Defending Big D Oct 23, 2020
Friday Links: The Deal With Denis
“Denis Gurianov is a Russian professional ice hockey winger for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. He is the owner of the Vegas Golden Knights.” – Wikipedia, probably | Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via The Stars work out a bridge contract that gives their playoffs hotshot room for growth. Plus, pandemic postponements for the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend, indicting the Olympic Destroyer hackers, and more. Denis Gurianov has had quite a year. From doing time with the Texas Stars to a blistering performance in the Dallas Stars’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, the...
Defending Big D Oct 22, 2020
Stars Sign Gurianov To New Contract, Will Focus On Hintz Next
Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Just one left to get into the fold for the Stars this offseason. The Dallas Stars knocked another thing off their post-season to-do list: sign rookie forward Denis Gurianov to a new contract. The deal, worth an average of $2.55 million for the next two years, is more of a bridge deal for the young player. It’s slightly higher than the projected contract Evolving Wild had for him (a 2-year deal worth $2.1 million), but not by much. Gurianov will be a restricted free agent at the end of this contract, and is probably banking on building off of his playoff...
Defending Big D Oct 21, 2020
Wednesday Links: Jake Oettinger on His Future
Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via The Stars’ top goaltending prospect talks about his bubble experience, next steps, and more. Plus, looking ahead towards World Juniors, plans for the 2020-21 regular season, and more. After years of struggling to develop a homegrown goalie talent, the Dallas Stars are convinced they have their goaltender of the future in 2017 first rounder Jake Oettinger. Serving as Anton Khudobin’s backup during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Oettinger gained a lot of experience both on and off the ice, setting him up for future success: “I don’t think you can...
Derek Neumeier / Defending Big D Oct 20, 2020 
Dallas Stars Prospect Update: *taps microphone*... Is this thing on?
Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Some Stars prospects are back on the ice... sort of. Even though the National Hockey League has postponed the start of the 2020-21 season until January 1st, 2021 at the very earliest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that hasn’t stopped other hockey leagues from taking to the ice. Well... sort of. Hockey has been played — and is currently being played — in a handful of different places, including Finland, Sweden and Russia, among others. But just how long that hockey will continue to be played isn’t fully certain. After starting up their...
Defending Big D Oct 19, 2020
Monday Links: Winners And Losers Of Free Agency
Anton Khudobin came up big in the Stanley Cup playoffs - and with his new contract. | Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Anton Khudobin cashed in - but which team got fleeced the worst by Joe Sakic? Plus, the Leafs rake in Jumbo Joe, Doc Emrick puts down his mic, and more. Now that the biggest part of NHL free-agency action is over, it’s time to decide who made out, who crapped out, and how the Dallas Stars figure into it all. ESPN hockey mavens Emily Kaplan and Grey Wyshynski have put their heads together to decode this year’s deals. For starters, Wysh just comes out and says it: There...
Defending Big D Oct 16, 2020
Friday Links: Bowness Tells All
Photo by Ronald Martinez/ The Stars’ head coach talks about tweaks to the system, playing opportunities for prospects, and more. Plus, the top goaltending prospects around the league, the importance of NMC and NTC clauses, and more. A contract hasn’t been signed yet, but Rick Bowness will be the Dallas Stars’ full-time head coach next year. His return provides some stability to what has unfortunately been a tumultuous coaching carousel in Dallas the past several years. Just because Bowness is returning, however, doesn’t mean that there won’t be any changes: “I think there is...
Defending Big D Oct 15, 2020
Thursday Links: #FreeHonka
Photo by Bruce Bennett/ And on which Stars team could he land? Let the arguing begin. Plus: Can the Senators accommodate 6,000 fans safely? Is the world ready for Hockey Barbie? And more. The news first appeared in GM Jim Nill’s postseason press conference: The Dallas Stars and Julius Honka are making their way back to a possible space where they can discuss maybe, maybe coming to a new agreement. Possibly. Does Big D have its own Jesse Puljujarvi-style redemption arc in the works? Can the Stars really use another right-handed, puck-moving defender? Can their fandom endure another...
Defending Big D Oct 14, 2020
Stargazing, Episode 115: Free Agency Free-For-All 2020
Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Can the Victory Green Gang keep up with the Joneses, and the Avalanche, and the Golden Knights? Logan and Mark take stock. The Dallas Stars are keeping it mostly quiet during the NHL’s 2020 free agency period. Is that a good thing? And is it better or worse when you compare it to what’s going on around them? Logan and Mark take a look at what’s going on around the league to find out. Join them to ponder burning questions like this: Does Taylor Hall suddenly make the Buffalo Sabres a playoff team? Can you believe the Vancouver Canucks took Nate...
Defending Big D Oct 13, 2020
Tuesday Links: Don’t Even Think About Offer Sheets
Photo by Bruce Bennett/ They don’t happen, and they don’t work when they do, writes Sean Shapiro. Plus, Alex Pietrangelo is Vegas bound, not even Jonathan Toews knows what Chicago is doing, and more. If there’s one thing that could keep Dallas Stars fans awake at night, it’s the idea that restricted free agents Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov might get snatched up during free agency. The vehicle for this nightmare: the offer sheet, which would take advantage of the static cap and COVID-related financial pressures to essentially buy the dynamic duo away. The idea of offer sheets...
Defending Big D Oct 12, 2020
Monday Links: Another Chance to Win
Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via One of the main reasons Anton Khudobin elected to re-sign with Dallas was another chance to win the Stanley Cup. Plus, free agency news, free agency news, and more free agency news. After backstopping the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final, Anton Khudobin likely had his choice of the litter when it came to potential Free Agency destinations. However, he ultimately returned to Dallas to sign a three-year, $10M contract. There were many reasons behind this decision, but one of the most important was the chance to get another crack at winning the Stanley...
Defending Big D Oct 11, 2020
Dallas Stars Sign Radek Faksa to Five-Year, $16.25M Contract Extension
Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Worth $3.25M annually, Faksa will be under contract through the 2024-25 season. The Dallas Stars announced today that they have signed restricted free agent Radek Faksa to a five-year contract extension worth $16.25M, or $3.25M annually. Faksa was one of the Stars’ three key restricted free agents heading into the offseason, alongside Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov. He has become one of the Stars’ best two-way players the past few seasons, anchoring the Stars’ “FCC” line responsible for shutting down opposing teams’ top scorers along with...
Defending Big D Oct 10, 2020
Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Mark Pysyk, Forward Mark Pysyk to One-year, $750K Deal
Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Versatility is valuable, right? Most teams carry 23 players on their roster throughout the year, unless they (like the Stars not too long ago) are so hard up against the cap that they have to stay at 22 or 21 for a period of time. This generally means that a team will carry either 14 forwards and seven defensemen, or 13 forwards and eight defensemen, as the Stars have quite frequently done, back when things were normal-ish. But credit to Jim Nill: he found a way for the Stars to carry 14 forwards and eight defensemen next year: By signing Mark...
Defending Big D Oct 9, 2020
Dallas Stars Re-sign Anton Khudobin to Three-Year, $10 Million Deal
Photo by Bruce Bennett/ The backup goaltender — that stole hearts and kept dreams alive in the playoffs — will stay in Dallas. The Dallas Stars have finalized a deal to re-sign goaltender Anton Khudobin. The reported term on the deal is three years for a total of $10 million. The breakdown of the payout is as reported below by Pierre LeBrun. Khubodin deal is finalized with Dallas: three years and $10 M total.year 1, $2.5 Myear 2, $3.75 Myear 3, $3.75 M— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 9, 2020 The deal to bring back Khudobin comes after much speculation that the veteran...
Defending Big D Oct 9, 2020
Friday Links: Moving Forward
Photo by Ben Fromstein/NHLI via With the 2020 NHL Draft in the vaults, Jim Nill looks to coaching, free agency, and the Stars’ long injury list. Plus, the bubble format lives on, Free Agency - now with bonus uncertainty, and more. As NHL teams wrestle with the COVID-era challenges facing them, Free Agency 2020 promises to be a uniquely fraught time. But GM Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars plan to approach the issues in the methodical way they approach pretty much everything. One of the first items on Nill’s to-do list is settling Rick Bowness’ future with the organization. A meeting...
Defending Big D Oct 9, 2020
2020 NHL Free Agency Open Thread
Photo by Bruce Bennett/ Free agency comes close on the heels of the draft. Who will be re-signed? Who will be traded? The free agent market opens today. The Dallas Stars still have three unrestricted free agents (Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark, Anton Khudobin) and three restricted free agents (Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz, Denis Gurianov) on their roster. Khudobin’s stellar performance in the 2019-20 playoffs means that he has more than earned his next contract, whether that is with Dallas or another team. In the era of flat salary caps due to COVID-19, this could be a roadblock for Dallas,...
