The Dallas Stars thought they were about to advance to their second Stanley Cup Final of the decade when they had a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. However, disaster struck when trade deadline pickup Chris Tanev blocked a shot and lost most of his mobility. Tanev may have gotten away with it against any other team, but Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers began dominating. The Stars failed to win any more games in the series, with the Oilers winning three straight and taking the series 4-2. Now, the Stars are left searching for trade candidates to target in an important year for the franchise.
The Stars could have tried to run it back, but their salary cap issues hurt those chances. They also felt the contract extension talks with Tanev weren't going anywhere, so they traded his rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the NHL Draft. They attempted to patch the hole that Tanev's absence left, but it still feels like they are lacking in some departments. The Stars didn't target many trades or signings this offseason. Does their front office have one or two more moves up their sleeves?
Mason Marchment's contract doesn't have enough value
The Stars need to find value in their contracts, considering the talent on their roster. It isn't easy to stay underneath the salary cap ceiling with a contending team. However, the Stars are $6.2 million under the cap, with a Thomas Harley contract extension left on the agenda. Harley will use most of that money, but the Stars should go all-in after finishing two games short of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Stars attempted to improve by adding Matt Dumba andIlya Lyubushkin after trading Tanev's rights. Those players are replacement-level at best, but they don't move the needle for a team that came so close to taking on the Florida Panthers. The last thing the Stars need is to get worse at defense if they want to defeat teams like the Oilers.
The Stars could try to trade Marchment for another defenseman, but anyone they acquire for him won't move the needle, either. The move the Stars have to make is to trade Marchment's cap hit from their roster and then use a different trade candidate to acquire their top-four defenseman.
Would losing Marchment be a devastating loss for the Stars? He had a good season in 2023-24, achieving a career-high with 53 points in 81 games. He also fixed his tendency to take costly penalties, but that crept up again in the playoffs. The Stars even scratched him two games into the first round and didn't bring him back in the lineup until Game 2 of the second round.
Marchment's absence was deemed an “undisclosed” injury, but most players battle through in the playoffs. After losing two straight games to start the playoffs, there's a belief that Peter DeBoer wasn't upset about Marchment watching from the press box.
The Stars have a first-round pick to trade
Any contending team will usually sacrifice a first-round pick to improve their team instantly. The Stars have their first-round pick for 2025, which will likely be in the later portion, where the 2025 draft doesn't have much depth. The Stars trading their first-round pick is the second of a two-part plan, where they move Marchment's cap hit and then use the pick to acquire another defenseman.
Who can the Stars target with the salary cap? They have $6.2 million remaining, but Harley will take up most of that. The Stars need to find a valuable defenseman who makes the same amount of money as Marchment. A player they could target is David Savard from the Montreal Canadiens.
Savard joined the Canadiens after beating them for a Stanley Cup in 2021. He believed they'd be a contender but didn't realize that the cup run ended Carey Price and Shea Weber's careers. The Canadiens have been rebuilding since acquiring him, and Savard wants to go to a team where he can win his second championship.
The Stars have Dumba, Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist on their right side. Neither of these players can play top-pairing minutes, and Savard would be a nice compliment to Miro Heiskanen's game. The Canadiens have too many defensemen on their roster and will likely let Savard go for a decent price.
Savard will make $3.5 million for one more season and offers the Stars plenty of value at that cap hit.
The Stars could make the Stanley Cup Finals this season with their current roster, but why not target these trade candidates and bring the team to another level?
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