None.
Kidding, kidding.
The Dallas Stars draft pick pool is quite shallow. Like, kids of all ages are welcome to play in it- shallow. If we are just looking at picks in the first few rounds, it’s more like the puddles Georgie uses to make his paper boat float down the street. That’s the cost of going for it and trading high picks for players like Chris Tanev, Nils Lundkvist and Mikko Rantanen.
But, instead of just joshing about their lack of picks, let’s actually look at where the Stars slot in to this year’s draft and down the road.
Dallas Stars 2026 NHL Draft picks
Dallas, like it did last summer, will mostly sit and watch the first couple of rounds at the draft. The Stars don’t have a pick until the third round. Barring any trading up, they won’t pick until the final five spots of the second round. After that, they will once again sit on their hands until the fifth(!) round.
Here are all five of their picks in 2026:
- Round 2, pick 59
- Round 5, pick 155
- Round 6, pick 187
- Round 7, pick 197
- Round 7, pick 219 (From Toronto in Chris Tanev trade)
Where the rest of their picks went:
First round: Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen — Carolina then traded it to the New York Rangers for K’Andre Miller.
Third round: Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen — Carolina then traded it to the Los Angeles Kings in a pick trade — LA then traded it to the Ottawa Senators along with Warren Foegele.
Fourth round: Traded to the New Jersey Devils for salary retention of Chris Tanev in the trade with the Calgary Flames — New Jersey then traded it and Thomas Bordeleau to the St. Louis Blues for Nick Bjugstad.
Here is a quick look at the Stars picks over the next four seasons. Lots of empty spots. Nearly every one of those has to do with Rantanen, Myers, or Tanev, with the lone 2028 second-round pick coming from Matt Dumba.
So, while the actual process of the 2026 NHL Draft, especially the early stages, is nothing to get too excited about for Stars fans, there are some other side quests to focus on, if you choose to accept.
One, will Jason Robertson re-sign or get traded before July 1? Although the draft is remote again this year (meh), there will still be plenty of conversation between teams. Lots of deals are made during the draft. Robertson could be one of them.
There is also Mavrik Bourque, who is another RFA awaiting a new contract. He is near the top of the list of offer-sheet targets, but Dallas also wants to keep him. Jamie Benn still hasn’t decided on his future, at least publicly.
And the Stars are in a championship window that they need to take advantage of. So, deals can be made, and the draft “floor” is usually a great place to do so.
More on Robertson, Bourque, and other offseason things here:
