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For a third straight year, the Dallas Stars have been eliminated in the Western Conference Finals. This time, it was in five games to the Edmonton Oilers. After a third straight conference final defeat, Stars fans are calling for the job of Peter DeBoer. Whether DeBoer remains on the job is a question for management in the offseason, but it is time to look at three early predictions for the Stars' offseason after their loss to the Oilers.
The Stars have a lot to figure out this offseason. This has been a solid franchise for some time, but they have not been able to win a Cup. They have made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons, made it to one Stanley Cup Final, and three other conference finals. They have almost no draft capital to work with this offseason, either. The Stars' first pick will be in the third round this year, and they do not have a first-round pick until 2027.
Further, they have plenty of free agents to sign. Jamie Benn, Colin Blackwell, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Duchene, Cody Ceci, and Mikael Granlund are all free agents. Further, they are projected to have just $4.5 million in cap space according to Cap Wages. Further, head coach Peter DeBoer is in the final year of his contract. We now look at three predictions for the 2025 NHL offseason for the Dallas Stars.
Peter DeBoer stays on, but without an extension
DeBoer has been the head coach of the Dallas Stars for three years now. He has proven to be a winner as well. In his career, he is 662-447-152 in the regular season. Further, his teams have made the playoffs ten times. DeBoer is 16th in all-time wins by a head coach, including the postseason, and 17th without the postseason. He has also been great in Dallas. DeBoer is 149-69-29 in Dallas and made the conference finals in three straight years. Overall, he has been a coach in the conference finals eight times, and in six and the last seven years.
Still, he has not been able to get a team the Cup. After three years with the Panthers, without making the playoffs, he went to the Devils. He had his first chance at a Cup in 2012, coaching the Devils, but they would lose in the finals to the Kings. He would miss the playoffs the next two years before being first during the 2014-15 season. Then, he would go to the Sharks. In his first season, he took the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Penguins. DeBoer would then make the playoffs the next three years. In the 2018-19 season, he would take the Sharks to the conference finals, but lose to the Blues.
After being fired by the Sharks halfway through the 2019-2020 season, he took over the Golden Knights that year, making it to the conference finals and losing. He would do it again the next year before missing the playoffs in the 2021-22 season. DeBoer would then move to the Stars. It is clear he is a winner, but cannot win the big one. Getting rid of a winner is hard to do, but with a year left on the deal, the Stars will bring him back, but he will be on a short leash if things go south.
The Stars lose multiple free agents
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There is no way around the fact that the Stars will be losing multiple free agents. First, they have just $4.5 million in cap space. Mavrik Bourque is a young player, seen to be potentially a major future piece of the Stars. He is a restricted free agent who is expected to have a contract worth about $2 million next year. This means the Stars have to make decisions on their other big-name free agents.
They have seven defenders under contract for next year, including five of their top six. While Cody Ceci played in all 18 playoff games, logging an average of 21:31 of ice time in each game, it seems likely he will be moving on. He is expected to get a raise from his $3.25 million salary this year, and the Stars cannot afford to bring him back to be a fourth or fifth defender.
Further, while Jamie Benn might be willing to take a pay cut to stay with the Stars, although there is no indication from his camp that he will be, players like Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene will not be willing to do the same. Granlund was a mid-season acquisition and played great for the Stars, most likely earning himself a solid next contract. Duchene signed a one-year contract to stay with the Stars this year, but was not the same productive player he has been. He scored just once in the playoffs and could be easy to move on from.
A big name is a cap casualty
The cap situation is dire for the Stars. With just $4.5 million in cap space, some moves will have to be made. The Stars extended Mikko Rantanen, giving him a large pay increase. They also gave an extension to Wyatt Johnston, who is just 22 years old. Further, Tyler Seguin, who is due $9.85 million, and Roope Hintz, who is due $8.45 million, both have no-move clauses in their contract. This means the Stars will have to find someone to move and save some money.
That someone could be Jake Oettinger. First, he just signed a large extension and will receive $8.25 million next year. That is more than enough to sign another goalie and some other free agents. Second, DeBoer was recently very critical of Oettinger. If they could find a team in the market for a goalie, he would be the cap casualty on this team.
