The Dallas Stars are still one of the perennial favorties to win the Stanley Cup coming out of the Western Conference. But what made them successful was the youth movement they had coming from the AHL as well as the value on the books. With Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Thomas Harley, Miro Heiskanen, and Tyler Seguin being paid the most on the team, the Stars are trying to value other players on the roster.
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They thought they had that with Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque. However, given how aggressive GM Jim Nill was over the last couple of offseasons, the proven young talent isn’t there right now. Not to mention, he put his team up against the salary cap.
As Mike Heika of DallasStars.com explained when he joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, the Stars window could be closing given their salary cap issues unless other players step up.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “Michael, you mentioned Mavrik Bourque there. I wanted to ask you a little bit about him and that trade, and maybe it’s what you just said at the end there-that they’re pressed up against the salary cap. And ultimately, when you’re paying guys, and it’s a good problem to have. Paying guys like Thomas Harley and Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen, when they got that extension done as well, is this why the Mavrik Bourque trade had to happen? It feels like he was a budding young player on this Dallas Stars team, moving his way up the lineup, and he has to get dealt to Nashville. Is that why that trade had to happen?”
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Mike Heika: “Yeah, definitely. I mean, if you see his contract, I think $5 million or $6 million, they couldn’t afford that. Snd they kind of saw the writing on the wall that this guy has earned this deal. I think what they would have liked is to get more for Mavrik Bourque. I think they would have liked for the league to have sat there and had a little bit of a bidding war to say, we can get a good young player.
It didn’t work out that way, but it is what it is. And again, it’s an interesting place to be in Dallas right now because you can argue that the window was two years ago or last year or three years ago. And right now, they’re in that place where the Chicago’s and LA’s got to after they won a cup or two. And so now they’re in a very hard financial situation where their guys, their 20-somethings, are making money.
Now, granted, they’re not 30-somethings making money, so that’s a good thing. But their 20-somethings are all making pretty good money, so those guys better be good. And if not, then this team is going to go back to the middle.
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And if you look at the entire Central Division. I think Colorado could take a step back. I think Minnesota could take a step back. I think Utah could take a step forward. You could say Nashville could take a step forward. It could be a lot tighter. And now the Stars could go from ‘Hey, we’re first or second to maybe we’re in the bubble or fourth or fifth.’ And I think that scares a lot of fans right now.”
NHLRumors.com Note: The Dallas Stars are up against the salary cap this season. Now they will get money next season, with Tyler Seguin’s money coming off the books. However, Jason Robertson will need a new extension, and it will be higher than the $12 million he is making right now. Given the current state of the hockey world, the Stars had to lose a player like Mavrik Bourque to the Nashville Predators.
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Dallas already traded away Logan Stankoven in the Mikko Rantanen deal a year ago, and despite being part of the Dylan Larkin deal, they aren’t willing to give up Wyatt Johnston. They need young players on good value deals, as the top players on the team earn higher salaries.
It is hard to keep a championship window open. However, do the Dallas Stars take a page out of the Washington Capitals’ playbook and figure out ways to retool on the fly through drafting and developing? Who is their next great find? Could it be someone like Justin Hryckowian?
It will be interesting to see how the Dallas Stars perform this season.
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