. With eight viable blueliners on the roster, McQuaid, who has played nine seasons in Boston, could find himself elsewhere by the start of the season. The 6-foot-4 physical grinder only saw 38 games last season and with a plethora of right-shot defensemen, he could be the player to sit in the press box on most nights unless the team attempts to find him a better home. The team already has Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Kevan Miller on the right side, which also was a reason why McQuaid saw his minutes drop from 18:15 to 15:42 last season. However, the 31-year-old still managed to get 80 hits and block 56 shots last season, which could make him an option for a team looking for defensive depth and a penalty killing option.

Tyler Seguin “Disappointed” In Contract Situation

at CDT | by 5 Comments

After Tyler Seguin contract speculation hit the news again recently with a report the two sides hadn’t discussed an extension in some time, he addressed media today about the situation. Speaking to reporters including The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Seguin expressed his disappointment that he hasn’t already signed a long-term deal with the Dallas Stars and indicated the two sides haven’t spoken about an extension since the draft. Seguin is in Toronto at the BioSteel camp with many other top NHL stars, and will be heading into the final season of his current contract when he reports to Stars training camp in a few weeks.

There is bound to be almost daily updates on the Seguin situation if the team doesn’t get him under contract before the season begins, and like John Tavares last year there will be a real pressure to trade him if nothing can get done. The team can’t watch a superstar center walk into free agency without getting something in return, but the Stars are hoping to compete for the playoffs this season and Seguin is a huge part of their success. One of the most consistent offensive players in the league, Seguin is coming off his fifth consecutive season with at least 70 points and his first with 40 goals. Improving defensive play has turned him into a legitimate top tier center in the NHL, and one that would demand upwards of $10MM per season on any extension.

That might be too rich for the Stars, but it would mean letting one of the faces of the franchise get away in his prime. Though Seguin has only been in Dallas for five of his eight NHL seasons, he’s one of the most popular players in the market and an obvious choice to give a long-term contract to. He does come with some controversy from his days with the Boston Bruins, but hasn’t found himself in the news very often since heading to the Stars other than for his incredible on-ice performance.

The Stars were recently linked once again to Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson, who would also be looking for a massive extension if he was acquired at any point this season. Paying both Karlsson and Seguin might be impossible for the Stars, even with the relative bargain of John Klingberg’s current deal. While it’s not clear what exactly is holding up any contract extension talks between the Stars and Seguin, they’ll have to make a decision before long and work out a deal with him before the allure of free agency becomes even more attractive.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top