Dallas Stars: Three Important Free Agent Negotiations In 2019 Offseason

There are a handful of important decisions awaiting the Dallas Stars in the thick of the 2019 offseason. Many of those revolve around their pending free agents. But of those free agents, which ones will provide the most intriguing negotiations?

The free agency period can be a fascinating time for the Dallas Stars.

Whether it’s the summer of 2017 when the Stars made a massive splash and brought on talent like Ben Bishop, Marc Methot, and Alexander Radulov, or the summer of 2016 when they were rather passive in their free agent acquisitions while also parting ways with a lot of talent, there’s never any telling where they might go.

Take the summer of 2018 for example. After missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season and hiring on yet another new coach, the Stars approached July 1 with a seemingly extensive list of needs.

More from Editorials

• Dallas Stars hockey is about to be the main attraction in Dallas this year
• Age Before Beauty: The impact of Benn’s new role on his Dallas legacy
• Dallas Stars hockey is the light at the end of the tunnel
• Dallas Stars coverage is lacking and it’s very concerning to be honest
• Sit back, relax and watch Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars draft scouts cook

But instead of going out and landing a “big fish” free agent, GM Jim Nill brought on a few depth pieces (Blake Comeau, Valeri Nichushkin, Roman Polak, and Anton Khudobin) while letting go of a few depth pieces. Meanwhile, players like John Tavares, James Van Riemsdyk, and Paul Stastny signed with other clubs.

Did the Stars make enough moves to fix their lingering problems? It didn’t seem like it at the time.

As we know now, though, those moves paid off. Polak filled a sizable void on defense that had been created by injuries early in the season, while Khudobin saved the Dallas crease when Ben Bishop was hit by various injuries and served as a 1b goalie. On top of that, the Stars made some moves at the Trade Deadline to round out their playoff-caliber roster.

It all ended with the Dallas Stars qualifying for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and advancing to Game 7 of the second round before falling in double overtime to the St. Louis Blues. And with that, the Stars began their 2019 offseason journey.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

It just goes to show that free agency is an unpredictable animal and can do a lot to a hockey team. A team might go all in on the market and reel in a ton of superstar talent yet still miss the postseason. On the other hand, a team can make some minor moves and still work their way into the final 16. Anything can happen.

And in the offseason ahead, the Dallas Stars have another interesting free agency period to delve through.

For one, the pieces seem to be there for this team to make a run. After all, they were one of the final six teams standing at the end of their 2018-19 campaign.

At the same time, however, their offense struggled to produce at various points in the season and, had it not been for the heroic efforts of their defense and goaltending, they may not have cracked the postseason bracket.

And so, a debate must be sorted through. But it doesn’t solely have to do with signing free agents on the market; it also has to do with the pending free agents already on the roster.

Going into the 2019 summer, the Dallas Stars have six unrestricted free agents and four restricted free agents that ended the season on their roster.

With each pending free agent comes a specific debate. How did they produce in the past season? What kind of contract might they be looking for in terms of salary and term? Are they nearing the end of their NHL career or just getting started? Could they bring significant value to the team next season?

There are a lot of questions that must be answered when going through the negotiation process. And while each of them will require a decision, there are a handful of pending free agents that the Stars will need to be careful with.

Here is a look at three of them in particular.

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?

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.