2026-27 Player Profile: Oskar Bäck

Name: Oskar Bäck

Age: 26

Birthplace: Karlstad, Sweden

Height/Weight: 6-4, 207

2025-26 regular season stats: 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points, 12:22 avg. TOI in 72 games

2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Stats: 0 goals, 1 assist, 13:50 avg. TOI in 6 games

Contract: Entering final year of two-year deal that averages $825,000

Performance evaluation: Bäck has been an incredibly consistent player through his first two NHL seasons. The lanky forward averaged 12:22 in ice time per game and produced 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 72 games last season. After missing the first eight games of the campaign with an injury, he scored in his season debut in just 8:28 time on ice at Nashville before missing the following two games with an upper-body injury. But Bäck followed that injury up by playing in all 71 games from Nov. 1 to the end of the regular season. His consistency in the lineup helped illuminate the bigger story, being the consistency in his play on the ice. He finished the season with a plus-10 rating, which ranked fifth on the Stars and third among forwards, trailing only Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. In just his second NHL campaign, he became the team’s most used forward on the penalty kill, averaging 2:18 of shorthanded ice time per game and adding a shorthanded goal. With that responsibility in mind, Bäck also avoided the penalty box remarkably well, logging just 10 penalty minutes (five minor penalties in four games). Four of his five goals opened the scoring for Dallas, while the fifth one turned out to be a game-winner.  He built chemistry with several linemates in the Stars’ bottom six, playing beside Radek Faksa, Sam Steel, Colin Blackwell and Justin Hryckowian, among others. It was another impressive campaign by one of the Stars’ steadiest defensive forwards.

Expectations for 2026-27: Bäck is sort of like a good middle relief pitcher in baseball. He can eat up a couple of innings in the middle of a game and nothing bad happens. That sounds strange, but it’s an important part of NHL strategy when crafting a lineup. There are times when you can take chances to win the game, but you also want to be able to play large parts of the 60 minutes when you don’t make mistakes and move the game along, therefore opening up the door to a chance at victory. Bäck is who he is at 26 years old. He’s a good skater, a smart player and is always where he’s supposed to be on the ice. He could still learn to use his 6-4 frame a little more in the physicality department, but it hasn’t hindered him. He’s a bargain with the second lowest cap hit on the team and seems to have the full trust of the coaching staff. The young forward averaged 23 assists across three seasons in the AHL, so the room is there to push his numbers up slightly, but he also was getting bigger minutes down in Cedar Park. In his previous NHL campaign, he had 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists) and averaged 11:42 in ice time. The coaching staff seems to want to push for more offense from everyone this season, so you could see the bar raised. But the bottom line is Bäck will likely do much of the same as last year, which is to provide consistently strong defensive play that goes a long way in helping win games.

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

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.