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For the third time in three years, the Dallas Stars have been eliminated in the Western Conference Final. For the second year in a row, the Stars were eliminated by the Oilers. Now the Stars move toward the offseason. With multiple pending free agents and a tight salary cap situation, we look at the three potential trade candidates for Dallas.
The Stars have multiple free agents this offseason. Currently, Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Evgenii Dadonov, Colin Blackwell, Cody Ceci, and Mikael Granlund are all free agents this upcoming offseason. Further, Mavrik Bourque, the 23-year-old forward who is seen as part of the future for the Stars, is a restricted free agent. Meanwhile, the Stars have just $4.55 million in cap space this offseason. That will be enough to bring back Bourque, but not enough to fill out the roster.
Further, the Stars have recently given large contract extensions to multiple players. Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, and Jake Oettinger all recently signed new contracts, giving substantial raises. Still, the Stars have a major salary cap concern. They will most likely have to move on from players to be under the cap and fill out the roster. We look at the three potential trade candidates after their loss to the Oilers in the playoffs.
The Stars trade off a goalie
As noted, the Stars are in a dire situation with the salary cap. Jake Oettinger just signed a large extension and will receive $8.25 million next year. Moving on from him would triple the current available resources for the Stars. With that money, they could sign a new goaltender and also make other free-agent moves. Head coach Pete DeBoer was recently very critical of Oettinger and his playoff performances as well. Still, in order to make this move, two things need to happen.
First, the Stars need to be confident in Casey DeSmith. Oettinger played in 58 games with a 2.59 goals against average and a .909 save percentage this year. DeSmith played in 27 games, coming away with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. DeSmith has never been the primary starting goalie for a team, but has been solid in his career. He has a career goals against average of 2.79 with a .910 save percentage. Those numbers are similar to the career numbers of Oettinger. DeSmith is older, but Ben Kraws is in the minor leagues waiting for his chance as well.
Second, the Stars would need to find a trade partner. The goalie market is sparse this offseason, so teams looking for a starting goalie who would be willing to bring on a large contract do exist. The San Jose Sharks have plenty of cap space and are in need of a starting goalie, as just one example.
The Stars could move Mason Marchment for cap space
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The Dallas Stars have plenty of money tied up in veteran forwards. Tyler Seguin will make almost $10 million, while Mikko Rantanen will make $12 million, Roope Hintz will make $8.45 million, and Wyatt Johnston will make $8.4 million. Rantanen, Seguin, and Hintz also have one other thing in common. All three of them have clauses in their contract that would make it hard to move them. Rantanen has a modified no-trade clause, which would allow him to pick and choose teams he would be willing to go to.
Meanwhile, Seguin and Hintz both have no-movement clauses in their contracts. This means both Seguin and Hintz would need to sign off on a trade before being moved. One player without that clause in their contract is Mason Marchment. First, Marchment is due $4.5 million this year. Second, He is an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year. Third, he will most likely be looking for a raise, something the Stars cannot give him. Finally, Marchment is a prime sell-high candidate.
Marchment played in just 62 games for the Stars. While he tied a career high in goals, he had just 25 assists, bringing his point total down six points from the previous year. Further, his plus-minus rating dropped by seven this past year as well. He was not the same power-play contributor, but still put up solid numbers. The Stars need draft capital and cap space, and getting rid of Marchment could do just that.
Dallas trades away a defender
The Stars do not have a lot of places where they have great depth. The one spot is on defense. Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen are both under contract for the foreseeable future. Budding star defender Thomas Harley is also under contract but will hit restricted free agency next summer. His defensive pair, Cody Ceci, will most likely be moving on. Still, Lian Bischel, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Alexander Petrovic are all under contract, and all played in the playoffs.
This leaves Matt Dumba as the odd man out for the Stars. Dumba played in just 63 regular-season games in his first year in Dallas and was not very productive. He has just 10 points, tied for the lowest in a full season in his career. Dumba also had a minus-five plus/minus rating, his third straight season with a negative rating. He did not play in the playoffs this year for the Stars either. With the fact that he is due $3.75 million this year and will be a free agent at the end of the season, moving on from Dumba makes sense for the Stars.
