Free agency refresh: Examining Stars’ pending unrestricted free agents

Well, now that that’s all settled.

As the Florida Panthers mobbed each other against the end boards at Amerant Bank Arena and streamers descended upon the Florida faithful on Tuesday night, the 2024-25 NHL season received a fitting bow to wrap up its story. For some, it might have felt like a dose of déjà vu with the Panthers besting the Oilers for the second straight year. But from a 10,000-foot view, it’s clear how unique this campaign was for the league.

Alex Ovechkin scored 44 goals in 65 games and passed Wayne Gretzky’s longstanding record. Mikko Rantanen, a 28-year-old Stanley Cup champion with over 700 career points, was traded… twice. Brad Marchand, the fourth-longest tenured player in Boston Bruins history, was dealt to the Cup-winning Panthers. The Winnipeg Jets won their first Presidents’ Trophy while goalie Connor Hellebuyck captured both the Vezina and Hart trophies. The Ottawa Senators ended a seven-year playoff drought, the Bruins snapped an eight-year run of making the playoffs and Utah made its NHL debut. Oh, and the Toronto Maple Leafs lost another Game 7 heartbreaker.

That merely scratches the surface on what made 2024-25 one-of-a-kind. But it’s all in the rearview mirror.

So… what now?

Whether you’re a new hockey fan or a longtime NHL devotee, you’re likely asking yourself this question. The answer is quite extensive. That holds especially true for the Dallas Stars.

The team’s to-do list has included everything from attempting to free up cap space, surveying the trade market, negotiating with their own pending free agents and scanning the market for potential free agent fits. To top it all off, they’re still searching for a new head coach after firing Pete DeBoer on June 6.

To put it plainly, the chaos has ramped up over the last 20 days.

With that said, now might be a good time for a free agency refresher.

According to CapWages.com, the Stars have roughly $4.2 million in cap space to spend this summer. That number includes eight forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies currently under contract for next season. It’s only a projection, so there is wiggle room depending on which players get called up, sent down, traded or bought out.

But as of now, it’s a relatively low ceiling to work under. It gets even lower when you consider Dallas has seven pending unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents to potentially try and re-sign.

Let’s take a look at their UFA pool.

Jamie Benn, F

Age: 35

Last contract: 8 years, $9.5 million AAV

It’s hard to argue against the legacy Jamie Benn has built over 16 seasons in Dallas. A fifth-round pick in 2007, Benn made his NHL debut in 2009. Fast forward to 2025 and he’s the longest-tenured captain in franchise history and fourth-longest active in the NHL. He’s the franchise’s only player to win the Art Ross Trophy (in 2014-15) and sits second in franchise history in games played (1,192), goals (399), points (956) and game-winning goals (62).

All that’s missing on the resume is a Stanley Cup.

Which brings us to the veteran’s status. Dallas is the only NHL home Benn has ever known, and no player has skated in more games in a Dallas jersey than the captain. After the “Bennaisance” from 2022-24 that saw Benn post consecutive 20-plus goal and 60-plus point seasons, he endured a bit of a decline in 2024-25 with 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games. He also had just one goal and three points in 18 playoff games and saw his ice time drop over four minutes from the previous playoffs.

But even so, Benn is the heart of the team. Where he goes, the group follows. Teammates and coaches rave about his leadership, abilities and determination to do all he can for the team. As a result, it’s hard to envision him playing anywhere else.

General manager Jim Nill and Benn have both expressed a desire to get a new deal done, which seems to open the door for an eventual agreement. Since Benn is 35, that deal could be filled with performance bonuses, which could in turn bring the cap hit down.

“I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” Benn said. “This is all I know. I came in as a young kid and now I’m getting a little older here. I love the city, I love the fans, I love this organization and I love my teammates.”

“He wants to continue playing and I want him back,” Nill said of the captain. “Now we just have to work on the contract. He’s been very patient and he knows our situation. He’s kind of unique because he can be bonused, so that really changes his contract status which helps us.”

It could be the final contract of Benn’s storied career and help him put the finishing touches on one of the best stories in franchise history.

Matt Duchene, F

Age: 33

Last contract: 1 year, $3 million

There aren’t many pending free agents in a position as unique as Matt Duchene. After getting bought out of the final three seasons of a seven-year deal with the Predators in June 2023, Duchene signed a one-year deal with Dallas. Following an impressive first season in Victory Green, he signed an identical deal last summer.

The deal was fruitful for both sides, as Duchene led the Stars in regular-season scoring with 82 points and set a new career-high in assists with 52. Though his production took a hit in the postseason (one goal and five assists in 18 games), he was a valuable piece to the Stars’ puzzle. For a veteran on an expiring contract, that’s a great place to be. Add in the fact that Nashville will be paying him for the next four seasons and the forward has some unique bargaining tools.

If exit interview day was any indication, one of Duchene’s biggest focuses in his next contract is term.

“I think at this point as a family, my kids are getting to the point where I’m looking for some stability,” the 34-year-old said. “One-year deals are tough. Again, I don’t know what’s going to transpire. I’ll have to wait and see what’s out there. I feel like I’ve hopefully put myself in a good position. I’ve really enjoyed being here and I’ve gotten great feedback about things. Hopefully, we can continue to move forward.”

Do the Stars have the space to give Duchene a longer-term deal in what might be the final big contract of his NHL career? He has already expressed a desire to return to Dallas and have another crack at winning the Cup. We’ll have to wait and see.

Mikael Granlund, F

Age: 33

Last contract: 4 years, $5 million AAV

Mikael Granlund’s journey to Dallas helped wrap up a wild four-year span that began with a new contract in Nashville in the summer of 2021. After spending the first seven seasons of his NHL career in Minnesota, he was traded to the Predators in the spring of 2019. He spent the next four seasons in Tennessee and was in the second year of a new deal when he was traded to Pittsburgh. Five months later, the Penguins flipped him to the rebuilding Sharks in the Erik Karlsson blockbuster trade.

From there, Granlund became a veteran leader and centerpiece on a young, inexperienced San Jose team. And on February 1, he was packaged with defenseman Cody Ceci and sent to Dallas for two draft picks.

The elder statesman of the “Finnish Mafia” was nothing short of fantastic, putting up seven goals and 21 points in 31 regular-season games along with a plus-8 rating. He played on several different lines, played both on the power play and penalty kill, and proved to be the “Finnish army knife” that the team needed. He took his game to another level in the playoffs, too, with five goals (3^rd on team) and 10 points (4^th on team) in 18 games. In his first postseason action since 2022, he didn’t miss a beat.

Like Duchene and Benn, Granlund is at a point in his career where this may be his last chance at a sizable contract. That may end up pricing him out of the Stars’ range, but that’s up in the air as of now. Dallas had an up-close look at just how consistent, multi-faceted and hardworking (all qualities that Nill values) he is in Victory Green. And with an ever-growing group of Finns on long-term deals in the dressing room, it could continue to be a match made in heaven if the dollars and term can work.

Evgenii Dadonov, F

Age: 36

Last contract: 2 years, $2.25 million AAV

Evgenii Dadonov arrived in Dallas via a trade with the Montreal Canadiens in February 2023. A longtime member of various Pete DeBoer squads, the first-year Stars head coach saw an opportunity to acquire the veteran near the trade deadline and took it.

Fast forward two and a half years and Dadonov put together a respectable stint in Victory Green. In 154 games, Dadonov posted 35 goals and 78 points while averaging just 13:39 time on ice. He found a home on a line with Benn and Wyatt Johnston for much of his Stars tenure, but bounced around the lineup and even played on the top line at times. This past season, Dadonov registered the fifth 20-goal campaign of his career and first since 2021-22. In addition, he had eight goals and 21 points in 51 playoff games with the Stars.

But with DeBoer gone, is the desire to extend Dadonov still strong? He’ll turn 37 in March, but didn’t show any signs of slowing down this past season. Are younger forwards like Justin Hryckowian or Arttu Hyry, all fresh off of a long playoff run with the Texas Stars (AHL), ready to make the full-time leap and take on those minutes instead?

Colin Blackwell, F

Age: 32

Last contract: 1 year, $775K

Colin Blackwell’s journey is one that could make any sports fan applaud. A seventh-round pick by the San Jose Sharks back in 2011, Blackwell spent four seasons at Harvard. He spent the following three years with three different AHL franchises before finally making his NHL debut with Nashville a few months before his 26^th birthday. And after parts of two seasons with the Predators, Blackwell’s NHL path has included stops with the Rangers, Kraken, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks and Stars over the past five seasons.

He came as advertised to Dallas, primarily serving as a depth forward/healthy scratch option. Blackwell tallied six goals (two shorthanded) and 17 points while averaging 11:34 time on ice in 63 regular-season games and added a memorable GWG in Game 2 of the First Round against Colorado. Standing at 5-8, 190 pounds, his physicality and tenacity were second-to-none and earned him a spot in the lineup on most nights.

Similar to Dadonov, Blackwell’s future in Dallas may hinge on the readiness of the Stars’ top forward prospects. But at $775K, it’s hard to argue with the value that they received from the journeyman forward.

Brendan Smith, D

Age: 36

Last contract: 1 year, $1 million

In addition to signing Dumba in the 2024 offseason, Nill also added veteran defenseman Brendan Smith to the mix.

The one-year deal turned out to be an interesting one for Smith, whose 726-game NHL career has spanned five different teams. He only played in 32 regular-season contests, posting one goal, six points and 41 hits while averaging 13:13 time on ice. The unique cog in the experiment, however, was the five games that Smith skated as a forward. His ability to play in a checking role on the fourth line complimented the team’s overall attack well, and the Stars went a perfect 5-0-0 in those games.

Even so, the fact that he was a healthy scratch for the entirety of the playoffs and was never a lineup regular during the regular season seems to offer enough evidence that the two sides will part ways this summer.

Cody Ceci, D

Age: 31

Last contract: 4 years, $3.25 million AAV

For the last handful of seasons, a top desire on the Dallas Stars’ wish list has been a right-handed defenseman that can play 20-plus minutes a night. In 2023-24, they added Chris Tanev at the deadline and received strong production from the veteran down the stretch and into the playoffs.

In the 2024 offseason, they signed Matt Dumba to fill the void. But with that never coming to fruition and losing righty Nils Lundkvist and Miro Heiskanen (who plays the right side) to midseason injuries, Nill acquired Ceci on Feb. 1 in a package deal with Granlund.

Ceci filled the role well, posting nine assists, 55 blocks and a plus-15 while averaging 20:14 time on ice in 31 regular-season games. He tacked on three more helpers and saw his average ice time rise to 21:31 in the playoffs. He cemented his spot in the Stars’ starting lineup as a defense-first defenseman that also played valuable shorthanded minutes. In the playoffs alone, his 3:22 average shorthanded time on ice was second on the team and ninth in the NHL.

But the Stars have a handful of questions to answer about their blue line in the summer ahead that could affect Ceci’s future. Will they sign Lundkvist to a new contract? Did veteran Alexander Petrovic, who was called up at the end of the season and formed a strong pairing with rookie Lian Bichsel throughout the playoffs, earn a spot on the Dallas roster next season? Will the Stars look to trade Dumba or Ilya Lyubushkin in an effort to make space for Ceci?

All are questions worth pondering. At age 31, Ceci still has plenty of miles left and could be offered a long-term deal by a team with plenty of cap space.

Only time will tell.