Dallas Stars: Where Valeri Nichushkin Fits On Team’s 2018-19 Roster
Valeri Nichushkin is officially staying in the KHL for the 2017-18 season. But once he returns to the Dallas Stars, where will he fit in an already stocked lineup?
If you ever visited your grandparents when you were growing up, chances are you have probably put together a jigsaw puzzle before. Some of your fondest memories with your grandparents may even be sitting around a coffee table or dining room table, piecing together a 100 or even 1,000 piece puzzle.
There are hundreds of thousands of designs to choose from that range from a variety of themes and genres. They can be extremely easy or exasperatingly difficult, and take from 30 minutes to a few days to complete.
But the most difficult and frustrating part of putting a puzzle together is when you cannot find a home for one specific piece. No matter where you try to jam it, the shapes just don’t match up. But this situation doesn’t apply solely to puzzles.
This conundrum can happen with hockey teams, too. A team can try fitting a talented free agent or thriving prospect in on their team, but they just can’t find a fit for them. This sometimes leads to more issues down the road, such as overdeveloping the player in the minors or even getting to the point of having to trade the player away. It’s difficult to see them go, but there’s just no place for them on the roster.
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The Dallas Stars may encounter something like this come the 2018 offseason.
Next summer will be an interesting offseason for the Stars for a number of a reasons: negotiations with Tyler Seguin on an extension, a decision on Antoine Roussel’s future, a potential search for a new goaltender, and a need to alleviate as much cap space as possible due to the Stars’ current cap crunch as a result of a packed 2017 offseason.
And now there is another addition to the mix: Valeri Nichushkin’s future with the team.
The Dallas Stars announced this morning that 2013 first-round pick Valeri Nichushkin will spend the 2017-18 season with CSKA Moscow in the KHL and will play out the second and final year of the two-year contract that he signed with the team in September 2016.
Jim Nill stated that Valeri Nichushkin will play in the KHL for the 2017-18 season and then is expected to return to the Stars in 2018-19. pic.twitter.com/3XFriVWPjC
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 19, 2017
Nichushkin left the Dallas Stars for the KHL just before their 2016 training camp session due to his desire for a bigger role. He believed that the Dallas coaching staff was not trusting him enough and not giving him enough opportunity on the ice. He didn’t leave on the highest note, either.
Nichushkin played 79 games in the 2015-16 season and only came away with nine goals and 29 points. For the big winger that Jaromir Jagr once said “has the tools to be the best player in the world”, that’s a bit of a letdown. After an exciting rookie campaign, a hip injury cut Nichushkin short in his sophomore season, and he never really returned to form from there.
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Mile High Sticking
Considering he was only a qualified RFA, the Dallas Stars let him go without a new contract, hoping that they would receive back a “more mature player” once the fiasco ended.
We now know that the holdout will end following this season and Nichushkin is scheduled to return to Dallas. When he does return, he will be 23, in need of a new contract, and will not have played NHL hockey since the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
So where will he fit? That’s the question.
Nill did a good job of preparing the team for Nichushkin’s absence this coming season, but in doing so he might have put Nichushkin in a tight spot to return.
When no. 43 does come back to Dallas, he will first and foremost need a new contract. Even though he’ll only be 23, the contract likely won’t be an inexpensive one like that of Patrik Nemeth’s recent deal ($925K). It’s logical to think that Nichushkin will be asking for somewhere north of $1.5-$2 million a year and a minimum of 2-3 years.
With the Stars current cap space (around $768K) and their need to sign more free agents, they will likely be riding the cap space wall for the entire season. And in the coming offseason, they have very few “superstar” players scheduled for renewals that would open up a substantial amount of space for Dallas.
Also don’t forget that the Stars will have to save up for an extension for Tyler Seguin, who will likely be looking for at least $9 million a year. Nill likes to get big deals done early (see Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza), so next offseason will be his best time to act on Seguin. That could make it difficult to get a new deal for Nichushkin, and that could result in some current players being traded/released in order to make space.
Dallas Stars
But once he is hypothetically signed, where will he slot in the lineup? Nichushkin is a true winger (particularly on the right wing), and that could cause a problem for the Stars. Dallas spent this offseason stocking up at the RW position, locking in Alexander Radulov for five years and Tyler Pitlick for three years. With those terms, Nill isn’t expecting either player to be a “thirteenth forward” or a healthy scratch very often.
In addition to those two, Dallas will also have Jason Spezza, Brett Ritchie, and Adam Cracknell on the right side. Cracknell will be the only free agent after this season, and it’s possible that he will not receive a new contract (though you may not want to bet on him leaving after his inaugural season in Dallas). Even if he does leave, that still gives Dallas four wingers (not to mention all of the prospects knocking on the door, such as Remi Elie and Jason Dickinson).
If Nichushkin does make the lineup, someone has to go out. At this point, Dallas doesn’t necessarily have any wingers who fit the “healthy scratch” description. With Nichushkin’s presence, the Stars could very well have an overstocking on offense, which could very well harbor development and growth problems.
At the current moment, it looks like bringing Nichushkin back could be a tricky maneuver for Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars. It could be done, though. But it may require jumping through a few hoops first.
And don’t forget that this is still one full year away from being done. A lot can happen between now and then, so who knows where the Stars will stand when the time comes around to bring Nichushkin back over.
Next: Stars Bringing In R.J. Umberger; Will He Make The Team?
He can still be a dominant force for the Stars and will hopefully bring a new edge back with him, but this two year gap has given Dallas a lot of time to restructure. Now they just have to hope it doesn’t come back to bite them.