Hey Heika: What can we expect from the Stars next season and beyond?

It's been a long, hard season for everyone, but now that it's over, let's try to at least get our footing on some key issues.
Here's a long-awaited edition of Hey Heika where we try to answer a few of your questions:

What does the team view as it's glaring needs for the offseason? It appears there is one year left on win-now mode, so do they go all in or continue to develop young players to fill holes? It seems difficult with so many contracts expected raises. -- @realbrianhanie
Mike Heika: I'm of the mind that this next season is huge, and that many changes could come after. The contracts for Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov both are up at the end of next season, and that means $13.25 million could come off the books. Dallas also has the prospect of losing John Klingberg to free agency, so they need to either get an extension signed, trade him, or ride out next season. And the contract for head coach Rick Bowness also expires at the end of the next season, meaning there could be changes in that area, as well.
So, yes, while management will say it's just another season, I really do believe it's a big chance to go for it all.
On the good side, it doesn't seem like there's a need to add much. Yes, the team would like more scoring, but it seems like a healthy Radulov, Tyler Seguin and Roope Hintz can provide a significant boost in that area. Dallas could gain $5.65 million in forward cap space with the potential departures of UFAs Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano, so they definitely have room to discuss adding someone. But with Jason Robertson looking like a significant part of the top six, and forwards like Ty Dellandrea and Riley Damiani pushing up from the AHL, it might be best to simply see where this team is with a healthy roster and save cap space for possible mid-season additions next season.

Seems like Miro Heiskanen is first priority, but how do you rate the importance of getting Klingberg extended before October while trying to also re-sign Jamie Oleksiak? -- @samnestler
Heika: I think the deadlines make Oleksiak the prime priority on defense. The expansion draft will be July 21, and the Stars won't sign Oleksiak before then because they don't want to have to protect him from Seattle. Because he is a potential UFA, the Kraken will likely pass on him. That could then leave a week-long window for the Stars to possibly sign him before free agency opens on July 28.
If the Stars can pull that off, they'll be pretty happy with their defense going forward.
My guess is Klingberg will have to wait on the Heiskanen extension simply because of the cap hit implications. Heiskanen is a restricted free agent, meaning the Stars can match any offer he receives. Because of that, very few RFAs even receive offers. That means the Stars and Heiskanen's camp will have some time to choose between a long-term deal, likely eight years, or a shorter "bridge" contract that will likely be three years.

Young defensemen who have signed eight-year deals have received about $8 million in recent years because they give up the right to hit it big with later contracts. The salary cap has gone up from year to year, and that's one reason players get big money because teams would like to avoid the uncertainty of comparable contracts that reach "monster" levels in the future.
The current environment, however, is that the cap (which is dictated by league profits) won't be going up right now. The pandemic has created a difficult economic environment and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in March he anticipates the cap will stay at $81.5 million for the near future with any increase to be incremental.
That means Heiskanen and his team might want to sign a three-year deal with the hope that when it's up, profits will be soaring. It also might be better because Heiskanen didn't have a great year statistically. He finished 29th among defensemen in scoring with 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) in 55 games this season. Fellow 2017 draft pick Cale Makar, who will be a comparable for Heiskanen, had 44 points (8 goals, 36 assists) in 44 games. Both sides will likely be watching his negotiation, as well as that of Quinn Hughes, who also is an RFA.
Heiskanen led the Stars in playoff scoring last season with 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists) in 27 games, so that's his ace card in negotiations. Defensemen who have signed three-year deals have made around $5 million or so.
With that being said, the Stars likely need to get through a complicated negotiation before they can focus on Klingberg. The 28-year-old has a year left on his deal, so the Stars can get it done later in the summer. What's more, they kind of need to know how much they're paying Heiskanen before they commit the cap space to another defenseman.

If Oleksiak has signed elsewhere, that also could influence a decision on whether or not they can afford Klingberg, thus the order in my mind is 1) Oleksiak, 2) Heiskanen, 3) Klingberg.
If Dobby [Anton Khudobin] isn't selected by Seattle in the expansion draft and Ben Bishop is 100% healthy next year, with three goalies do they look to trade one? -- @michigansta
Heika: I've gone all over the place in my mind on the goalie issue. My guess is Seattle doesn't take Khudobin. One, because I think a pretty nice forward will be left unprotected, and two, he didn't have a great season. Thus, I believe the Stars will have three goalies under contract during the summer. The question is do they continue that path?
Bishop is a great goalie. Since the Stars acquired him in 2017, he's second to Tuukka Rask among No. 1 goalies with a 2.33 goals-against average and first in save percentage at .923. That's high cotton, and if the Stars can get that player back in the crease, they automatically become a much better team.
Now, he'll turn 35 in November and he's battled injuries for more than a year, so that does give you a "but…" moment, which is why I'm vacillating.
If I had to venture a guess, I think the safest strategy for the Stars would be to bring all three goalies to camp, see how healthy Bishop is and then react accordingly. While it wouldn't be ideal to send Oettinger to the minors, it could be a short-term solution to see just how strong Bishop is. If he's great, then maybe you trade Khudobin. If not, then it sure would be nice to have both Khudobin and Oettinger to share the load.
We'll see. The good thing is having Oettinger there means the future in net should be fine, and whether he plays in the minors next season or not, he'll soon have a permanent spot in the NHL.

Who of the Stars' UFAs will be retained? What kind of additions (if any) will be made? -- @Rob8409316
Heika: I think their No. 1 target is Oleksiak.
They signed Tanner Kero to a
two-year, two-way contract
on Monday and it wouldn't surprise me if they make a push for someone like Justin Dowling before the expansion draft so they have enough qualified forwards to expose. That way, there wouldn't be a rush to get an RFA deal done for Jason Dickinson.
If Oleksiak is signed, I don't think they make a push for Sami Vatanen. I think having Joel Hanley is enough depth there, and I do believe they need to leave room for Thomas Harley.
I'm torn on either Cogliano or Comeau. If either wants to come back on a short-term deal, I could see it happening, but I think the Stars would like to at least look at free agency to see what is out there.

What are the chances training camp next season is held in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena? -- @Edwin_GoStars
Heika: Because of the pandemic, the Stars will hold training camp in Frisco in the fall. That's where they have the most control, and where they're most comfortable with any protocols that might still be necessary.
I know the organization values getting out of town for camp, so I think Cedar Park or Fort Worth are options going forward. I think they like both setups, and Dickies Arena definitely helps Fort Worth in making their pitch.
What do you think the Stars can take from this season towards next year? Do you think the taxi squad players play a role in that? -- @soonerfan432
Heika: The easiest answer is the improvement of Robertson and Oettinger. Both proved themselves capable of handling big pressure and responsibility, and both are going to be a big part of the future. The fact both are playing for Team USA at the IIHF World Championship is also a fantastic sign.
Depth-wise, the team seems to have found a nice forward in Kero, as well as a solid defenseman in Hanley. Others on the taxi squad like Nick Caamano, Rhett Gardner and Joel L'Esperance probably helped their respective causes, as well.

With Seattle most likely taking Dickinson if left unprotected, what do you think of a Dickinson/Denis Gurianov trade for Patrik Laine adding to the Finnish mafia? Would either team be interested if they could make the money work? -- @StarsFanCanada
Heika: Maybe I'm the only one who isn't that sold on Laine, but I just don't think he's the player to go after. As I stated earlier, I think next summer is the time to go after bigger fish, so the timing would be better then.
Laine is an RFA this summer and made $7.5 million last season with a cap hit of $6.75 million. I believe he requires $7.5 million for one year just as a qualifying offer, so I don't know what his value is in the league right now.
Should the Stars shop for a true goal scorer in the offseason or would that be futile until the system changes? -- @starsfan_14
Heika:I understand the discussion on system and scoring and all that will take place with this team, but my belief is that simply getting Seguin, Radulov and Hintz healthy creates more than enough top-end forward depth.
Just scratching it out on a napkin, you could have Benn-Seguin-Radulov and Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski in your top six. Then, you could try to put together a third scoring line with Joel Kiviranta, Gurianov, Dellandrea, Damiani or any number of other candidates. If you want Benn to play center, you can start juggling your lines around. But bottom line, there seems to be enough scoring talent there.
I think you also could put together two great power-play units with that grouping of forwards, allowing Klingberg to lead one unit and Heiskanen to lead another. When you start sorting through the eight forwards on those units (including maybe Dickinson or Radek Faksa), it sure seems like there is more than enough scoring there.
So, I say you run that back and see what happens. If it doesn't work, you can go looking for your big fish next summer when Pavelski and Radulov come off the books. As for whether or not "the system" should change, you'll also have a better idea at that time.
I just think there is too much good in place right now to make significant changes. Maybe I'm wrong, but there seems to be plenty of answers right here.

How does the organization feel about the Bally Sports "lockout" thing? I'm a diehard Stars fan, but had significantly less interest in this entire season and I think it was because I wasn't able to watch the games on TV. I'll be ready to go in October, but it was a big deal for me. -- @JLinkTX
Heika:They're very frustrated. They signed an 11-year deal in 2014 with Fox Sports Southwest and now that deal has changed because of ownership changes with Sinclair and Bally Sports. On one hand, the Stars have to be happy because they continue to get paid for the rights to their broadcasts. On the other, they don't have a say in how their product is distributed.
I know Sinclair and Bally want to continue to get their money from cable providers, but they're walking into a new era where a lot of viewers are "cutting the cord." Thus, cable providers aren't making the money they once were, and places like HULU and YouTube aren't providing the revenue to Bally/Sinclair that FSSW used to get.
I really thought once the demand for baseball started, the negotiations would move forward, but now I'm not sure. In a perfect world, all of this will get sorted out by next season, and we'll all be able to watch on whatever provider best suits us, but a lot must be done before then.
I agree that the Stars lost a lot of eyeballs this year (same with the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers), and there needs to be some sort of solution. The frustrating thing is the contracts were signed, so the teams and fans just have to wait until the rights-holders figure things out. All of the team owners are pushing for a solution, and the Stars are right there. They want their product to be seen.
Do you think the Stars missing the playoffs this season could actually be a good thing for their push next year? -- @tnowers94
Heika: From the standpoint that Hintz will be able to get his surgery earlier and Seguin won't try to push through his injury, yes. The other interesting phenomenon we've seen in the past is that players really do come in hungry after missing the playoffs.
That could make for a very motivated and possibly very healthy team next fall.

I know this offseason will be different with the expansion draft, but do you see any big trades being made in the offseason by the Stars, such as trading to get a higher pick in the draft or trading to get a/some offensive player(s)? -- @DaStars837
Heika:I don't. The Stars are always looking, so if something pops up, they could definitely be in the mix, but I just think they're at a place where they can come back with a similar group and see what happens for one year.
As for the draft, a lot will depend on if they move up in the lottery. Because the scouting was limited this year, I don't really see them making a big jump for any player in particular.
Can we safely assume we'll be seeing Robertson play full time with the big club for the 21-22 season? -- @SocialRekage
Heika: Yes.
: )
Robertson was one of the team's best players this year and he's earned a spot in the top six. My guess is if he continues to work as hard as he has and learn as fast as he has, he might become one of the top-minute forwards for years to come.

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Some submissions have been edited for brevity and clarity. Have a question for a future Hey Heika mailbag? Tweet it to **@MikeHeika** and use #HeyHeika.
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.