2025-26 Player Profile: Nils Lundkvist

Name: Nils Lundkvist

Age: 25

Birthplace: Pitea, Sweden

Height/Weight: 6-1, 191

2024-25 Regular-season Stats: 0 goals, 5 assists, 15:01 avg. TOI in 39 games

2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Stats: Did not play (shoulder surgery)

Contract: Signed one-year extension for $1.25 million in June

Performance Evaluation: The 2024-25 season really felt like a “prove it” year for Lundkvist. After being unable to cement a spot in the starting lineup in his first two seasons with the Stars, Lundkvist signed a one-year deal in the summer of 2024 that felt like his last chance to lock in his place on the blue line. The Stars also signed fellow right-handed defensemen in Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin, so there was healthy competition for playing time. But Lundkvist seemed up for the challenge, playing in the first 10 games of the season and 14 of the first 15. He dealt with a lower-body injury near Thanksgiving and the flu near Christmas that kept him out of the lineup for a handful of games, but remained a consistent option to start when healthy. He spent most of the first half of the season next to Esa Lindell, and the two formed a formidable pair. Alongside Lindell’s prowess as a shutdown defender, Lundkvist had an opportunity to flex his offensive muscles. He didn’t score a goal, but had five assists and posted a plus-4 rating. He also averaged 3.7 shot attempts per game, a career-high mark. But after playing in the Stars’ first 11 games in January, Lundkvist was sidelined with a shoulder injury. A week later, it was announced that he would be shut down for the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery.

Expectations for 2025-26: It’s crazy to think that even after three years since the trade, we still haven’t seen a full season of Lundkvist in Victory Green. He played 60 regular season games in 2022-23, but was made a healthy scratch from March 28 through the end of the Stars’ playoff run in late May. In 2023-24, he played in 59 games and missed a few due to injury, but was still a healthy scratch for large chunks of the season. He was in the lineup for all seven games of the First Round against Vegas and the first five games of the Second Round against Colorado, but lost his spot to veteran Alexander Petrovic before Game 6 and was a scratch the rest of the way. To top it all off, shoulder surgery cut his potential playing time in half last season. That’s not the kind of production or usage that general manager Jim Nill expected when he traded a first-round pick and fourth-round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for Lundkvist in September 2022. As a result of scratches and injuries, the 25-year-old still hasn’t cemented a full-time spot on the Dallas blue line. But that could change in the season ahead. With a new one-year deal, a clean bill of health and a new coaching staff, the potential is there for Lundkvist to finally break out. With Lyubushkin and Petrovic being the only other righties vying for playing time in Dallas, the door is open for Lundkvist to claim a full-time role (even if Miro Heiskanen also plays on the right side). Could he drop in next to Lindell and reunite a consistent second pairing from last year? Is there any possibility that he could get a look on the power play? Could he flirt with 30 points and blow past his current career-high of 19? All seems possible and would provide a strong confidence boost for no. 5. However it shakes out, this is a big year for Lundkvist if he’s going to become a part of the Stars’ long-term plans.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Josh Clark is a writer for DallasStars.com. Follow him on X @Josh_Clark02.