Avalanche divisional rival fear the worst after latest roster shake-up
Photo credit: Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images
Just a day after freeing up cap space by dealing Mason Marchment, the Dallas Stars signed restricted free agents Mavrik Bourque and Nils Lundkvist to one-year deals.
Bourque is set to earn $950,000 this season, while 24-year-old Lundkvist will make $1.25 million under the terms of his contract.
Avalanche divisional rival fear the worst after latest signing.
TSN.ca reports that Bourque, 23, recorded 11 goals and 25 points over 73 games last season. He was originally drafted 30th overall by the Stars in 2020.
"Lundkvist, a Pitea, Sweden native was originally selected in the first round (28th overall) by the New York Rangers in the 2018 NHL Draft. He was acquired by the Stars in 2022 in exchange for two conditional draft picks." -TSN.ca
Lundkvist has appeared in 183 career NHL games with the Rangers and Stars, tallying nine goals and 35 assists.
These last two signings raise the question...
Can the Stars keep their captain Jamie Benn?
The Stars kicked off their offseason on Thursday by signing Matt Duchene to a four-year contract worth an average of $4.5 million per year.
That signing left Dallas with under $500,000 in cap space until Marchment was traded to the Seattle Kraken for two draft picks, freeing up $4.5 million in salary cap room.
"After locking up their two pending restricted free agents Friday, the Stars have $2.76 million in cap space remaining with 18 players under contract for next season, per Puckpedia." -TSN.ca
Benn leads the group of pending unrestricted free agents for the Stars who are set to enter the open market.
Earlier this month, Benn expressed his desire to return to the Stars, even though he faced challenges with his postseason performance.
«I'm gonna go into the summer planning on playing next year and prepare like I do every summer,» Benn said during the team's locker room cleanout. «I don't see myself going anywhere else. This is all I know, so hopefully we can get something figured out.» -Benn
Benn is concluding an eight-year, $76 million contract that had an average annual value of $9.5 million.
"The 35-year-old forward had 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games during the regular season before struggling mightily in the playoffs. He finished with just one goal and three points in 18 games while averaging 13:05 of ice time in the postseason." -TSN.ca
We'll have to wait and see what further develops over the summer.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 22 | 30 ANSWERS Avalanche divisional rival fear the worst after latest roster shake-up Do you think Jaime Benn has played his last game with the Dallas Stars? | ||
| yes | 24 | 80 % |
| no | 6 | 20 % |
| List of polls | ||
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