The Dallas Stars were busy in the free agent prospect market on the final day of May. They signed forward Joel Kiviranta to a two-year, entry-level deal and further stocked their prospect pool.
While July 1 will bring a mass of NHL free agency signings across the league, the Dallas Stars are already well underway with their free agent negotiating process.
On May 16, the Stars officially began offseason action by signing defenseman Esa Lindell to a six-year contract extension. The 25-year-old took another significant step forward in his development as a top-pairing NHL defender during the 2018-19 season and earned a sizable extension. As a result, the Stars locked him down on a long-term deal and further solidified their blue line for the future.
But they didn’t stop there. On Friday afternoon, the Stars dipped into the free agent prospect pool and signed forward Joel Kiviranta to a two-year, entry-level deal with the organization. The contract carries an AAV of $925,000.
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Now, let’s take a quick look at the newest member of the franchise.
Kiviranta is a native of Vantaa, Finland (the same hometown as Lindell) and has been competing Liiga (the top hockey league in Finland) for the past few seasons. In the 2018-19 season, he tallied 16 goals and 31 points as well as a +12 rating in 48 games while playing with Vaasan Sport. He finished the year with the third-most goals and second-best plus-minus rating.
In five total seasons with Vaasan Sport, he notched a total of 60 goals and 114 points in 260 contests.
In addition, he was selected to compete with Team Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Finland ended up winning the gold medal, which included securing a win against John Klingberg and Team Sweden in the quarterfinal round. In the tournament, Kiviranta scored two goals and tallied three total points. He also has a bronze medal on his resume from the U18 World Junior Championship from the 2012-12 season.
The 23-year-old has been developing in Finland over the past few years but surged through the 2018-19 season and earned an NHL contract as a result.
The question on your mind now is probably in regards to if Kiviranta will play in Dallas next season. Considering he was signed to an entry-level deal, it seems as though the Stars are expecting him to make a run at an NHL spot.
According to Jokke Nevalainen (a junior associate editor for Dobber Prospects and a scout of Finnish prospects), Kiviranta is a great skater and a reliable two-way winger. On top of that, he might be ready to make a push for a spot in the Stars’ bottom six. If not, he’s expected to play a sizable role with the Texas Stars in the AHL throughout the 2019-20 season.
Either way, it’s another smart signing for the Dallas Stars. It’s another free agent prospect with a potentially high ceiling that presents the Stars with little to no risk or danger.
We’ll see how the forward pans out.