Deadline dealing: Stars pick up two complementary pieces in Myers, Bunting

The Stars didn’t make the splash they made at last year’s trade deadline.

But, then again, they didn’t need to.

After adding superstar Mikko Rantanen last season, Dallas this year picked up two very nice complementary pieces in defenseman Tyler Myers and forward Michael Bunting. The duo helps give the Stars the depth they need to compete in a very tough Central Division and come at the reasonable cost of three draft picks (a second-rounder in 2027, a fourth-round pick in 2029 and a third-round pick in 2026) and also includes some very friendly salary cap management. Bunting, who has a salary cap hit of $4.5 million is an unrestricted free agent after the season. Meanwhile, Vancouver will retain 50 percent of Myers’ salary, so his cap hit for next season is $1.5 million.

That means the Stars have room to negotiate a new contract for Jason Robertson, who can become a restricted free agent in the summer.

“We’re happy with the players we obtained,” Stars GM Jim Nill said. “They addressed our needs, especially with the assets we had to give up and fitting into our cap situations.”

Myers brings a lot of positives. The 36-year-old has played 1,123 regular-season games and 61 more in the playoffs. He is 6-8, 229 pounds, making him the biggest player on the Stars, and he’s a right-handed defenseman. Dallas has mostly lefties among its top blueliners – Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and Thomas Harley, meaning Myers could be a good partner for any. Lian Bichsel is also a lefty, and Myers could end up being paired with the 6-7 defenseman.

“We have a lot of options, and that’s a good thing,” said coach Glen Gulutzan.

Nill said Rantanen (lower body) and Radek Faksa (lower body) will both be out for a little while, so the Stars can use the energy of the new players to help bolster the attack.

Myers was born in Houston and will become the first native Texan to play for the Stars. He moved to Calgary when he was 10 and played junior hockey with Stars captain Jamie Benn in Kelowna. He was drafted 12th overall by Buffalo in 2008 and won the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) when he was with the Sabres. He then played in Winnipeg and Vancouver.

“Tyler Myers, he’s a big man, he skates well for a big man,” Nill said. “Any time you can add big trees on the back end, especially in the playoffs, size becomes important.”

The Canucks are currently last in the NHL, so Myers will definitely have the opportunity to improve on his game. He has 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) in 57 games this season and is a career-worst minus-25. Bunting, 30, is having a better season with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 61 games with Nashville. But he is minus-17 and has played in just 13 playoff games in his career, so moving onto one of the top rosters in the NHL is a treat, he said.

“Getting traded is never fun, you’re leaving a team that you got close to, but when you get traded to a team that’s really in the hunt, it excites you,” Bunting said. “I definitely had a smile on my face when I heard it was Dallas.”

Both players said they felt a good vibe in the dressing room after morning skate, and said they felt welcomed by their new team.

“I’m very well aware that these guys have been through a lot together. It’s an already great team and I just want to come in and help in any way I can,” Myers said. “Everyone knows these guys are built the right way.”

Gulutzan said he likes the overall game of Bunting, who is a left-handed left wing.

“He plays very hard, he’s a very competitive guy, he’s always in the mix,” Gulutzan said. “He’s a guy who can finish and plays with an edge. He’s the type of player every team needs.”

Neither player played Friday against Colorado but both are expected to come into the lineup on Sunday against Chicago. Roope Hintz returned from illness, but Dallas is still without injured forwards Rantanen and Faksa for the foreseeable future.

“We went through a bunch of video with those guys today, just getting them acclimated with our systems,” Gulutzan said. “There are some differences from how Nashville and Vancouver play. We’re just getting them settled."

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.