On Wednesday, the Stars should have a clearer indication of what next year’s roster will look like.
The NHL’s free agency period opens at 11 a.m., and the Stars are expected to be in the market for a top-four defenseman and a depth forward, even despite limited available cap space. Dallas has been looking for a top-four defenseman throughout the offseason, and appears to have zeroed in on Ryan Suter as its main target.
The Stars lost Jamie Oleksiak to Seattle during the expansion draft, as he was wooed to the West Coast by a lucrative five-year contract worth $4.6 million annually. Dallas also missed out on acquiring Seth Jones from Columbus, as both the cost of acquisition and the cost of a contract extension were too rich for the Stars.
On Tuesday, the Stars pushed forward in their pursuit of Suter, hoping to get a deal done by the time free agency rolled around on Wednesday. Suter, 36, is a left-handed defenseman that was recently bought out by Minnesota, which will pay him $833,333 each year for the next eight seasons.
Suter is a minutes-eater who has averaged 25:02 of ice time per game across his 1,198 NHL games with Nashville and Minnesota. He has finished in the top 10 in Norris Trophy voting six times, but not since 2016-17.
If the Stars choose to splurge on Suter (maybe his cap hit lands around $4 million?), they will not have much money to sign a depth forward to flesh out their lineup. But there are budget options out there for Dallas should that be the case:
Ryan Getzlaf
Stars general manager Jim Nill has a history of signing aging forwards that have spent their entire career with one team. He lured Joe Pavelski from San Jose and Corey Perry from Anaheim, and perhaps Getzlaf, 36, fits the mold of a veteran trying to find a possible contender to skip to.
Getzlaf is coming off the worst season of his career in Anaheim, when he posted 17 points in 41 games, a 29-point pace in a normal 82-game season. His previous worst was a 49-point pace in 2019-20. Getzlaf is a 6-4 right-handed center known for his play-making ability.
Tyler Bozak
Bozak, 35, is another veteran option that may be available for cheap after a 17-point season with the Blues last season. He spent the first nine seasons of his career in Toronto before winning a Cup with St. Louis in 2019. Bozak can kill penalties, a potential need with the loss of Jason Dickinson and the (presumed) departure of Andrew Cogliano.
Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri
In recent years, Zajac and Palmieri have been perpetually linked as teammates in New Jersey before they were traded to the Islanders together last year. Zajac, 36, is the older of the two and is more of a passer than Palmieri, who has scored 25 goals four times in his career.
Pius Suter
The Blackhawks did not issue a qualifying offer to Suter on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. Suter, 25, was a rookie last year and was one of Chicago’s bright spots up front with 14 goals and 13 assists while finishing 11th in Calder Trophy voting. Given his age, he should get widespread interest from the league, including a possible deal with terms.
Michael Bunting
Bunting is a Group 6 UFA after not playing the required number of games with Arizona for the Coyotes to retain his negotiating rights, and became an attractive name by scoring 10 goals in 21 NHL games. He has spent parts of six seasons in the AHL, and figures to be a risky acquisition given his limited success in the NHL.
Nikita Gusev
Gusev is a bit of an unknown at this stage of his career after arriving in the NHL after a prolific career in the KHL. He debuted with a 44-point season with New Jersey in 2019-20, but was waived last year and had 10 points in 31 games split between the Devils and Panthers.
Tomas Tatar
Tatar’s stock is low after he was a healthy scratch during Montreal’s postseason run, but he has been a consistent 20-goals scorer in the NHL. At the right price, could be a bounceback candidate next year.
