What Roope Hintz' eight-year extension means to Dallas
The 26-year-old center is now a key component in the building process of the Dallas Stars
By
Mike Heika
Senior Staff Writer
Now, Bob Gainey complemented that group with some outstanding veterans - future Hall-of-Famers - and that pushed them over the top in their quest to consistently be one of the best teams in the league. It's interesting to see what "the core" of the team looked like back then. It was filled with high draft choices who were in their prime. When you look back, it makes sense they were that good.
On Tuesday, Stars GM Jim Nill announced an eight-year contract extension for Roope Hintz. This gets added to the deals Nill already has put together for Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, and Jake Oettinger. It gives the Stars a core, and one that's a little younger than the 1999 one. Hintz is 26 and the other three are each 23. That means there is a little wiggle room there.
But if you want to say the clock is ticking on this core, it certainly is a good time to raise the expectations from the group.
Hintz is a great centerpiece to everything. The big center (6-3, 215) is one of the fastest skaters on the team and is one of the best defensive forwards in Dallas. That's a good man to build around.
"Roope Hintz has shown that he's a No. 1 center in the league, and those guys are hard to find," Nill said. "That's one of the hardest positions to find. Once you have one, you don't want to get rid of him, and that's the case with Roope."
It's no surprise that Hintz and Heiskanen have the same numbers on their respective deals - eight years at $8.45 cap hit per season. It's good to set a bar for your best players, and it's good to share the wealth. Those are things that help build chemistry and camaraderie.
"It does set a standard," Nill said. "It's not like it's an old contract. It was signed a couple years ago and he's just getting into it now, so it does set a standard. I think it shows the respect on both ends."
As for the rest of the group, they are also in a good place. Robertson is on a four-year contract that averages $7.75 million. With the productive forward sitting near the top of the league in scoring and throwing his name in the hat for early Hart Trophy voting, the scale could get busted in a few years. But that's fine, too. Oettinger is in a good place with a three-year deal at $4.0 million. For both, the incentive is there to get more. Neither likely thinks that way, but it's good that the carrot is out there.
So, what can this group do? Well, we've seen a glimpse under the new coaching staff led by Pete DeBoer, and what we have seen looks pretty good. Remember that Ken Hitchcock's squad went 48-26-8 in his first full season, but then lost in the first round to Edmonton. They made it to the Western Conference finals the next season and lost to Detroit. And they finally won it all that next season.
These things take time, and there is a certain aging and maturing that even the best players must endure.
Looking back, Modano, Hatcher, Sydor and Matvichuk all were taken in the top 10 of their respective draft years. Langenbrunner was a second-round pick. Heiskanen went third overall, Oettinger went 29th. Robertson and Hintz were second-round choices. That matters, and yet there still is a process in getting them ready. Hintz had 35 points in 70 games in his first AHL season. He quickly became a playoff leader and a point-a-game player, but then he had 33 points in 60 games his first NHL season. That's often the pass to become an NHL regular and both Hintz and the Stars put in the work.
"He's done the process the right way," Nill said. "He's stuck with it, he's worked hard. He believed in himself, and he's gotten better every season. It's a compliment to Roope and it's a compliment to our coaching and development staff. They've worked with him, he's done his part, and he's a great example of really how most of the career path of players work. Here he is today, he's signed an eight-year deal that's made him a Dallas Star for another eight years, and well deserved."
Now the time is ripe for the reward. Can the Stars take the next step and become a consistent contender for the Stanley Cup? DeBoer and the coaching staff have injected new life into Jamie Benn, and that's a great step forward. Nill and the front office has been able to add players like Nils Lundkvist, 22, Ty Dellandrea, 22, and Wyatt Johnston, 19. They also have some pretty nice pieces waiting in the wings after a few really strong drafts.
As you look at the cost of the core and you worry that maybe the NHL salary cap might not go up as fast as you'd like, there is the thought that answers lie out there to make this team even better. Gainey and Co. added veteran players on pretty big free agent contracts. They even made trades for big pieces in Joe Nieuwendyk, Zubov and Sydor. This team probably won't be able to do that. Sure, you can always make some hard choices with the current roster and yes, players like Joe Pavelski can help out by giving a hometown discount. But it seems the Stars are betting on this core.
That's not a bad wager. We've already seen with Robertson and Oettinger that rewarding performance can lead to even better play. This could definitely be the case with Hintz, who quietly is one of the most important players on the ice every night.
"He can go head-to-head against the best players in the league the way he skates, with his size, his strength," Nill said. "He's got the ability to score, he's got a great touch for a big man. He competes hard. It's why in the end we made this commitment of eight years and the AAV we're going to pay him."
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 Twitter @MikeHeika.
