Dallas Stars have big questions to answer this summer
The Dallas Stars 2023-24 season came to an end Sunday night in a 2-1 Game 6 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
The Stars fell in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final for the second straight season after being one of the top Stanley Cup contenders all year. But after knocking off the previous two champions in the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, Dallas ran out of steam against the Oilers.
Looking ahead, the Stars are set up to be a very good team for a long time. They have an excellent young core right in their prime mixed with a few young guns and some veteran depth that will allow them to compete for years.
But for now, general manager Jim Nill and his staff have some questions to answer.
Dallas has seven pending unrestricted free agents: Matt Duchene, Joe Pavelski, Craig Smith, Chris Tanev, Jani Hakanpaa, Derrick Pouliot, and Scott Wedgewood. Add to that the four pending restricted free agents: Ty Dellandrea, Sam Steel, Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist, and it’s easy to see that there is a lot to get done this summer in Big D.
Not to mention the big-name players who have only one year left on their contracts like captain Jamie Benn and Jake Oettinger, and the potential buyouts or trades involving Ryan Suter or Radek Faksa.
Tyler Yaremchuk: When you look at what’s coming ahead for Dallas, there are some really big questions about some of their veteran players. Is Joe Pavelski coming back for another year? Is Matt Duchene coming back after a very successful one-year contract coming off his buyout in Nashville? You have some young guys, mainly Thomas Harley, who you have to decide, do you just want to pay them a bunch now and lock them up? Or do you want to bridge them? A lot of tough decisions for Jim Nill, and not that much money at $15.9 million cap space.
Frank Seravalli: Well, there’s enough to do some damage if you want to. I love the fact that the Dallas Stars were able to make some upgrades at the deadline this year, adding Chris Tanev, without giving up their first-round pick. That’s huge for a team that’s drafted as well as Dallas has. Look, they’re not going anywhere when you consider the core ages of their players… The core of this team isn’t going anywhere. But you’re right, they have some questions to answer.
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