With the final week of June in full swing, it’s time for the Dallas Stars to make some final decisions regarding their group of pending free agents. And with Roman Polak re-signed and the Stars reportedly looking at free agent defenders on the market, is there any room left for Taylor Fedun and Ben Lovejoy?
The 2018 offseason was an intriguing one for the Dallas Stars and their pending unrestricted free agents.
And while the organization only had six total pending UFAs that had spent a portion of the 2017-18 season in Dallas, the decision surrounding each one was all the more fascinating. Each of the six boasted a credible reason both to be re-signed as well as to be left for the free agent market.
Antoine Roussel was a fan favorite that served in an enforcer role on offense, but had struggled greatly with putting the puck in the back of the net during the 2017-18 year. Curtis McKenzie played a similar role as Roussel but also struggled with scoring and had yet to earn a full-time spot on the Dallas roster after four seasons with the team.
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Dan Hamhuis provided a veteran presence on an otherwise young Dallas blue line and was a cheap depth option, but would also clog the left side with Miro Heiskanen expected to make his NHL debut. Greg Pateryn had gone from eighth on the depth chart to playing a top-four role and serving as a solid penalty killer for Dallas during 2017-18, but could likely get a bigger role and more money with another organization.
Kari Lehtonen had proven to be one of the best backups in the NHL during the 2017-18 season, but faltered when he was forced to fill in for Ben Bishop as the starter. Mike McKenna quickly became a fan favorite, provided a veteran presence in the no. 3 spot on the organization’s depth chart, and had helped in carrying the Texas Stars to the Calder Cup Finals, but his services weren’t necessarily needed anymore with the Stars raising a new generation of goalies with Colton Point and Jake Oettinger.
To re-sign or not to re-sign? That was the question as July 1 drew closer and the Dallas Stars prepared for another critical offseason.
And when it was all said and done, the Stars had cut ties with all six UFAs and put together a relatively quiet first day of free agency. It wasn’t necessarily a shocking move to let all six UFAs go, but it was still met by a fair amount of questioning towards GM Jim Nill.
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That same questioning met the Dallas Stars as they prepared for their 2019 offseason journey. The Stars once again had six pending UFAs on their roster, and there was at least a borderline logical argument to be made for each to both stay and go.
And as we now dive into the final week of June and begin looking towards July 1, there’s time to take an assessment of the Dallas UFA class.
Roman Polak was re-signed to a one-year extension at the beginning of the month. It’s a low-cost, low-risk move that fills the bottom of the Dallas defense, giving them a third-pairing or even seventh-man option that can play 14-16 minutes per game and kill penalties.
In addition, Jason Spezza and Marc Methot have been informed by Nill that they will not be re-signed and will be free to sign with other teams come July 1.
And during the 2019 NHL Entry Draft this past weekend, Nill told the media that the Stars had yet to come to terms on an extension with highly-coveted pending UFA forward Mats Zuccarello. He mentioned that Zuccarello wanted to test the market during the Free Agency Interview Period to get a better feel for what other offers might be out on the market.
With that being said, the Dallas Stars (at least for now) have made a decision on four of their six pending UFAs. Polak is back, Spezza and Methot are gone, and they will stay in touch with Zuccarello as he explores other options.
That leaves two more UFAs on the board, being defenders Taylor Fedun and Ben Lovejoy.
So, what’s the talk on the two defenders?
Well, there isn’t much talk at all. And that’s exactly what makes their situation so interesting.
On June 4, Mike Heika wrote an article on DallasStars.com and pointed out that Nill was open to negotiating potential extensions with both Fedun and Lovejoy. Granted, that was before they re-signed Polak to an extension. Even so, each defenseman seems to have a case to be re-signed.
Fedun followed a similar path in 2018-19 as Greg Pateryn did with the Stars in 2017-18. He was acquired by Dallas in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 10, 2018 after falling down the Buffalo depth chart and turning into a 31-year-old healthy scratch in the AHL. That’s when the Stars, who were in desperate need of defensive help after being hit hard by injury in the first month of the season, came calling.
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And when Fedun made his debut with Dallas on Nov. 23, there was an instant click. He scored a goal in his first game with the Stars and put five shots on net in just 12:54 of ice time and looked to be a serviceable third-pairing defender that could round out the lineup.
That one game eventually turned into 54 regular season games as the defenseman became a reliable option for Jim Montgomery on the third pairing that could play on the penalty kill, provide an offensive boost, and move the puck well while skating 13-15 minutes per game. He finished the season with four goals, 11 points, and a +2 rating while also posting decent possession numbers. The fact that he was doing it all on an AAV of $650,000 was simply an added bonus.
And while his production and reliability regressed when the Stanley Cup Playoffs rolled around (which could be expected, considering it was his first time playing in an NHL postseason), he turned his reputation around entirely and established his title as a third-pairing NHL option.
Ben Lovejoy was acquired by the Dallas Stars in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on the morning of Feb. 23 in exchange for Connor Carrick and a third-round pick. The veteran defender was inserted into the bottom pairing and played in 20 of the Stars’ final 21 regular season contests, tallying two assists, a -2 rating, and 41 blocked shots in an average ice time of 15:50.
In addition, the 35-year-old played in all 13 of the Stars’ postseason games, tallying one assist and posting a -7 rating in 18:03 of average ice time. While his possession numbers were disappointing and he posted the second-lowest SAT of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (finishing above only Roman Polak), he was another quality penalty killer and brought both extensive experience and a Stanley Cup to the locker room.
So, with both players one week away from becoming unrestricted free agents and the door still potentially open for negotiations, how might Nill go about handling the two defenders?
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At this point in the offseason, the better question may be whether he handles them at all.
Let’s take a look at the Dallas blue line for a moment.
As of right now, the Dallas Stars have Esa Lindell, John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen, Stephen Johns, Jamie Oleksiak, and Roman Polak under contract for next season. Of those, all but Johns are guaranteed to be healthy and ready for opening night at the moment (with the hope being that Johns will also be able to play).
In addition, the Stars have been linked to other defenders on the free agent market like Anton Stralman and Jake Gardiner.
If Dallas signs either one to a contract, that gives them six (possibly seven) healthy defensemen ready for opening night. All of a sudden, the blue line is looking a little full.
Assuming Johns is healthy and the Stars land Stralman, Gardiner, or some other UFA defender that can play a top-four role, here’s how the starting lineup could look on Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins.
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen – UFA defender
Jamie Oleksiak – Stephen Johns
Scratched: Roman Polak
By adding Fedun or Lovejoy back into the mix, you simply put another defender on the healthy scratch list and further clog the pipeline for prospects like Gavin Bayreuther, Dillon Heatherington, and Ben Gleason, who all impressed in limited NHL playing time last season. Not to mention that the Stars also signed Joel Hanley to an extension during the season after an impressive 2018-19 showing both in the AHL and NHL.
Considering that neither Fedun or Lovejoy is a top-four defender, pairing either with Heiskanen could bring up the same issues that arose when Polak skated alongside the rookie.
On top of that, Fedun could be in for a bigger opportunity elsewhere. After making just $650,000 during the 2018-19 campaign and earning a Masterton Trophy nomination for his bounce-back effort and the rebirth of his NHL career, Fedun should be a solid and cheap option for teams looking to round out their bottom pairing while adding some offensive punch and shorthanded skill to their blue line. If the Stars were to bring him back, it would likely need to be on a two-way contract.
Lovejoy is likely in due for the last contract of his NHL career and could provide a veteran boost to a team that is either close to contending or simply in need of an older voice in the locker room. Like Fedun, he shouldn’t be overly expensive and can fill in a bottom pair.
But in the Dallas Stars’ case, they need something different. As a result, the signing of Polak and the development of other defensive prospects seems to make a reunion between Dallas and the two defensemen unlikely.
Now, nothing is ever completely out of the question with Jim Nill until he makes it openly known. If the Stars cannot find any feasible and cost-friendly options on the market, one of their pending UFAs might end up serving as the best bet. So, don’t count out a return just yet.
But when considering the factors, the Stars’ needs, and the potential opportunities on the market for Fedun and Lovejoy, it seems like Dallas is prepared to head in another direction.
Let’s see how the next week pans out.