Dallas Stars: Assessing Their Hunt For John Tavares

The rumors are true that the Dallas Stars are in the John Tavares sweepstakes. With that being said, what are the pros and cons of signing him? And is it a feasible option overall?

The Dallas Stars and big offseason acquisitions have become synonymous since the summer of 2013. Maybe it’s just Jim Nill‘s style as general manager. Or maybe it was simply the pressing need to turn the franchise around that sparked a new movement.

Whatever it was isn’t important. The fact of the matter is that the Stars are no strangers to swinging for the fences each summer. That might mean they go after the top free agent on the market. It could also signify the team taking aim at an elite trade target. That’s just how Dallas goes about their offseason.

And that’s exactly why Dallas being in on the John Tavares sweepstakes doesn’t come as a shock. After all, it’s Jim Nill we’re talking about.

In 2013, it was trading for Tyler Seguin. 2014 brought about the trade for Jason Spezza. 2015 included a trade for Patrick Sharp. And in 2017, the trade for Ben Bishop and signing of Alexander Radulov dominated the Stars’ offseason. Will 2018 bring another big-name landing?

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July 1 is just five days away, but it still seems like an eternity, especially for John Tavares. As a 27-year-old elite center, he’s the number one pending UFA on the market. To make things even more interesting, he’s stirring the pot and it’s unclear as to where he will play next season.

After another losing season with the New York Islanders, Tavares took a step back and considered his future. His contract is up and in nine seasons at the NHL level, he’s yet to pass the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That becomes a thorn in the side of a player that has averaged 34 goals and 76.5 points per season over the past four years.

As a result, Tavares took his time contemplating his playing career when the summer began. While he did, the Islanders spent their time retooling. They brought in longtime Maple Leafs’ general manager Lou Lamoriello to serve both as president of hockey operations and GM. The Islanders also hired Barry Trotz as their new head coach just two weeks after his first Stanley Cup Final victory.

It seems like an all-star cast that could give New York the quick turnaround they need. But even then, it looks like Tavares is still ready to test the market.

Multiple hockey analysts began reporting over the weekend that Tavares was planning to meet with various suitors in the coming week. These teams include the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and yes, the Dallas Stars. The Islanders also have a meeting scheduled.

Considering it’s the last week of June and the free agency market opens on Sunday, all UFAs can begin talking to potential new teams. As a result, Tavares has a chance to meet and feel out the various pitches given to him from other teams, as he rightly deserves to after the career he has put together up to this point.

The Stars are scheduled to meet with him on Wednesday and may be the final team to do so. A few other teams are still in the mix and might land meetings, according to Darren Dreger. But if that doesn’t happen, things will wrap up on Wednesday with Dallas and Tampa Bay.

So, if you haven’t already asked the question and had your inquiry satisfied, let’s ask it: would bringing John Tavares to Dallas work? Would it be a good idea? How would it set the team going forward?

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There’s a lot of questions to be answered for a Dallas Stars team that has their own problems to solve before talking about landing a top free agent. And yet, here they are in the middle of the discussion.

The reasons why it would be a good transaction for Dallas are obvious. Tavares is an elite center and a top-level talent. Slotting him into the offensive rotation would likely overpower an already respectable Stars offense.

On top of that, he’s an impressive asset on the power play (he had 12 goals on the PP in 2017-18). In addition to that, he’s also proven to be of value on the penalty kill as well.

Tavares is a top-line player who can skate quality minutes, win face-offs, play a possessive and aggressive style on offense, and finish with a score. And at 6-1, 208 lb., he’s got decent size that can be used in both zones.

What team wouldn’t want to add him to their lineup? He’s an immediate injection of offensive stardom.

The problem with the Stars adding him is the hoops they would have to jump through to make it a reality.

On the one hand, Dallas would have to pay him a pretty significant sum. We’re talking around $12 million or potentially even more. As the top free agent on the market that is just entering his prime, Tavares can charge top dollar and plenty of teams will pay.

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At the moment, the Stars own around $19.8 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.com. Adding $12 million to that is a big chunk out of their potential space. On top of that, Dallas would also have to add in new contracts for the five RFAs that they qualified on Monday that played in the NHL last year. That would probably cost around $5 million in itself.

And then there’s the Tyler Seguin extension. On July 1, the Dallas Stars can finally lock Seguin down on a long-term deal. His contract doesn’t expire until the 2018-19 offseason, but better to get him locked down now and not be put into a similar situation as the Isles and Tavares, right? The extension will likely cost at least an extra $5 million, putting the Stars well over the cap space limit if all goes according to plan.

So what does that mean? Well, it means that they would have to alleviate it in some way. Would they try and trade Jason Spezza or buy out his contract? Are there any other players that would fall into the tradable category? Dallas would have to create space and that is definitely doable, but it would take some tough bargaining and decision-making.

And would Seguin even want to sign an extension with Dallas on top of that? If the Stars lock down Tavares, that means that one of their superstar centers would have to play second line minutes and be pushed out of their usual large role. Both are in their prime and deserve a top-line gig, so that’s another problem. It goes the same way in the fact that Tavares probably wouldn’t want to sign with Dallas if he was being given a second-line role. And to top it all off, no team should pay their second-line center $12 million a year.

To add on to that, the Dallas Stars would also have a little less than half of their cap space tied up in three players (Benn, Seguin, Tavares) on a long-term basis. The Chicago Blackhawks tried that by signing Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to matching $10.5 million contracts. But, as we’ve seen since the contracts were signed, it’s handcuffed the Hawks when trying to make free agent acquisitions and keep on key players (see Patrick Sharp in 2015).

It’s a tough transaction to handle when you are trying to call up prospects or bring in a new face but don’t have the space because of the impact three of your 23 players are having on the cap. And what happens when John Klingberg needs a new deal in a few years when he is hitting his prime? Surely they won’t have the space to give him $9 million a year as well.

As you can see, there’s a lot of traffic going on with a move like this. Yes, it would make the Dallas Stars’ offense a top-of-the-line unit, but at what cost? The problems it could pose for both the near and immediate future would definitely be a harassment to get through.

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But Nill knows how to work through tight situations. Whether Tavares decides to leave NY or not is one thing. If he does, though, would Dallas be a prime landing spot considering the situation with his career and his wants? That’s a tough question that only one person can truly answer.

Still, it’s pretty cool to see the Stars going for the home run yet again.