After Ben Bishop, Stars should now move Khudobin contract, too
After shrewd trade for future considerations, it's time to move another goalie's contract to officially end Bishop - Khudobin era in Dallas.
Jim Nill got into work quickly this off-season. Soon after finalizing exit interviews, Rick Bowness and his assistants were let go. Nill then proceeded with signing two intriguing free agents from Europe, Fredrik Olofsson and Matej Blumel, both wingers who are penciled to be a forward depth down in Cedar Park.
Re-signing Denis Gurianov to the lowest extension possible was also a good, calculated move. Paying 2.9 million for the production Gurianov is capable of is a sneaky value bet. Not to forget, Nill also managed to re-sign Alex Petrovic, right handed defenseman, who I believe is capable of playing on third pair, if needed.
After all these signings, Jim Nill managed to trade Ben Bishop to Buffalo and send 7th round draft selection (211th pick) in 2022 Draft along as a sweetener. Yes, Bishop’s contract would go on LTIR next season and a huge chunk of his salary is insured — but it’s still a very reasonable price to pay to get off that contract.
Where do the Stars stand now, cap-wise?
Considering all RFAs who are on the fence, think Marian Studenic, Riley Tufte and others sign their qualifying offers, Dallas Stars now have around 17.8 million in cap space for the three biggest names that remain unsigned - Jason Robertson, Jake Oettinger and yes, I’m still counting John Klingberg into the potential equation.
It’s worth noting that this number (17.8 million) counts also with extension for backup goalie, say Scott Wedgewood at a team-friendly contract with around 850k AAV.
The reason Dallas Stars probably won’t re-sign John Klingberg to a contract immediately is a distinct possibility of an offer-sheet for either Robertson or Oettinger. Now, they have cap flexibility to match any kind of ridiculous offer without any problems. I’ve been advocating for a bridge deal for both big name RFAs long already and if you’re a subscriber or read my pieces regularly, you know the reasons behind already.
The Stars need to bridge their windows for contention and wait for albatross contracts of Jamie Benn but also Esa Lindell and Radek Faksa to expire. Luckily, they all do in 3 years time. That’s why 3 years is the ideal bridge-term for both Robertson and Oettinger. Both of these player’s extensions should not account for more than 12 or 12.5 million combined. That leaves you around 5 or 6 million to either re-sign John Klingberg or try to attract some other possible free agent.
Enter Anton Khudobin. His current cap hit for the Stars is 2.2 million after the Stars buried some of it in the minors. He will not be eligible to enter long-term injury reserve before he’s actually cleared to play in the NHL again. Waiting for his recovery and hoping he’s the old Anton Khudobin is a big risk to take. Activating Khudobin also means that the Stars would be on the hook for not 2.2 million — but rather his full value of the contract, which is 3.33 million AAV.
That’s a pretty steep price to pay for a back-up goalie that is coming from a surgery and long absence. Not to mention, he’s already 36 years old.
What do you do in that scenario? Well, Jim Nill managed to get rid of Ben Bishop’s contract — now he needs to do the same with Anton Khudobin.
He has basically only two options, if he wants to create an additional cap space.
1) Buyout the remainder of Khudobin’s contract
That would save an additional 1.375 million for Nill the next season but also add a new 1.25 million figure to the 2023-24 cap space. It’s not the ideal solution — but it’s the price to pay for doing that.
The problem is that things get harder before they get easier for the Stars when it comes to cap space. I’ve already analyzed that the next offseason will be somewhat tighter than the current one — but not impossible. The biggest contract up will be Roope Hintz, and that’s probably why it will be number 1 priority for Jim Nill to sign him already this summer. You don’t want to carry over a dead cap in an ideal world.
2) Trade the remainder of Khudobin’s contract
This saves you 2.208 million in space for the 2022-23 season and you’re not accounted for anything the season after. The only price you have to pay is in the form of either a draft pick or some prospect. Given the Stars paid a 211th draft pick for getting rid of Bishop’s contract, I wonder what the price would actually be for doing the same with Khudobin.
Khudobin is due 3.75 million in actual salary for the upcoming season. He’s not currently eligible for LTIR but is also in consideration of possibly playing next season. That all factors into the price the Stars would need to pay to clear the cap space even more.
Would sending a 5th round pick in 2023 be enough to facilitate a trade with Arizona or some other projected bottom-feeder? Or how does parting ways with a prospect who could be interesting for some other team but just doesn’t have the way into the lineup in Dallas sound? Think Riley Tufte or Nick Caamano.
Jim Nill showed us he’s not afraid to be bold, when necessary. If he’s willing to use all of the team cap space to maximize the roster potential for the next season, this is the way to do it. He’s proved that the cost of doing that is acceptable.
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