Dallas Stars Free Agency Open Thread

Late last night, it was reported that the Stars were signing unqualified restricted free agent Sam Steel to a one-year, $1 million contract. Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet reported this morning that he believes current Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene will re-sign and that newly minted free agent William Carrier, who played in Las Vegas last season, would also end up in Victory Green.

Duchene’s deal is already being reported as a one-year, $3 million extension:

Matt Duchene's extension with the #stars is expected to be a one-year deal in the same range as what he made last season: $3M.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 1, 2024

Firstly, if that ends up being the contract, just incredible work from general manager Jim Nill not to cut into the cap savings he got from the Ryan Suter buyout and Joe Pavelski pseudo-retirement by giving more to Duchene. Secondly, this is the precedent that Pavelski set in Dallas: one year deals once you’re at a certain point with team-friendly cap hits to ensure the team can continue being built around to be a contender year after year. That Duchene saw that happening and followed that same blueprint is maybe just one ripple effect we’ll see from Pavelski’s impact on this team for years to come.

That might be work done on the upfront component of the roster:

If what Elliotte says comes true, Dallas has a forward corps that likely looks like some iteration of this going into training camp:

Robertson – Hintz – Johnston
Marchment – Seguin – Duchene
Benn – Bourque – Stankoven
Carrier – Faksa – Steel
Dadonov https://t.co/yLxSZpsd4Z
— Taylor Baird (@taylordbaird) July 1, 2024

Chris Tanev, whose rights the Stars traded during the draft, made his signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs official:

Chris Tanev signs for 6 x$4.5M in Toronto

Full no-move throughout. Approx 80 per cent in bonuses
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2024

I truly believe that the Stars could have maybe even beat that average annual value on a shorter term deal, but the Stars were never going to give that kind of term to a near-35 year old. Tanev will be 40 years old by the time the contract ends, and he’s got a history of injury. Combined with the really tough style he plays, the back end of that contract would be a major risk for the Stars as they continue having their young core come up and ostensibly needing new contracts down the road. That kind of contract could become a handcuff to the future salary cap situation.

So far, Dallas hasn’t been connected to any defensemen in the market. But, that’s their number one need. This has all the markings of a typical Nill free agency period, where they aren’t associated with anything until it’s basically done. With how quiet it has been, is there a trade in the works?

We’ll have a clearer picture by the end of the day today.

Talking Points