Dallas Stars: Three Important Free Agent Negotiations In 2019 Offseason

1. Mats Zuccarello

It’s almost too obvious, right? But that’s what could make negotiations all the more difficult.

When the Dallas Stars traded for Mats Zuccarello on Feb. 23, 2019, it was a move made to fill a gaping void. The Dallas offense had been hitting a wall throughout the first part of the 2018-19 season, couldn’t generate any sort of consistent scoring outside of the top line, and were slowly slipping in the playoff race due to their offensive shortcomings.

Gone Puck Wild

Zuccarello was expected to fix that and help the Stars push into the playoffs, but he never really got the chance. After breaking his arm while blocking a shot in his debut with Dallas against the Chicago Blackhawks, no. 36 missed all but one of the Stars’ remaining regular season contests while recovering.

But once he hopped back in the lineup, his impact was both instantaneous and sustained.

Zuccarello finished the regular season with one goal, three points, and a +3 rating in a Dallas uniform. In the playoffs, he took his production a significant step further with four goals and 11 points in 13 games. He provided the Stars with a strong option that could round out their top six and make the forwards around him better and more dangerous as well. Simply put: he revitalized the offense and did so while still healing up a broken arm. What might he be able to accomplish on a fully healthy arm?

For now, though, he’s a pending UFA. Zuccarello will be in need of a new contract this summer and, if the Stars don’t re-sign him before July 1, will be one of the most popular names on the market.

This is where Dallas will have to take proper care in their negotiations.

For one, Zuccarello is an offensive catalyst and proved his worth to the Stars in the 13 games that he played with them. His production speaks for itself and the Stars know what he can bring to their team in particular. They also know that they have first dibs in the negotiation process for the next month.

But what kind of contract will they be willing to offer? Would they give him a five-year deal or try and limit it to four years? After all, Zuccarello will be 32 when the 2019-20 regular season begins. Would the Stars be willing to keep him on through age 37? It’s a debate that must be sorted out.

On another hand, how much should his salary increase? With the NHL salary cap rising this offseason, Zuccarello could be in for a substantial raise from his previous AAV $4.25 million. Somewhere in the $6 million range sounds reasonable and feasible.

But this negotiation will be an important one for Dallas. It’s clear that they could benefit from his services in the season(s) ahead and he seemed to generate instant chemistry with the offense.

What will the cost be to keep him around, though?

2. Jason Dickinson

Even though Mats Zuccarello may be the Dallas Stars’ golden ticket in the 2019 offseason, Jason Dickinson brings another intriguing case to the table.

Now, Dickinson’s negotiation will take Dallas in a different direction considering he will be a restricted free agent while Zuccarello will be unrestricted. While Zuccarello has the complete liberty to turn down any offer from the Stars and sign with a new team on July 1, Dickinson has some restrictions (hence, the “restricted” title).

As a restricted free agent, there’s only two logical routes that Dickinson may follow. Those two involve the forward either being qualified by the organization or signed to a new extension altogether that lasts longer than one year. Considering the year Dickinson put together and GM Jim Nill’s tendency to qualify the majority of his RFAs in each of the past few seasons, there’s no real doubt that Dickinson won’t be back in Dallas next season.

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But the negotiation of his new contract will be interesting.

After struggling to keep himself in the NHL system for the first few years of his career, it looked as though Dickinson had hit a wall in the 2017-18 season. He was a part of 17 different transactions between the NHL and AHL during the year and was given a limited opportunity to succeed when playing with Dallas.

Head coach Ken Hitchcock praised Dickinson in interviews and said that he wanted the forward to thrive, but the former first-round pick only averaged 8:32 on the ice and posted no goals and two assists in 27 games played. That’s largely due to the fact that he was always plotted on the fourth line with other grinders and was stuck playing the wing position (which was unnatural considering he always played center when with the Texas Stars).

As the 2018 offseason settled in, there was doubt as to whether Dickinson would ever break find a way to adapt and consistently produce in the NHL. He was signed to a one-year deal worth $875,000 in July, so there wasn’t necessarily any security working in his favor. But then Jim Montgomery came along, and everything changed.

After being given an extended role and a true opportunity to use his strengths to his advantage, Dickinson turned himself into an NHL regular and became a valuable depth piece for the Stars. He posted six goals and 22 points as well as a +9 rating in an average of 13:22 on the ice during the regular season and followed it up with three goals and five points in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut while averaging almost 16 minutes per game.

But point production is just the tip of the iceberg when discussing Dickinson’s value. He was one of the Stars’ best penalty killers this past season, played a physical style that worked well on any line, and was one of their most lethal forwards in overtime. Dickinson proved that he could mesh well with on any line and with almost any combination of forwards.

And when you have all of that in a 23-year-old that is only expected to get better, who wouldn’t bring him back?

So, how might Nill handle Dickinson’s next contract? Will he fall into the qualifying category and work off of another one-year deal as he continues to build himself into one of the Stars’ best young threats? Or will he be awarded a “bridge deal” (typically a contract lasting two or three years and paying a decent salary) that will give him the opportunity to earn a long-term extension?

Esa Lindell signed a bridge deal (two years, $2.2 million AAV) in the 2017 offseason and turned it into a six-year extension that he signed two weeks ago. On the other hand, Brett Ritchie signed a bridge deal in the 2017 summer (two years, $1.75 million), but hasn’t been able to capitalize on it. In other words, bridge deals can go either way.

But after an impressive full season with the Dallas Stars and an even more impressive playoff run, it seems as though Dickinson has earned one.

3. Julius Honka

To round out this list, let’s take a look at a name you probably didn’t expect to see on a list of important negotiations that will require proper care and decision-making.

Julius Honka last played a game for the Dallas Stars on Jan. 15, 2019. In the loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, he posted no points and a  -1 rating in 10:25 of ice time while skating on the third pairing. Following that game, he was banished to the press box for the remainder of the regular season and playoff run.

But it wasn’t because of an injury or because he had done something wrong. Instead, it was because he simply wasn’t “fitting” with the style and system that the Dallas defense was preaching and executing.

SenShot

And so, the first-round pick wasted away another NHL season serving as the healthy scratch, marking his second consecutive year as the default scratch. The 23-year-old was stuck in the limbo of not being able to find a fit in the NHL lineup but being too well-versed from his previous stay in the AHL to make a return.

With the offseason coming up, a decision now has to be made about Honka and his future. The defender will be a pending restricted free agent this summer, and could require a tough choice. That’s where negotiations will come into play.

It’s been made particularly clear since the beginning of the 2017-18 season that Honka doesn’t seem to fit the Dallas Stars defensive mold. He couldn’t earn a full-time spot under Lindy Ruff, was the designated healthy scratch for Ken Hitchcock, and quickly slipped down the depth chart under Jim Montgomery while other defenders (both younger and older) hopped over him.

The debate isn’t about whether Honka is skilled or not. At the age of 23, he’s got plenty of speed and a strong offensive mind that could be an asset to many teams. He may not have the ideal size, but some NHL teams may be looking for a player of his skill level.

And that’s why the negotiating period will be important.

The decision has to be made regarding what Honka is to the Dallas Stars. Is he still an asset that could be used as a full-time starter down the road? Or has he been converted into a trade chip at this point? Nill already alluded to this impending decision during exit interview day and has the next month to make the final call.

Will the Stars qualify him and bring him back for another spin? Or will they use the first-round pick as a trade piece to acquire another player or draft pick?

The Dallas Stars have plenty of interesting decisions to make in the coming months regarding the free agency class. And while some decisions are tough, some will simply require a little extra thought and care.