Dallas Stars: Five Free Agency Options To Fill Right Wing Void
The most frantic time of year is almost upon us, and the Dallas Stars need some help on the right wing. Here are five free agents that could help fill their roster.
At 11 a.m. CT tomorrow morning, the Dallas Stars will be off and running in a race along with the other 30 NHL teams.
This race centers around the opening of the free agency market. Once it opens, all of the pending UFAs and unqualified RFAs become free agents and have the ability to sign with any team that sends them an offer.
It’s the most opportune time for teams to improve using outside means and round out their roster in preparation for the season ahead so they can be in a solid spot to contend. But with a limited number of “high-caliber” free agents and 31 teams shopping around, there is plenty of competition to go around.
You can go on and on about which teams are set up the best to take on a new player or which ones are in the best position to win, but that’s not always the case in the free agency market. At the end of the day, it really comes down to which team wants a player the most.
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In this year’s edition of the offseason, the Dallas Stars have needed a little bit of everything. They have satisfied their goaltending needs, sharpened up their blue line, and have an entirely new outlook behind the bench with new head coach Ken Hitchcock.
But there is still one area that needs some tweaking in order for the Stars to be ready for next season: offense, specifically on the right wing.
The Stars are more than stocked on defense and have two veteran, starting-caliber goaltenders in their crease. But their offense has some holes. On the right wing, their first and second lines need some filling.
Luckily, there’s plenty of options out there that could fit the bill. The majority of them are in the tail end of their careers, meaning Dallas won’t find a long-term solution. But they don’t need one. All they need are short term fixes that can help turn them into contenders.
With that being said, here are five right wingers that you could see the Stars going after on Saturday morning. Take a look.
5. Jaromir Jagr
This is definitely a sentimental pick, but it’s one that should be looked out for nonetheless. After all, GM Jim Nill is known for going behind the curtain and pulling off a deal no one expects.
Let’s get this one fact out of the way right up front: Jagr is 45 and will turn 46 this February.
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But that doesn’t mean he isn’t still a valuable player. If he wasn’t, he would have retired long ago. Most NHL players from his draft class have been enjoying retirement for almost a decade now. But not Jagr; he is still helping run the show in the NHL.
Last season, Jagr played the entire 82-game slate with the Florida Panthers, scoring 16 goals and tallying 46 points. The season before that, he led the Panthers with 66 points, 27 of those being goals.
He can still skate around 17 minutes a game (second line minutes, in other words) and put up significant points for a 45-year-old.
Yesterday, Jagr sent out a sympathy tweet, begging teams to give him a call. It’s likely that he’s received interest from a few teams, considering his titanium skeleton and all. Even the Panthers might still be in on bringing him back.
Everywhere I look,I read:all FA getting calls from10-12teams. Me0 calls.On the contrary,I'm trying to call them,and no ones picking up.😀😳🇨🇿
— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) June 29, 2017
He’s already donned the Star once in his career, back during the 2013 lockout season. But it was much too short-lived, with Dallas trading him 34 games into the 48-game season with their playoff hopes on the brink of extinction.
Jagr won two Stanley Cups in his first two seasons in the NHL (1990-91 and 91-92), but has not won one since and has only been to the playoffs in two of the past five years. He made $4.5 million in his most recent one-year deal with Florida, meaning that he could still be looking for a decent-sized deal.
Is there a chance that the Dallas Stars go after Jagr with a one-year, $1.5 million deal or so? Does Jagr want more than that? Could he keep up on either of the top two lines?
There’s a lot of question marks on this one, so don’t bet on this move happening. But it would be cool for one of the greatest hockey players of all time to make a triumphant return to Dallas and potentially help lead them on another run to glory. Maybe he’ll bring the mullet and the Traveling Jagr’s back with him?
4. Alexander Radulov
After spending four seasons in the KHL, Alexander Radulov returned to the NHL last year, signing a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens.
He proved to be worth his $5.75 million salary, scoring 18 goals and tallying 54 points while skating first and second line minutes.
At age 31, the former first-round draft pick has plenty of energy and intensity left to use around the rink. He has great stick-handling abilities, owns an excellent shot, and knows how to put on a show. Line him up with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and you could have a very threatening trio on your hands.
Dallas Stars
The only problem is his contract wants. In a recent tweet from Pierre Lebrun, he reported that Radulov wants at least six years with an AAV of $7 million. In other words, he wants ultimate security and a contract he can likely retire at the end of.
Do the Stars have room for a contract like that? Yes. Dallas has around $18 million in cap space right now and has plenty of money to work with.
The question is whether they would want to pay him that or not. While he is a strong veteran presence that can score at a quality rate, $7 million is a steep asking price. A contract like that would make him the third highest-paid player on the Stars behind Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza, both players who can hit upwards of 65 points a season when healthy.
Can Radulov do that at the NHL level? Maybe, but he has not proven it yet. That being said, it’s unlikely that the Stars spend that kind of money on him.
But that’s why there are negotiations. If the Stars can get him to cut the asking price down, then there may be room for a deal. But if there’s another team out there desperate for a RW and willing to send the money his way, Dallas is better off straying away from a bidding war.
3. Ales Hemsky
This Saturday will mark the three year anniversary of Ales Hemsky joining the Dallas Stars. It will also mark the expiration of Hemsky’s three-year, $12 million contract.
In his three seasons in Victory Green, Hemsky hasn’t entirely lived up to par. But it’s kind of an unfair assessment, considering his significant time spent on the injury list.
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Hemsky has undergone two extensive hip surgeries since joining the Stars, one being at the end of the 2014-15 season and the other coming in the middle of this most recent season. When healthy, he has proven to be a flexible winger that can play anywhere in the lineup and with any combination while posting 35-40 points a season.
He knows how to pick a corner and can put some serious speed behind a wrist shot. Considering he only averaged 13:28 ice time with Dallas over the past three years, a “point every other game” pace is pretty impressive.
The big questions in Hemsky’s corner will be term and asking price mixed with his health. He is about to turn 34 and after two hip surgeries in the past three years, is probably not too far from thinking about retirement. That being said, what does he want in terms of a new contract?
The Dallas Stars could use his services if he is healthy, but probably wouldn’t offer more than a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.5 million. And that’s only if he is still healthy and 100 percent.
Still, it would be nice to bring the Czech back and potentially reunite him with Antoine Roussel and Radek Faksa, a trio that absolutely dominated during the tail end of the 2015-16 season and into the playoffs.
2. Patrick Sharp
It’s hard not to want a guy like Patrick Sharp in your locker room. He’s a passionate leader, brings a lot of wisdom (and three Stanley Cup rings) to the table, is a great mentor, and can contribute on a nightly basis. He always strives to give his best and do what’s best for the team.
That’s why he just finished up a five-year deal with $5.9 million AAV. But where is the 35-year-old going from here? That’s anyone’s guess.
Sharp will be a free agent on July 1, and would likely be one of the most sought after free agents if he were completely healthy at the moment. He underwent hip surgery in late March after fighting through the pain for a few months in an effort to help the team (again, he’s quite the natural leader). But even with the surgery, there are still teams considering a deal with Sharp.
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One of those teams could be the Dallas Stars. At the draft this past weekend, Stars GM Jim Nill stated that he would be talking with both Hemsky and Sharp to see where they were and if a possible new deal would be possible. But that’s typical procedure and doesn’t carry a lot of weight with it.
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Sharp spent the past two seasons with the Dallas Stars after being traded to Big D in the summer of 2015 by the cap-strapped Chicago Blackhawks. He made a quick impact, scoring 20 goals and tallying 55 points in 76 games while skating alongside the first and second lines. Wherever he played, he seemed to make the entire line better.
This past year, however, was rather atrocious. Sharp put up eight goals and 18 points in 48 games, along with a -22 rating. But he had plenty weighing down on him, including a concussion, a nagging hip injury, and his father being diagnosed with cancer.
He’s still a quality forward that can play top line minutes (assuming he returns fully healthy from his surgery). And that’s the one lingering factor in his negotiations with any team.
From what has been reported, his recovery is on-track and going as planned. If he does come back healthy, could he make a return in Victory Green?
It seems like a large percentage of Dallas Stars fans would like to see him back, and they have every right to. His presence on the team is valuable in more ways than one and if he were to sign at a reduced rate, the Stars could use an in-house veteran to solve their right wing problem and know exactly what they are getting in the process.
1. Justin Williams
Probably the most sought-after RW on the market now that T.J. Oshie is off the list, Williams reportedly has 10-12 teams pursuing him. And why wouldn’t they?
Williams is pushing 36 but has yet to let that slow him down. In the 2016-17 season with the Washington Capitals, he scored 24 goals and tallied 48 points. In his two combined seasons in D.C., he has 100 points.
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He’s a strong skater that possesses an accurate shot and impressive defensive skills. Those are all things that the Dallas Stars could use.
Even at his age, Williams can still skate second-line minutes, and could likely be put in a first-line situation as well, though he may not be able to keep up with Benn and Seguin (considering he isn’t the most explosive skater to begin with).
In a report yesterday from Darren Dreger, Williams has reportedly narrowed his list of potential destinations to 3-4 teams, and Dallas is supposedly on that list. It’s also been assumed that a potential re-signing with the Washington Capitals is off the table as well.
Williams has made it clear that he wants to sign with a team that has a good chance at winning the Cup now. After the moves that the Stars have made this offseason, they have made it clear to the three-time Cup winner that they are heading in the right direction.
It is likely that Nill has already reached out to Williams considering his value and availability. The only question that comes up would be in regards to the price. The winger was making an AAV of $3.25 million in his most recent deal with the Caps, which is something the Stars could definitely pay for a second-line player. It is also believed that Williams wants a multi-year deal.
There are a few other teams in his sweepstakes as well that also are on their way up (Toronto, NYI), so Dallas will need to be careful with getting into a bidding war with the other suitors. Still, Williams seems to fit the bill for everything the Stars need.
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So all of that being said, the Dallas Stars have plenty of options to solve their right wing troubles with. But do they need one or two? And where does Valeri Nichushkin fit in all of this? Could he be an answer on the right wing? All of these questions have yet to be answered, but we’ll have a much better view on all of them in just about 24 hours.
Hold your breath until then.