Welcome to the new Dallas Stars weekly roundup, catch up, ketchup, news, or whatever the heck you want to call it. The only thing that matters is that it will be written every week to catch you up on all the latest, whether that is actual news, press conferences, or notes directly from me at practice, games, etc…

Plus, I will include links to any writing from the prior week, so you don’t miss a thing Stars related!

Can I kick it?

Okay, is Jason Robertson getting traded or not?

I don’t know about you, but I am already over the back and forth surrounding Jason Robertson’s future.

They are trading him. No wait, they’re not. Wait… maybe?

No, the Stars are not trading Jason Robertson. Yet. After listening to some offers, the rumors cooled off. Dallas knows what they could likely get for their young goal scorer, but they aren’t ready to move on as of now. Instead, they will keep that in their back pocket while also seeing what Robertson’s next contract could look like. If the number begins to skyrocket for the 2026 RFA, then maybe Dallas will have to do some business.

For now, they have their most proven goal scorer on a team-friendly $7.75 million contract for one more season. Robertson is looking to prove it, both for his deal and after struggling with injuries to bookend the 2024-25 season.

How is Mitch Marner still connected to Dallas?

Mitch Marner is going to be one of the biggest additions for a club this summer. But it can’t be Dallas, right?

Somehow, despite the Stars having less than $5 million in the cap and yet to re-sign Jamie Benn, Mikael Granlund, and a host of others, Marner and Dallas continue to come up in the same sentence.

Dallas is a desirable place for Marner. Of course it is. It’s a desirable stop for most players, knowing they have a chance to win in an organization known to be one of the best top to bottom, AND can play in a state without income tax.

But the math just can’t work. Unless the Stars unload Robertson and more, there’s no way to fit what sounds like a $13-14 million AAV into their roster. The Stars would have to trade Robertson or maybe Tyler Seguin to even get close, and that’s just not going to happen.

Also, why would they?

Marner is a great player, don’t get me wrong. He is more dynamic and has better defensive prowess than Robertson. But does that really move the needle when it comes to making this team better? He doesn’t add to your toughness or change of identity, and he puts you more into the rush-style offense the team is trying to shift away from. Just doesn’t make sense.

Any news on the coach?

Dallas still doesn’t have a head coach after firing Pete DeBoer on June 6.

While we have not gotten much insight into the search, and won’t because that’s how general manager Jim Nill works, there is a belief that the search will come to an end this week.

July 1 is a big day in the NHL. Wouldn’t the Stars want a coach signed up and introduced before the organization is forced to address their free agency needs and moves? Wouldn’t a free agent want to know who the next coach is going to be before signing with a team that had a dramatic and bumpy finish to its postseason?

I think both answers are yes. That means Nill should announce the ninth coach of the Dallas Stars in the next five days.

Here is my article on a few interesting candidates… Glen Gulutzan is another very intriguing name not mentioned on that list.

Trade & sign

This is a heading I am very proud of.

Dallas made a few moves last week, the biggest being the Mason Marchment trade and Matt Duchene signing.

Duchene signed a four-year, $18 million contract extension on Thursday. Duchene had mentioned wanting some security, so it was a big question whether or not Dallas would give him some term. At first glance, it was even more surprising that they gave the 34-year-old four years, and that it came with a $4.5 million AAV. But once you look around the league to see players like Trent Frederic getting eight years around $4 million per season, it is obvious that this is a good deal for both sides.

With the cap going up, numbers are going to look a lot different. Bargain deals will be a bigger AAV, and it’s going to take some time to get used to. But Duchene led the team (until Mikko Rantanen stopped by) with 82 points in 82 games. His playoff struggles have been a problem, but the organization clearly sees his value in the regular season and believes he can find a way to be productive after game 82.

Marchment was traded to the Seattle Kraken for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick. This was not very surprising news, especially once Duchene signed and used up all but $500k of the Stars salary cap. Marchment had some excellent moments in Dallas. In three seasons, he was part of one of the best lines in hockey with Duchene and Tyler Seguin. He gave the Stars some bite and scored some flashy goals to go along with it.

But toward the end, it became a lot more embellishing and unnecessary penalties than having a big impact on the ice. Marchment got away from his power forward and grinder foundation and became more of a skilled player. And he has plenty of skill.

But Dallas also has plenty of high-end skill, and they seem to believe they can replace what Marchment brings for a lower cap hit.

What there is to like about the two moves… is they bring back a proven scorer and HUGE part of the leadership group in Duchene. They also open up some cap space for Dallas to try to re-sign Benn and Granlund.

Here’s what I don’t like about the two moves, though.

Marchment was probably the team’s most capable grinder, pest, Brad Marchand type. He wasn’t necessarily doing that a ton last season, but we have seen that he has it in him. Luds believed that a quick chat with Benn, the leaders, or even a coach could get Marchment to play the style of hockey they needed him to play and fully buy into it.

I didn’t mind trading him. But doing so basically to make room for Duchene doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Dallas has plenty of scoring. They have plenty of regular-season production. What they don’t have are a lot of playoff standouts and more importantly, the physical menace players that proved so vital to Florida’s back-to-back Stanley Cups.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it, Dallas got bullied in the playoffs. And they had no response to it. So far this summer, have the Stars gotten any tougher or harder to play against? I don’t think so. But the offseason is young.

Dallas also brought back Nils Lundkvist ($1.25 million) and Mavrik Bourque ($950k) on one-year deals, as well as AHLers Kole Lind, Ben Kraws, Remi Poirier, and Cameron Hughes. Lundkvist and Bourque each have a chance to prove themselves under a new head coach, a good thing for both.

Did you see those ’99 boys on DLLS?

In case you somehow missed it, we had the honor of 1999 Stanley Cup champions Ed Belfour and Richard Matvichuk joining the DLLS Stars show on Tuesday. Oh, and obviously Craig Ludwig was there too. And what a show it was.

Getting to hang out with Belfour, not only a Hall of Fame, Vezina, Jennings, Calder, gold medal, NCAA national champion goaltender, but my first favorite player and the reason I played goalie for the first 10 years of my hockey career, was incredible.

For 90 minutes, we talked all about 1999, the boys reminisced on some Cup celebrations and shenanigans, we dove into what it takes to win and how the current Dallas team can get over the hump, Eddie made us take shots of his Belfour Spirits Whiskey, plus way more.

So go check it out now!