Stars fortify defensive game with key signings in free agency

As one of the best defensive teams in the NHL over the previous four seasons, the Dallas Stars on Wednesday did their best to make sure that trend continues going forward.

Not long after free agency opened at 11 a.m. CT, the Stars made a flurry of moves. They signed 16-year NHL veteran defenseman Ryan Suter to a four-year contract, 2018 Stanley Cup champion goaltender Braden Holtby to a one-year deal, defensive forward Luke Glendening to a two-year contract and beefed up the depth on the blueline with one-year deals to defensemen Alex Petrovic and Andreas Borgman.
The signings should create important battles in net and on the blueline.
"If you want to have success in this league, you have to have a good top four, and we really feel this top four is as good as anybody in the league," Stars general manager Jim Nill said of adding Suter to a d-corps featuring John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell. "That's what excites us."

That trio has helped the Stars rank second, second and seventh in goals-against average for the past three seasons. By making sure the team replaced the departed Jamie Oleksiak on the backend and adding a fourth goaltender to the mix, Dallas has the chance to be a top-five team in GAA again.
"If you're going to win in this league consistently and you're going to win in the playoffs, you're going to have to be good at goals against," Nill said. "Now, there's a fine balance between goals for and goals against, we know that, but you have to be a top-level team in goals against if you're going to have success, and history shows that."
With the addition of Holtby, the Stars now have four NHL options in goal. That could be necessary with veteran Ben Bishop still battling after missing all last season with a knee injury.

Asked for an update on Bishop's status, Nill said it's up in the air at this moment.
"There is no definite timeframe," Nill said of the veteran goalie who has been a finalist for the Vezina Trophy three times in his career. "Is he going to be ready to go? He may be. He may not be. And that's why we had to make sure we covered ourselves."
At the very least, the addition of Holtby, who helped the Washington Capitals win the Cup in 2018, gives the Stars options. If Bishop comes to training camp in September and can't play, Dallas can rely on a combination of Holtby and Anton Khudobin. If Bishop is ready, the Stars could possibly trade either Holtby or Khudobin. If they do that and a goalie is hurt, they still have Jake Oettinger, who can play in the minors next season with Texas of the American Hockey League.
That's a lot of insurance, but it also is an important position.
In addition to the uncertainty that surrounds Bishop's physical issues, Holtby, 31, is himself a question mark. He slumped in 2019-20 with a 3.11 GAA and .897 save percentage. The Capitals allowed him to test free agency, and he signed a two-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks. He struggled in Vancouver with a 3.87 GAA and .889 save percentage, and that led the Canucks to buy out his contract, which is why he was available on an inexpensive deal for Dallas.
"The last few years have been a little bit strange," Holtby said. "Obviously not the results I hoped for."

Holtby said he believes he has fixed some problems in his game and is looking forward to making some changes next season. He said he hopes the time during the pandemic created a different outlook that'll pay off going forward.
"Last year was a weird year," Holtby said. "I made a bunch of strides in my game and in moving more toward a regular season, I'm really excited about the changes I've been able to make and work on. The game now is about adapting. When you get a little older and a little more experienced, you've got to adapt to the game. I think last year I learned about that, and I'm really excited to put those tools to use."
Nill said getting Holtby on a one-year deal was good risk-reward. In the end, the former Vezina Trophy winner could become the team's top netminder next season.
"Braden is the first to admit that he hasn't been himself for the last two years, but his resume is very good," Nill said. "When you start measuring the pluses and minuses, we just thought it was a good opportunity to bring a goalie in. We play a very tight game for goaltending, so let's see if he can be a No. 1 goalie for us as we move forward."
The Stars have been a good fit for Bishop, Khudobin and Oettinger, so Nill said all the goalies have a chance to take advantage of playing for a very good team. What he'd like is for each goalie to come in hungry and ready to roll.
"I want someone to grab the No. 1 position in net, and then we'll make decisions from there," Nill said.
Like Holtby, Suter also was also bought out, but for different reasons. He and teammate Zach Parise signed 13-year deals in 2012 with Minnesota, and the Wild felt it was time to move forward. Suter has been one of the most dependable defensemen in the NHL and at age 36 has logged 1,198 regular-season games. His addition to the Stars defense will not only allow the team to help handle the loss of Oleksiak to Seattle in the expansion draft, it also will give the blueline a bit of a different dynamic.
"Ryan has been one of the top defensemen in the NHL for many years," Nill said. "That's a great veteran who has a great presence. He reminds me a lot of Chris Chelios when I was in Detroit. He's one of those guys that doesn't seem to age. He's a heavy body, he's got iron lungs and he's a great skater. When we lost Oleksiak, that's a big hole to fill. We're fortunate to be able to find a player of Ryan's caliber."

Suter was not available to the media on Wednesday and will do his Zoom call Thursday morning.
The addition of Suter allows the Stars to ponder some changes in their defensive pairings. While Lindell and Klingberg have been partners for years, Suter has typically preferred a right-handed partner. That means he and Klingberg could get some time together. Since Klingberg joined the NHL in 2015, he ranks 21st in total time on ice and Suter ranks 2nd. They're among the leading minute-eaters in the league. Suter's per-game average dropped to 22:11 last season, so it'll be interesting to see how the Stars balance Lindell and Heiskanen, who also typically play big minutes.
Though Suter will be 41 when the contract ends, Nill said he didn't have a problem giving him a four-year deal with an average annual value of $3.65 million.
"We're comfortable with Ryan at his age, with the minutes he's been playing," Nill said. "There's really been no decrease in his play. We think he's got four years left in him and he can be a big part of our team."
Heiskanen just signed an eight-year extension, Lindell has four years left on his deal and Suter's contract is four years. Klingberg is in the final year of his contract, but Nill said the team is working toward an extension.
That's a lot of money and term on defense, but Nill still added two additional defensemen in Petrovic and Borgman on two-way contracts. They'll likely play in the AHL. The Stars also have veterans Andrej Sekera and Joel Hanley on one-way deals and also have a top prospect in Thomas Harley, so there will be a battle to get minutes in the NHL.
Nill said the team needs to have depth and that's one of the reasons they added Glendening on a two-year contract that will average $1.5 million. The 32-year-old center played eight seasons with the Red Wings and was acquired when Nill was a big part of player personnel in Detroit.
"He was the (AHL) GM when I was in Grand Rapids, so there was some familiarity there," Glendening said of Nill's way of carrying on what he learned in Detroit and building on it in Dallas. "I think they're both building toward the same thing. Dallas is a little further along than Detroit, but that connection I had with him in Grand Rapids made this an easy decision."
Nill said he too is comfortable in trusting Glendening to help fil the void created when Jason Dickinson was traded to Vancouver and Andrew Cogliano left via free agency to San Jose.
"It's important to have four lines in today's NHL, with the schedule and how intense the games are, and Luke fills that void," Nill said. "Luke is a consummate pro, he plays the game the right way, he's one of the marquis faceoff men in the league, he's a great penalty killer, he plays physical and has high-end character."
Glendening is one of the top faceoff men in the NHL, winning 60.9 percent of his draws to finish second in the league last season. Jamie Benn won 56.1 percent, ranking 14th last season, while Radek Faksa won 55.8 percent, ranking 16th. Tyler Seguin won 59.2 percent of his faceoffs in 2019-20 but missed most of last season with injuries.
The Stars could have the best faceoff team in the league.
"They have some great faceoff guys, so I'm just coming in to help any way I can," Glendening said. "It's just a way to start with the puck, and that's what you're hoping for, obviously."
That's a really good way to help keep your goals-against average low. Just like making sure you have a solid group of defensemen and great depth in goal.
"Watching how the team has played the last few years, I truly believe it's the right way to play and have success," Holtby said of the Stars' history of defensive play. "You look at championship teams and the backend is solid 1-6. The team in Dallas is arguably one of the best defenses in the league, if not the best, especially adding Suter. Those guys are invaluable. That's real exciting to add a piece like that in order to push toward a championship."
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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.