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The Dallas Stars made their first big trade of the offseason on Thursday night, shipping Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken and taking $4.5 million off the books in the process.
But with under $3 million in cap space and six unrestricted free agents on the roster after the re-signings of Nils Lundkvist and Mavrik Bourque on Friday, general manager Jim Nill reportedly isn't done making moves.
As The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta reported, the Stars are focusing on creating salary cap space for additional trades.
“The Stars have limited themselves on any additional moves. Clubs are allowed to exceed the cap by 10 percent during the off-season, starting July 1, and must be cap compliant by the start of the regular-season,” wrote TFP.
“However, Stars GM Jim Nill has already been investigating his options and has been exploring the trade market on defensemen Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin.”
While Dumba ($3.75 million AAV) and Lyubushkin ($3.25 million AAV) are the most likely players to be on the move next, there's a chance that the franchise will part with one of their bonafide stars in Jason Robertson.
“As TFP’s David Pagnotta reported earlier this month on NHL Network, the Stars have entertained calls on star left wing Jason Robertson, who comes with a $7.75 million cap hit, but the club remains reluctant to move him, which is why they are evaluating alternative options.”
The return for Marchment was a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and the Stars' previously acquired fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. If Robertson does end up getting traded, he would command a much more substantial return.
Trading Jason Robertson would be a bombshell move for Stars
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While it would be shocking if the Stars moved on from Robertson — the California native scored 80 points in 82 games in 2024-25 and snapped for 109 points in 2022-23 — Dallas simply needs to free up cap space before next season.
Captain Jamie Benn needs a new contract, as does Evgenii Dadonov, Mikael Granlund, Colin Blackwell, Brendan Smith and Cody Ceci. It's obvious that at least a few of those players will be going to market on July 1.
Although Matt Duchene will be part of the team's long-term plans after signing a four-year, $18 million extension earlier this week, there's not too much more money to go around.
After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final for the second straight year, and firing head coach Pete DeBoer shortly afterwards, the roster is certainly going to look different next year.
As it stands, the Stars only have nine forwards under contract: Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz, Sam Steel, Oskar Back, Robertson, Duchene and Bourque.
On the back end, seven defensemen have contracts, including Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Thomas Harley, Lian Bischel, Dumba, Lyubushkin and Lundkvist.
It'll be interesting to see what the next domino to fall is, although it's almost certain that one of Dumba or Lyubushkin — if not both — will be getting a change of scenery between now and training camp.
