Jim Nill is having himself a Friday. He pulled off the impossible by trading for Mikko Rantanen an hour ago. It bolstered the Stars to become the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season. The Stars signed Wyatt Johnston to a bargain extension worth 8.4 million a year for the next five seasons. It's good because teams would have lined up at the starting line to place offer sheets for Johnston's services this summer. That's one less thing the Stars' fanbase will have to worry about this summer.
The Johnston extension wasn't too surprising since Johnston has the same agent as Mikko Rantanen. They might as well knock out two contracts with one stone today. This extension allows Dallas to try to lock up Jason Robertson and Thomas Harley to extensions shortly. Johnston would become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 27. It's just another example of a Jim Nill masterclass. Can the Stars organization create an AI program so a virtual Nill can run the organization for life?
Johnston has been one of the brightest draft picks, along with Miro Heiskanen. He didn't even need to spend any time down at Cedar Park before coming over from the Windsor Spitfires. I remember covering the Stars when Johnston had his nine-game tryout, and DeBoer said he would lock Johnston in his trunk so Nill couldn't send him back. Keeping him with the Stars has paid off dividends that will continue into the future.
Johnston has provided the Stars with some memorable experiences over his career with the Stars. We all remembered when he moved in with Joe Pavelski for the first two years of his career. He learned to cook from Mrs. Pavelski, and Joe taught him the ropes of being an everyday NHL player. Those lessons he's learned have shown on the ice over and over again. I don't think the Stars' organization will ever be able to thank Pavelski enough for being his mentor.
Johnston has provided some memorable goals during his career with the Stars. One came against the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 at the American Airlines Center, where Johnston beat out the icing and backhanded the puck into the net. Another one came last season when he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars have a bright future, with Johnston possibly becoming a captain before 2030.