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The Dallas Stars were dealt a brutal injury blow last week, as Tyler Seguin will undergo major reconstructive hip surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 months. It's even worse considering Seguin had found prolific success on a line with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment this season, recording 20 points in 19 games.
The silver lining is that the 32-year-old will likely be placed on long-term injured reserve, meaning general manager Jim Nill will be able to weaponize Seguin's $9.85 million in cap space. And according to Daily Faceoff's Jeff Marek, that's exactly what the executive is going to do.
“The Dallas Stars are going big game hunting,” the hockey insider reported on Monday. “With the unfortunate Tyler Seguin injury, GM Jim Nill is planning to be aggressive with his cap space. Internally, the feeling is this is THE year to go for it, and everyone from owner Tom Gaglardi on down is aligned. And I mean big-name, big-ticket players both up front and on the back end.”
The Stars came within two victories of their second Stanley Cup Final appearance in five campaigns in 2023-24, and even without Chris Tanev, the squad projects as a contender this season. That'll be especially true if Nill adds a couple more pieces ahead of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Marek continued: “Dallas is also looking to get tougher at the bottom end of the lineup. If he doesn’t re-sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, I could see the Stars making a play for Mathieu Olivier.”
If the Stars do go all-in this season, Marek sees at least one of three top prospects getting traded: Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque or Lian Bichsel. Obviously, each of the three players has different levels of value.
Regardless of the direction the front office ends up going, there might not be any moves made until well into the New Year.
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Stars might wait until after 4 Nations Face-Off to make moves
“I do wonder, however, if Dallas waits to pull the trigger on deals until after the 4 Nations Face-Off out of caution about the health of netminder Jake Oettinger,” Marek finished. “If he gets injured in the tournament, it might give Nill cause for pause.”
Oettinger projects to backup Connor Hellebuyck on Team USA at the 4 Nations in Montreal and Boston next February. And the squad has three other players participating, all for Finland: Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell.
It makes sense that the front office would wait; the Stars are in no hurry to get better on the trade market. Dallas is currently 17-10 and third place in the Central Division, trailing the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets by six points each.
It does seem quite likely that Nill and the front office will look to improve the roster as the core aims to finally bring a championship back to Texas. After a couple of deep playoff runs, 2024-25 could be the year the Stars are truly Stanley Cup or bust.
