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The Dallas Stars have already made one significant trade this offseason, shipping Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken and recouping $4.5 million in salary cap space in the process.
But still with under $3 million to work with — and six unrestricted free agents on the roster, including captain Jamie Benn — general manager Jim Nill is likely not done making moves.
It's been widely reported that defensemen Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin, who each have a year left on their respective deals, will be the next players getting a change of scenery. And as The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday, the former is more likely to be dealt than the latter.
“There were some people wondering if Matt Dumba, 30, might be among those bought out when the window opened last week, but for now, the Stars' priority is to find a taker on the trade market,” wrote the hockey insider.
“The thinking is that despite the fact that it was a disappointing season for Dumba and he didn’t appear in a playoff game, there’s such a demand for right-shot defensemen that a team might still bite on the one year at $3.75 million left on that contract. We shall see.”
Dumba's nearly $4 million cap hit will be critical to get off the books if Dallas' front office hopes to retain a couple of its unrestricted free agents. The same can probably be said for Lyubushkin, who is set to make $3.25 million in 2025-26.
While it's very likely that Benn will return, the same can't be said for the Stars' other five UFAs: Mikael Granlund, Colin Blackwell, Evgenii Dadonov, Brendan Smith and Cody Ceci.
Regardless of whether Nill is able to trade Dumba — and presumably Lyubushkin — there is still not a ton of salary cap space to go around. Marchment was the first domino to fall, but he won't be the last. It wouldn't be surprising if most of the team's free agents hit the market on July 1.
But the big name who continues to swirl in trade rumors is Jason Robertson, who has been just under a point-per-game player for the last two years and amassed an eye-opening 109 points back in 2022-23.
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Would the Stars really trade Jason Robertson?
Like Dumba and Lyubushkin, Robertson has just one year left on his deal; he'll make $7.75 million in 2025-26 before becoming a restricted free agent.
The 25-year-old could be traded to make even more room, but that would be a tough pill to swallow for the entire organization. Robertson is a bonafide star forward, and also a proven playoff performer.
LeBrun reported earlier this week that the Stars aren't actively shopping the California native, but “are listening on him to educate themselves on the market and what teams might be willing to do at some point.”
Robertson's trade value is significant right now, but LeBrun doesn't expect there to be a resolution until much later in the summer, potentially even late in August.
The same can't be said for Dumba, who is most likely going to be getting a change of scenery before the calendar flips to July.
