Dallas Stars Sign Forward Blake Comeau on a Three-Year Deal
By Summer LeBel
The Dallas Stars are adding forward Blake Comeau to the line-up on a three-year contract with a $2.4 million AAV.
The Dallas Stars will likely bring Comeau in to play middle 6 minutes and spend time on the penalty kill. He’s a physical player who will act as a replacement for the departing Antoine Roussel.
Comeau spent the last three seasons with the Avalanche after bouncing around the league. While in Colorado, he put up a decent 34 points last year. His 13 goals weren’t spectacular, but would’ve put him at seventh on a Stars roster devoid of scoring depth. If he can come in and improve on that number a little bit, it could make a significant positive impact on the third line. He had a career-high 24 goals almost a decade ago and that was the only time he broke 20, but it’s reasonable to expect he may be able to get above 15 next year.
He’s a physical player who had 145 hits last year despite being only 6’1″ and 202 pounds. That’s not tiny, but it’s on the smaller side for most guys with that many hits. For comparison, his 145 hits would put him fourth on the Stars roster last year behind Stephen Johns, Brett Ritchie, and Greg Pateryn.
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While in Colorado, Comeau spent a lot of time playing shorthanded. The Avalanche had the fourth best penalty kill in the league and he was a big part of that. He was third on the team in PK time on ice and even had 3 shorthanded goals. If he can come in and help the Stars improve the penalty kill, it will be a massive improvement to the team.
In addition to helping the penalty kill itself, Comeau also takes less penalty minutes than guys like Roussel. He’s not in line for the Lady Byng by any means, but he’s consistently had less than half the PIMs of Roussel, though fighting majors are certainly a factor in those high numbers. If Comeau’s meant to be a replacement for Roussel, less unnecessary penalties is an improvement, especially for a player who should be able to help out the penalty kill.
A downside of Comeau’s signing is his age. He’s already 32, but the contract is only for three years, so even if age catches up to him in a hurry, the contract isn’t likely to haunt the Dallas Stars. If the contract was for more money or for five or six years, it’d be a very risky signing, but the deal is relatively conservative considering his play and other signings around the league. It should also be relatively easy to offload if there’s a problem down the road.
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It’s still more than most teams should realistically be spending on third line guys, but the signing has a lot of positive rewards for the Stars and a relatively low risk.