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Welcome to DLLS Dallas Stars weekly! Every Monday, I will recap news, rumors, notes, and articles from the previous week.
Let’s get into it.
Contract talk heating up
At the end of the week, we at DLLS got deep into a couple of hot topics.
First, on Thursday, Owen Newkirk, Craig Ludwig, and I really got into some future Stars contracts.
The main topic was the next contract extension for Jason Robertson. As a pending RFA, Robertson is under Dallas’s control for two seasons. However, his name has also repeatedly appeared in trade talks, largely due to the unknown numbers of his next contract. Robertson makes $7.75 million for one more season, after which he is expected to ask for something north of $10 million per year.
First of all, is he worth money that will make him an integral part of your core for a long time? And if so, can you pay him more than superstar winger Mikko Rantanen’s $12 million AAV? While the salary cap is going up, teams still need to be stingy when possible, and sometimes, it’s important to pay your best player the most money.
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Speaking of… what about Thomas Harley?
The 23-year-old has burst onto the scene as a potential No. 1 defenseman in Dallas. With his two-year bridge deal expiring after this season, what will he be asking for in an extension? Does he want security, or would he be willing to take one more short-term deal? Can you pay him more than Heiskanen’s $8.45 million?
If he is willing to go short one more time, it would not only save the Stars from forking over huge long-term money right now, but it would also likely allow Harley to further prove his worth and make even more on a huge deal in a couple of seasons. That would also help the Stars move some money, like Tyler Seguin’s $9.85 million AAV that ends after the 2026-27 season.
When Harley does get his long-term extension, look out for the AAV if he continues to progress like he has.
Watch the full episode if you missed it:
What about the blue line?
On Friday, we talked A LOT about the state of the Stars blue line.
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Specifically, here are the questions we covered:
- Is Nils Lundkvist finally ready to make the leap?
- Who will play with Miro Heiskanen?
- Do the Stars need to add? When?
- Does Alexander Petrovic deserve an NHL roster spot?
- How will Dallas handle scratches for players who need playing time?
- What growth are they looking for from rookie Lian Bichsel?
These led to some really awesome discussions here:
I love to learn new things. As much as I act like I know everything (kidding, I hope), I don’t. And I specifically love to learn new things in areas I am passionate about. Obviously, a large part of that field is hockey and the Dallas Stars.
Nearly every day after our DLLS Stars show ends, I lean over to Owen or Luds and say something like, “That’s crazy that he is so consistent with BLANK,” or “That’s such a good way to look at it, I never thought of that.”
That’s the honest truth. And that’s why I love my job. I get to learn something new or gain a new perspective every day. The same can be said about my conversations with colleagues and friends in Frisco or at American Airlines Center. There are a lot of good, smart people in hockey. And I have enjoyed learning from and with them.
This particular conversation pushed me to see another side of how I viewed defense pairings.
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Luds got me to see that playing Esa Lindell on the top pairing with Heiskanen could result in tiring him out more than the Stars already do. Lindell is an efficient player, especially on the penalty kill. That’s why he is able to play the entire two minutes shorthanded without really having a decline in his play. But he, along with Harley, has also looked tired at times, especially in the playoffs.
If Harley pairs with Heiskanen, you can eliminate Harley’s short-handed time (leaning heavily still on Lindell) and better disperse the minutes. The other option is to give players like Bichsel, Lyubushkin, and Lundkvist an expanded role on the penalty kill. That would take some ice time away from Heiskanen and Lindell, allowing them to play top-pairing minutes and match the opponent’s best players more consistently.
So much to think about.
The Stanley Cup comes to Dallas… not like that though
While the Stanley Cup did make its rounds through Dallas last week, it was not the Stars accompanying it. Instead, it was Dallas native Seth Jones, who won the Cup with the Florida Panthers.
This was a cool moment for Dallas hockey. Seeing how much youth hockey has grown here over the years is pretty wild. From one or two rinks to a plethora of skating options, leagues, and a game good enough to grow players into NHL talent. A lot of that growth came because of the success of the 1999 Stars team, as it often does in NHL markets.
And speaking of the 1999 team… Craig Ludwig used to coach Jones (and three-time Cup winner Blake Coleman). Luds told some stories about both on the DLLS show Friday, but also showed how much this growth and former players’ success means to him.
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A couple of Dallas Stars announcements
ICYMI, the Stars inducted Joe Nieuwendyk and Ralph Strangis into the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame. I wrote about it, we talked about it on our Wednesday DLLS Stars show — including a surprise “FaceTube” from Ralph himself…
— and then I wrote an emotional piece about Strangis and what his voice meant to me growing up as a Stars fan in NJ.
Later in the week, the team announced that they, along with 38 other sports organizations, teamed up to launch the ‘Texas Sport For Healing Fund’ and a multi-franchise national auction in support of the devastating floods in Texas earlier this month.
Here is the full list of organizations involved:
- Austin FC
- Austin Marathon
- Austin Spurs
- Bryson DeChambeau Foundation
- Cleburne Railroaders
- Circuit of The Americas
- Dallas Cowboys
- Dallas Mavericks
- Dallas Stars
- Dallas Trinity FC
- Dallas Wings Community Foundation
- El Paso Locomotive FC
- Faith Fight Finish Foundation
- FC Dallas
- Frisco RoughRiders
- Houston Astros
- Houston Dynamo
- Houston Dash
- Houston Rockets
- Houston SaberCats
- Houston Texans
- Hunt Sports Group
- The Jordan Spieth Family Foundation
- Just Keep Livin’ Foundation
- LOVB Austin
- LOVB Houston
- Meredith and Scottie Scheffler
- NBA Foundation
- NBA Players Association
- Nolan Ryan Foundation
- PBR Austin Gamblers
- PBR Texas Rattlers
- Round Rock Express
- REV Entertainment
- San Antonio Spurs
- Texas Legends
- Texas Rangers
- Texas Stars
- The US Tennis Association
“We are proud to partner with our friends across the state to raise money for those impacted by the tragic events in Central Texas,” Dallas Stars President/CEO Brad Alberts said in a statement. “We would also like to thank the numerous NHL clubs and team foundations for their generous donations for the auction. The Dallas Stars organization will continue to look for additional ways to provide resources and support to those affected over the coming months.”
Well done, Texas.
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