The trade deadline is a beautiful time of the year, for media and fans alike, for a few reasons. Sure, this is our job, but we do it because we’re fans of this amazing game. In September, there’s a general idea of what each team is going to look like, and how their season will go. As time marches on, every team embarks on a journey, a story, and not everyone lives happily ever after.
The trade deadline is about admitting who you really are as a franchise at this moment, and in the future. For a lot of teams, it’s taken five months for the picture to become clear. The Dallas Stars started the season with Stanley Cup aspirations after missing out on the championship round by two wins the last two seasons. While the Stanley Cup Final was the original goal, it hasn’t always looked like it would work out that way. We’ll get into that briefly in a moment. Now, however, the picture is clear. The Stars look like a juggernaut that will be a hard-out in the postseason.
Related: 2025 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
There are a lot of rumors as to who the Stars could add before they get to the spring, but what do they need? On top of that, what should they be willing to part with? Yes, their window is now, but it’s larger than a lot of people seem to think. Is there a point in mortgaging the future, if it results in winning a Stanley Cup this season? What if it doesn’t?
A lot of questions were just thrown at you, so let’s dive into it.
The Story So Far
On Feb. 1, the Stars acquired Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks for a 2025 first-round pick and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick. Our writers broke down the conditions, so click on the link and check out their great work. We knew before the season started that something trade-wise was going to go down at some point, but let’s quickly touch on where the Stars were before this trade.
On Dec. 1, the Stars were 15-8-0. They were 10th in the NHL in goals scored, third in goals allowed, and sixth in penalty killing. Those statistics are clearly positive. The one glaring negative was the power play, which was 24th in the NHL, and it would get worse by the end of December. If you’re not a Stars fan or a frequent watcher of the team, it probably didn’t seem like they were having a bad season, and they weren’t. However, based on the expectations that this team carries, it did not look like Stars hockey, and concerns were mounting. There were injuries to account for, sure, but it still didn’t feel right.
Their December got progressively better, and after an incredible January, the team finally seemed to be the contender that they were assumed to be in the fall. From Dec. 1 until March. 3, they have the most wins in the NHL with 25. They have scored the most goals, 128, and are 10th in goals allowed with 95. Their 86.7% penalty kill is the best in the league, and their power play is ninth. Since the power play was so dreadful in the first half of the season, let’s point out the fact that since Jan. 1, their power play, 37.1%, is the second-best in the NHL.
On Dec. 1, the Stars were third in the Central Division, and 10 points behind the Winnipeg Jets. Now, they’re second, and the reason for that is the incredible season the Jets are having. The Stars are 17-6-1 since Jan. 1, and they’ve only made up two points on the Jets. Not much you can do about that.
What They Already Have
Before the season, and during a slow first couple of months, there was always the feeling that the real solution was already in the dressing room. Sure, they could go out and get some heavy hitters, maybe trade some youth and draft picks in the process. But they have the talent and the structure to provide what’s needed in the playoffs. Don’t forget, this is the team that has lost the conference final 4-2 in each of the last two seasons. They may not need a star addition to get over the hump.
Matt Duchene, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston lead the way with 62, 60, and 55 points, respectively. Duchene and Robertson each have 25 goals, while Johnston has 21, thanks to a hat trick on Sunday night. Roope Hintz has 24 goals and 47 points, and there are four other players with double-digit goals. Mason Marchment has 15 goals in 42 games, and based on the season he’s had, that goal total would be higher if he didn’t take a puck to the face.
The Stars have a very strong top-six, and the depth has been a pleasant surprise as the season has played out. Evgenii Dadonov has fit right in, scoring 16 goals and 33 points. After a slow start to the season, Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven have really picked up in the 2025 portion of the season. In the 23 games these two have played since Jan. 1, Bourque has seven goals and 13 points, and Stankoven has five goals and 11 points. Stankoven specifically has been a terrific two-way forward for the Stars this season, but he needs to put up points, and it looks like he’s starting to.
The date Jan. 1 has been brought up quite a bit already, and it’s for good reason. The Stars have played 24 games in 2025. Robertson, Johnston, and Duchene have played in them all, and they all have 29 points or more in that span. Hintz has played in 21, and he has 25 points. The big guys have really stepped up, and it’s trickled down the lineup.
The health of Tyler Seguin is still a huge unknown. If he comes back for the playoffs like the Stars hope, that would clearly be a huge boost. Their action at the deadline might tell us what they think the likelihood of that is.
What They Need
To wrap up the conversation about the forward group, of course, it would be great to acquire a big-name goal scorer. The Carolina Hurricanes recently traded for Mikko Rantanen, and his name has been floated around to be on the move yet again. Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet reported that if Rantanen were on the move, Carolina would retain 50% of his contract, which would make him an affordable $2.5 million since the Chicago Blackhawks already retained $4.6 million as a part of the three-team trade. Of course that would be great, and whether it’s him or someone else, getting another top-six player would properly slot their depth players. I’m not sure they need it, but it would be nice.
If they have to pick one group to add to, forward or defense, it would definitely be defense. Miro Heiskanen is one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and he is out until at least early April with a knee injury. General manager Jim Nill said he hopes to have Heiskanen back before the playoffs, but no one is sure how likely that is. Defenseman Nils Lundkvist had season-ending shoulder surgery, which is a huge blow to the depth of this defensive unit.
Thomas Harley, who has been an excellent player for a couple of years now, has been a revelation, stepping into Heiskanen’s place, both 5-on-5 and on the power play. Esa Lindell and Ilya Lyubushkin are both very defensively sound but don’t provide a lot of offensive production.
Ceci was acquired to be on the third pair, but due to injuries, he is now steadily on their second pair. Ceci is a solid option when he’s properly placed, and right now, he’s not. Brendan Smith and Matt Dumba are fine players, currently on the third pair, but if you need to scratch both of them in the playoffs because Miro is back and you added another defenseman, that is totally fine. One of them will be scratched this week regardless of when breakout rookie Lian Bichsel returns from concussion protocol.
Bichsel’s size, physicality, and play in his own end will be vital in what is hopefully a deep playoff run for the Stars. If the Stars do add another D-man, Bichsel probably wouldn’t be scratched, at least to start the playoffs, but Smith and Dumba are good options out of the press box if necessary.
The bottom line is that the Stars need to add another defenseman, preferably someone who can play in the top-four, and even more preferably, someone who has offensive upside. Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres comes to mind. Even when Heiskanen comes back, the guy wouldn’t have played in almost three months at that point, and it’s hard to know how long it will take for him to get up to speed. Friedman also reported that former Chicago defenseman Seth Jones wanted to go to either the Florida Panthers or the Stars, but the Stars couldn’t make it work, so the Panthers got him. Jones is exactly what I described, although he’s played on a bad team for a long time, so who knows exactly what he would bring.
The Window Doesn’t Close in June, So Don’t Overreact
Because the Stars have been contenders for over a half-decade, there’s a thought going around that they need to go “all in” to win this season, as if this “Stanley Cup window” is slamming shut once the summer hits. Watching this team and the perfect blend of youth and veterans that they have, that simply is not the truth.
Johnston is 21 years old and is about to be paid a ton of money in the next few months. Robertson is 25 and has one season left on his deal after this season, and the Stars want to keep him around for the foreseeable future. Hintz is 28 and has another six years left under contract after this season. Harley is 23 and becomes a restricted free agent (RFA) next summer, at which time the Stars will want to pay him as well. Lindell is 30, and his extension kicks in next season, lasting up until 2030. Heiskanen is 25 and is under contract until 2029. Lundkvist is 24 and is an RFA this summer as well. To top it all off, star goaltender Jake Oettinger is 26 and is signed until 2033. All of these contract details are courtesy of PuckPedia.
As far as the older guys in the lineup, captain Jamie Benn is in the final season of his deal, but he’s valuable in many different ways for this team and is expected to re-sign in the summer. Duchene is on another one-year deal and is expected to sign one-year deals moving forward, as long as he wants to stay in Dallas. Joe Pavelski did the same thing, so it’s not unprecedented. Granlund was acquired as a rental in February, so it will be interesting to see if he re-signs with the club and what the term will look like.
What Do the Stars Give Up?
They have young and talented players that could be used as trade pieces, such as Stankoven, Bourque, and Bichsel. However, based on what I just laid out, they are going to have a really good team for the foreseeable future, and I would rather give up some draft picks than players that we already know what they are, especially for a rental. If you trade them for players with term, that’s a different conversation. But, again, they have quite a few players they are going to be paying a lot of money in the next few seasons.
In the next three drafts, 2025-2027, the Stars have two picks in both the first and second rounds and three picks in both the third round and the sixth round. They also have four picks in both the fifth round and the seventh round. That’s quite a few draft picks.
The point that I’m making in all of this, is that the Stars are in a championship window, yes. But they’re not in “win now or else” mode. They are going to be good for a long time to come, and it’s not worth selling the future for what is not the final kick at the can.
Who Fits?
According to The Hockey Writers trade bait list, there are quite a few options as the trade deadline approaches. Even though I do think defense is more of a priority, Brock Nelson and Brock Boeser are interesting fits up front. Nelson would add a luxury of depth at the center position. Granlund can play at center or on the wing, so there are some options there. He’s underperforming as far as points go, but the Stars are structured to score, so he should fit right in. The same can be said for Boeser. Again, it’s a bit of a luxury at this point, but he’s a proven goal scorer, and it takes some pressure off of the bottom of the roster.
Byram would be a terrific addition, in my opinion, now that Jones is off the board. The Stars’ defensemen have struggled to produce offensively. They don’t need it right now, but they will, and Byram would be a great option. Another player I really like is David Savard. First of all, with a hockey name like Savard, how could you go wrong? With the Montreal Canadiens still in the mix to make it to the playoffs, it’s hard to know exactly what they will do with unrestricted free agents (UFA) with value. That said, Savard doesn’t offer much offensively, but he’s the definition of a steady and sound defensive defenseman.
While all of those players would be great fits in Dallas, this Stanley Cup window is wide open for years to come. Trade away draft picks, or maybe a few players in the system. Fine. However, if teams are asking for roster players that are a part of the future, dance with the guys that brought you. Saying “there’s always next year” is not hyperbole. There really is always next year, and the year after that.
