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Dallas Stars Free Agent Spotlight And Poll: Patrick Eaves

By Josh Clark |

The Dallas Stars have a total of 18 players on their NHL and AHL rosters that will become some sort of free agent this coming offseason.

With the overstocking of forwards and need for veteran defensemen, it will be interesting to see who Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill re-signs and who he lets go into free agency.

A few days ago, we took a look at the eight players that spent a good majority of their season with the Dallas Stars in the NHL.

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We examined the current situation of each player and the pros and cons of their argument to be re-signed or let go.

So far, we’ve looked at and voted on Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, Jyrki Jokipakka, Curtis McKenzie, Rich Peverley, and Shawn Horcoff. To vote on their polls and see what Stars fans think, go back to the Blackout Dallas home page and search for each of their names.

Today we’ll take a look at UFA forward Patrick Eaves:

Patrick Eaves may have been the most impressive free agent pick up of the 2014 offseason for Dallas. After being shadowed by the Jason Spezza trade on July 1st, Eaves entered the season as a substitute between starter and scratch. He earned his spot on the roster as the season progressed. Eaves found two instances of misfortune by taking a puck to the ankle that ended up sidelining him for six weeks, followed by taking a puck to the face that sat him down for two weeks with a concussion.

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The best part was, each time Eaves came back, he was stronger and more determined than before. Eaves ended the year with 14 goals and 27 points in 47 games. His presence on the power play helped the man advantage get along towards the end of the year. Some are guessing that Eaves is as good as gone, considering the substantial amount of young offensive talent knocking on the door, and that there just isn’t enough room for him. With a cap hit of just $650,000, it seems foolish to not re-sign him this offseason. But we’ll see how it plays out.

Patrick Eaves will be one of the Dallas Stars’ four unrestricted free agents in the upcoming offseason. The scenarios are similar to that of an RFA, except here the UFA has complete control of where he wants to go, so long as he receives a contract from said destination. Basically, three things could potentially go down:

1. The Stars offer Eaves a new contract and he agrees or disagrees

The Stars could extend Eaves a decent-sized contract and he could return to Dallas for a few more seasons. Sure it wouldn’t be as big as his previous contract, but if Eaves is happy in Dallas as he says he is, he’ll more than likely accept based on his current situation. If he’s not, he’ll decline the offer and move onto the free agency pool on July 1st.

2. The Stars re-sign him and use him for trade

This isn’t a likely scenario when it comes to unrestricted free agents, but could still happen. Although there is a chance, trading Eaves away may prove to be difficult. But anything can happen.

3. The Stars leave Eaves to become a UFA on July 1st

The Dallas Stars could leave Eaves out of their offseason plan and let him find a new team. It would open up space for the Stars to bring in another young forward from the AHL or go out and sign another top-grade center.

Now that we’ve examined each one’s argument and current situation, it’s time to let you, the Stars fan, vote on what you think should be done with Patrick Eaves. Feel free to vote below. Apologies to all using the mobile app that doesn’t support our poll yet. We encourage you to get online or find us on social media and vote!

Next: Kari Lehtonen Will Stay In Dallas; It's Not A Bad Thing

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