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The Dallas Stars returned to the Western Conference Finals for a third time in three seasons, but also lost there for a third straight year. This has led to offseason moves already for the Stars. They fired Pete DeBoer, making a change at head coach already this offseason. Still, Jim Nill has been able to make some major moves this summer with personnel. There is still room to make one more major trade before their next NHL campaign to potentially return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020.
The Stars' General Manager just won the Jim Gregory Award as GM of the year for a third straight season, and some of his work this year may help him win it a fourth time. He has found a way to re-sign Jamie Benn, Nils Lundkvist, and Mavrik Bourque. They also traded away Mason Marchment, sending him to the Seattle Kraken. Recently, Dallas added depth to their roster, signing Radek Faksa while also re-signing Colin Blackwell. These moves have put the Stars over the salary cap, though, now sitting $1 million over the cap.
The Stars also have trade pieces available. There have been rumors of them moving Jason Robertson, a 25-year-old who will be a restricted free agent next year. They have also been connected to trading Mathew Dumba or potentially trading away Ilya Lyubushkin. Regardless, Dallas needs to find a way to both save some money and improve the roster to get past the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs.
The Stars strike a deal with the Sabres
Dallas struggled heavily with the Oilers in the playoffs. After winning the first game 6-3, they would score just five more goals in the next four games, while allowing 19. They need help on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ice if they are to get past the Oilers.
One option is to make a trade for Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames. This may be difficult. To begin with, he carries a salary of $4.55 million and has just one year left on his deal. Most likely, this would make Andersson a rental, which may be worth waiting for the trade deadline to make happen. Secondly, Andersson has said he wants to play with the Vegas Golden Knights, a different Western Conference rival.
Another option to help their offense is to go after restricted free agent Marco Rossi. The Stars will need to open up salary to get the Wild's center, but other obstacles exist, too. The first question is whether the Wild will trade one of their top players in the division? Next, the Wild have said they want to improve their roster if they are trading Rossi. This would most likely require Robertson to be moved to the Wild, which would require both the Stars to be willing to trade him to Minnesota and the Wild agreeing that he is enough of an upgrade.
The best option for the Stars, and the one with the least amount of obstacles, is trading with Buffalo. Bowen Byram would be a great option for the Stars. The Sabres have offered salary arbitration to their blue liner, and while that prevents an offer sheet, he can still be traded. The Canadian-born defender played in all 82 games for the Sabres last season, scoring seven goals and adding 31 assists. This would be an upgrade over Dumba. He has not played in 82 games or scored 30 points in a season since the 2017-18 campaign.
For Buffalo, Dumba provides a veteran presence on the blue line, something that is currently missing. Further, he plays on the right side of the defense, while the top two defenders for the Sabres both play on the left side. For Dallas, there would still be the issue of salary. Dumba currently costs $3.75 million, and Byram will cost more. Still, Nill has shown he can work well with the salary cap and make a deal like this happen.
Another option to make this happen is to package Dumba and Robertson together and ask for more back from Buffalo. Moving both Robertson and Dumba would save $11.5 million, giving them $10.5 million in salary cap space. This would allow Dallas to not only sign Byram but also make a play for Alex Tuch. Buffalo has had some interest in moving their 29-year-old star forward. He is a little older than Robertson and does not quite have the same production. Regardless, a move like this would be positive for Dallas. Not only does it solve their salary cap issue, it improves the defense, keeps the offense from the forwards similar with Tuch, but improves the offense from the blueline via Byram.
Any trade for Dallas will be difficult, but trading to upgrade the roster while working within their constraints makes it even harder for the Stars. Still, if there is a GM who can do it, that is Nill.
