Stars: Decisions, Trades, Moves, Mailbag
Nill makes moves and seems to want to enjoy another year with Jason Robertson.
The Stanley Cup has been skated for another year and the ice has been cleared.
Hockey season was certainly fun, but now the action moves off the surface. The contracts have expired, and the new vision must be assembled.
The Dallas Stars came up short again this spring, so the pursuit continues. They obviously have work to do but also are not that far away. They appear to have their group, mostly. So now, they are having to squeeze that last bit of money into the spots where they have some roster openings.
It is a series of linked decisions that are also independent of each other. You have to bake in a number of “what ifs” that are out of your control so that you can handle surprises along the way that might be either good or bad.
But with this team, it does come back to a few things that are clear:
The biggest move of the offseason was already made when the Stars made their major trade and signed Mikko Rantanen. He would have been the belle of this summer’s free agency ball if they did not have him signed already. But, they got that move and the important retention of Wyatt Johnston that keeps him out of offer sheet range. But, that portion of the offseason was completed in March. Therefore, many of the roster building has been built. Now, you let the core continue to grow together.
The free agency class of 2025, as it pertains keeping their own pieces, was always going to revolve around two veteran pieces that both likely remain willing to offer hometown discounts rather than chasing money in a lesser situation. One was done yesterday and the other should be resolved soon enough.
Therefore, the rest of the offseason will be looking at the market with smaller moves on the margins to fill out a final few depth spots that would have to be considered much smaller potatoes. They will not have everything fortified in the fall, but always have shown a willingness to try to improve the team in the new year where it appears vulnerable.
So, once we see that for what it is, we can discuss the moves. And yes, the two moves yesterday got us headed into a mode where we better get the newsletter up in a hurry because we are officially in the silly season.
Let’s go through them below: