Dallas Stars Prepared For Valeri Nichushkin’s Absence Next Season

It wasn’t far from the 2016 season opener when the Dallas Stars found out that Valeri Nichushkin was leaving. This time around, they have no need to worry about his return.

The Dallas Stars have answered just about every question that has been thrown their way this offseason.

Is Dallas going to make the right choice in picking a new head coach? Will they buy out a goaltender? Can they find the starting goaltender they need? Will they improve the defense?  Do they find a way to rope in Alexander Radulov? Will they re-sign the right pending free agents in their system? And can they keep all of this within the confines of the salary cap?

It’s typically a good sign when all of those questions are met with a resounding “yes.” And that’s just what the Stars did.

They managed to hit every box on their checklist while staying within the restraints and managed to have arguably the best offseason of any NHL team. That’s impressive.

Dallas Stars

But there still seems to be one lingering question that has been floating around since the beginning of the offseason in April: is Valeri Nichushkin coming back to Dallas for the 2017-18 season or will he remain in Russia?

It was around training camp in Sep. 2016 when reports began to surface about Nichushkin signing a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. It was reported that Nichushkin did not feel that the Dallas Stars coaching staff trusted him enough and was not giving him a big enough role on the team.

Once the rumors were confirmed, Dallas Stars fans were split on their feelings.

Some did not care for Nichushkin’s reasoning and pointed out his lack of success in 2015-16 as a reason for why he would not be missed. Others were upset that he was leaving and leaving a hole in the offensive lineup.

However you felt or still feel on the situation, “Nichushkin watch” still rages on. After being protected by the Stars as one of their seven forwards in the expansion draft (which caused another mass of debate and division), it was reported that Nichushkin’s odds of opting out of the second year of his KHL contract and returning to Dallas for 2017-18 were “50-50.”

Those are decent odds for a player who seemed rather disinterested with anything Dallas Stars related. With the removal of Lindy Ruff from the head coach position, Nichushkin’s main concern was taken care of. But would it be enough to bring him back?

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Mile High Sticking

Now that we are through the bulk of the NHL offseason, it’s clear that Nichushkin probably isn’t coming back, and that’s perfectly fine. In fact, the Dallas Stars probably wouldn’t even have a spot for him.

That’s because throughout the 2017 offseason, the Stars stacked up on offensive help. They added some of the most notable names in free agency, including Martin Hanzal and Alexander Radulov. In addition to these, they also added depth forwards in Tyler Pitlick and Brian Flynn.

And now the Stars seem to have an overload on offense. They arguably have 17 or 18 capable and NHL-ready forwards in their system. That’s much too many.

In addition to their overstocking, a majority of these forwards are meant to be in the NHL. There are a few that wouldn’t necessarily be hurt by another year in the AHL, but at least 13 of them need to play in the NHL this year.

Nichushkin’s presence would make 14, meaning that Dallas would have to try balancing 14 forwards during the year. That could complicate things a good bit and end up leaving a few players out to dry.

Not to mention that Valeri Nichushkin is currently an RFA by NHL standards. For him to return, Dallas would have to sign him to a new contract. Considering the cap crunch that the Stars are under, that would complicate things even more.

Next: Which Center Will The Stars Move To Right Wing?

At the beginning of the 2017 offseason, it seemed as though the Dallas Stars could use the services of Nichushkin on their right wing. But now, it might be best for both sides if he stays in the KHL.

This is one of those things that the Stars can revisit next offseason when they have another full offseason outline to deal with and Nichushkin is finished with his KHL contract. Maybe then things won’t be so complicated.