Dallas Stars: Assessing Their Cap Space After Free Agency Moves
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars brought some new talent on board on Sunday afternoon. With that being said, their cap space has changed considerably. Here’s a look at their updated space and what it could mean going forward.
$19,820,001. That’s approximately how much the Dallas Stars owned in cap space before the free agency frenzy began.
It’s a good place for any team to stand going into an offseason, especially a team in need of change. Dallas missed the playoffs for a second straight year in 2017-18, further boasting the question regarding what was wrong with the team.
General manager Jim Nill has never missed the postseason in consecutive seasons since joining Dallas. And for a GM that is already accustomed to making big changes in the offseason regardless of the previous season’s outcome, the 2018 summer became even more uncertain.
As the free agency period opening approached, everyone had their minds made up about what the Stars should do. But on July 1, Nill took the team in a significantly different direction.
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Dallas locked up goaltender Anton Khudobin, defenseman Roman Polak, and forwards Blake Comeau and Valeri Nichushkin. Some moves were expected, while others seemed completely off the wall.
Why do they need a veteran defender? And what about filling their need for a top-six forward? What about Tyler Seguin, who is still in need of a contract extension?
All of these questions came cascading down, and Nill did as best of a job as he could in answering them. Polak simply adds depth and leadership along with a big body. Nichushkin is apparently capable of adding scoring power to the second line, though Dallas is still scanning the market. And the talks with Seguin are “progressing.”
But before the Dallas Stars look for another option on the free agent or trade market, they have to assess their cap space. Believe it or not, their current space is something to keep an eye on.
On July 1 alone, the Stars committed $9.15 million to their newest NHL additions. That drops their cap space down to roughly $10,670,001.
But that isn’t including Remi Elie‘s new contract that he signed on Tuesday morning. After being qualified as an RFA, the Stars signed him to a one-year deal worth $735,000. That brings it down to $9,935,001.
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In addition, Miro Heiskanen will likely be on the roster at the beginning of next year. That’s another $894,166 of AAV, which brings their space down to $9,040,835.
While these are only small dents in a respectable amount of space, they begin to add up.
On top of those additions, the Stars still have three RFAs on their current roster that have not been signed to new deals yet. Those three are Mattias Janmark, Devin Shore, and Gemel Smith.
Assuming that the three of them sign for a combined $4.5 million, that completes the 23-man roster going into next season and fills all of the spots. It also knocks their cap space down to approximately $4,540,835.
When adding moves that will likely come up in the near future, the cap space all of a sudden looks slim for the Dallas Stars.
But, there is still an opportunity for them to make a move. It will just require trading away some sort of asset that is currently working against their cap space. Whoever that might be depends on the situation and is yet to be determined. But remember: that is only if they decide to make a move.
Next: How Did Day One Of Free Agency Go For Dallas?
The Stars’ made a significant mark on their cap space on July 1 with depth signings. How Jim Nill handles it from here, depending on whether he is still looking to add players, will be interesting.