Dallas Stars Rumors: Could Dan Hamhuis Work In Big D?

If the Dallas Stars do end up letting go of their other three UFA defensemen, they will most certainly need to acquire a veteran through trade or free agency to fill the void. But who could that veteran be?

Things took a turn for crazy with the Dallas Stars on Thursday afternoon when they suddenly traded away the negotiating rights for defenseman Alex Goligoski to the Arizona Coyotes. Whether you believed it was bound to happen or not, almost no one expected it to happen as quickly as it did.

Many believed that Goligoski would be the one of four UFA defensemen on the Stars blue line that Dallas would try their best to keep. It seems as though they did make an effort at that, but things simply did not work out in the end.

“We negotiated with him. We made an offer and in the end we just couldn’t agree on terms, which was fine. Negotiations were very well taken on both sides,” Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill told Stars Inside Edge. “In the end, Alex wanted to see what was out there.”

With Goligoski departing, the Stars opened up a hefty amount of cap space that would have been spent on a large extension. But in the trade, Stars fans began to inquire about the future of Dallas’ other three unrestricted free agent defensemen.

Jason Demers, Kris Russell, and Jordie Benn have all spent at least four seasons in the NHL and are set to become free agents on July 1st. Fans have spent the last month or two speculating on which of these players the Stars will end up trying to keep, and as mentioned above, the favorite seemed to be Goligoski.

With him out, it seems as though the Dallas Stars may be parting ways with all three of the remaining blue liners.

“I’ve been talking to them, going through the process,” Nill told Stars Inside Edge. “A lot of them want to see what is out there on July 1. Our team is getting better. The cap is part of the equation, so I’ve got to make things fit within the cap. If there is a fit for us, great. If not, then they have a right to go see what is out on the market.”

Overall, this does not sound like the most optimistic statement from the general manager himself. But it leaves the Stars a mountain of opportunity.

If the Dallas Stars hypothetically release all three veterans, where do they look to for help? Surely they cannot expect to drain their AHL affiliate the Texas Stars of all their defensive prospects? Asa Lindell is definitely ready for NHL-level play, but with the expansion draft coming up as early as next season, the Stars would be flirting with the disaster of losing their prospects.

So what’s the next avenue to explore? The free agent market? Trading? Potentially both?

Well, if we stay under this same speculation of breaking ties with all three, the Dallas Stars would only have a few players that will definitely be on the blue line next season. Those are John Klingberg, Johnny Oduya, Stephen Johns, and Patrik Nemeth. Esa Lindell is a likely, while Jamie Oleksiak is still a possibility, though he is currently an RFA.

Who fills that last spot? Well, one extremely popular name that has submerged over the past few days is Dan Hamhuis.

The 33-year old is currently set to become a UFA after six years with the Vancouver Canucks, and it looks as though he won’t be returning to British Columbia for next season.

That would make Hamhuis an open and popular target on the free agent market. Could the Dallas Stars be interested? If so, would negotiations be able to work?

Well, it’s definitely possible that the Stars are interested, considering they have already been interested in Hamhuis in the recent past.

At this past year’s trade deadline, the Stars were pushing hard to acquire Hamhuis to help “round out” the defense and hopefully become a lock for Stanley Cup contention. In the end, the two sides could not scoop a deal and Dallas went with a trade for defender Kris Russell, now one of the three pending free agents.

So if they were interested back then, why would they not be now?

Hamhuis is a determined veteran with almost 900 NHL-level games under his belt, and still has plenty of miles left. He is a left-handed shot that can play a two-way game, but sticks to the defensive side of things more often than not. This is good for the Stars, who already have enough offensive defensemen.

He can play well on the penalty kill and can log some serious minutes. He’s a shutdown defender that has spent the last few years of his career on a subpar team.

Does that mean that Jim Nill is going to work his magic and that Hamhuis in victory green is a done deal? Well, not exactly.

It’s true that the Dallas Stars could use one more experienced defender in their lineup, but the contract negotiations could be where the road forks.

The Stars are on their way up in the league, which is a favorable situation to any player that is looking for a chance at a Stanley Cup and has only qualified for the postseason in two of the past four years.

Hamhuis knows that he is slowly moving towards the end of his career and that he needs a team that is just a player or two away from the ultimate prize. Dallas is one of those few teams at the moment.

But the contract is going to be quite the booger to work out. Hamhuis is one of the highest paid defensemen on the UFA list and is more than likely not going to be dropping in value. The Stars, who are focusing on conserving cap space for an eventual contract extension with captain Jamie Benn, may not be ready to fork over a large amount.

Hamhuis just finished up a six-year deal that paid him $27 million with a cap hit of $4.5 million.

There is a possibility that the Dallas Stars could be willing to send that kind of money his way, depending on who they let go of this offseason and how much space ends up being created.

must read: Stars Could Very Well Cut Ties With All Remaining UFA Defensemen

Or Hamhuis could even be willing to take a minor trim in pay based on the presumption that he would have a surefire chance at competing for the Cup in Big D.

Dan Hamhuis would fit the Dallas Stars system excellently, and he will most assuredly be moving come July 1st, if not earlier. There are rumors floating around that Vancouver could be looking to trade his rights to a team (which is what the Stars did with Goligoski) in exchange for something. Depending on what the Stars are willing to give up, they could have a shot at acquiring him.

But who knows how this giant pinwheel of confusion will end up panning out. One thing is for sure: the Stars have a lot of question marks to answer in a short period of time to have their team in as good, if not better shape than last year so they can hit the ground running once again next season.

Next: Analyzing Stars' Trade Of Goligoski To Arizona

“If nothing happens, we are comfortable going with what we have right now,” Nill said. “If there is somebody out there that is a fit for us, great. They’ve got to fit for us as a player and fit for us financially. We’ve got lots of flexibility, and it opens the door for us in other ways.”

Mr. Nill, time to let your inner genius shine for a fourth straight offseason.