Lundkvist eager to make most of 'great opportunity' after trade to Stars

The Stars on Monday found a way to add depth to the defense and still get younger.
Dallas acquired 22-year-old defenseman Nils Lundkvist from the New York Rangers in exchange for two conditional draft picks, including next year's first rounder. It was a bold decision, but one general manager Jim Nill said the organization feels is well worth it.
"We've got a good feel for him, we've seen him over the past couple of years, we're excited," Nill said. "We paid a big price for him, but we think he's in a place where he could be a part of our team for years to come. He's a valuable asset, and to get him we had to be able to pay, which we were willing to do."

Lundkvist was selected 28th overall by the Rangers in 2018 and has been developing in Sweden and North America. He was named the top defenseman in the Swedish Elite League in 2021 and has had two strong international tournaments with Team Sweden in 2020 and 2021. Lundkvist had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in seven games at the 2020 World Junior Championship and then tallied five assists in three games at the 2021 World Championship.
He split time between the NHL (one goal, three assists in 25 games with the Rangers) and AHL (three goals, 12 assists in 34 games with Hartford) last season, and then requested a trade when he said he couldn't see a path for himself in the Rangers organization.
That should definitely change in Dallas. The Stars lost John Klingberg to free agency in the summer and have a need for a skilled right-handed defenseman. While Lundkvist will definitely have to fight for his ice time, he likely has a chance to play big minutes as soon as this year.
"It feels they really believe in me, and now it's up to me to perform and do a good job at the camp and hopefully they will have me on the team," Lundkvist said on a Zoom call from Sweden. "It's a great opportunity."
While Lundkvist is on a "two-way" contract and can go to the minors without waivers, Nill said he sees the young defenseman as part of the NHL's core unit.
"He was a top performer in Sweden and he learned a lot last year, so we see him as a player who is ready to take that next step," Nill said.
That's one of the reason the GM was willing to give up their first-round draft pick in 2023. The condition on the pick is that if the Stars struggle and get a pick in the top 10, then they keep it and the Rangers get Dallas' 2024 first-rounber. Nill obviously believes the Stars will succeed and the pick will be in the lower portion of the 2023 draft. If that works out, then the logic of the swap is pretty sound.
"That's how we look at it," Nill said. "Whoever we would have drafted is really three to five years away, and this guy has gone through his development. And the other part of this is our scouts have done a great job The cubbards are full right now, that allows us to do something like this."
Dallas was in need of right-handed defensemen and selected three in the 2022 draft, but they won't be NHL ready for a couple of seasons. Lundkvist can step right in and play with Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Ryan Suter, Jani Hakanpää, Thomas Harley, Colin Miller and Joel Hanley. That's a group of eight, and the Stars still have to have enough salary cap room to get restricted free-agent Jason Robertson signed, so there still could be some juggling left to do.
"These things tend to work themselves out," Nill said.
For Lundkvist's part, he wasn't making any demands about being in the NHL and sounded very humble on his Zoom call.
"My hope is I'm going to perform and play good and hopefully be with the NHL team," he said. "That's my expectation that coaches trust me and they want to play me, so I've got to do my best. My expectation is I really want to be on the opening roster and play in the NHL."
Lundkvist said he learned a great deal about the game on the ice last season in the NHL and AHL, and said he also learned about living in the North America and being a pro athlete. That should help him make a smoother transition.
"I hoped my year last year was going to be easier to transition to the North American game than it was," he said. "I had a little of a tough year, but I learned a lot from it."
Lundkvist said he expects to be at training camp in Cedar Park on Thursday and also said he knows several Stars players, including Jacob Peterson, Oskar Back and Fredrik Karlstrom. That should make things a little easier.
"It feels like a good opportunity," Lundkvist said. "It's really good to be a member of the Dallas Stars."
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.