My take on the Dallas Stars exit interviews

Here are my key takeaways from management and players exit interviews coming into the 2022 offseason.

Exit interviews usually help get the feel of what’s coming next for certain players, coaches and even the management group. I like to listen to full interviews, rather than just read the quotes so that I can properly examine the way Jim Nill speaks about the future, about his players but also the players themselves, how they feel and what may be their preferences when it comes to next steps, be it contractual or play-wise. 

I’ll try to sum up some of my observations from Jim Nill’s exit interview and some of the players about the key matters here for you, Stars fans. 

Re: Rick Bowness

Jim Nill said that Rick Bowness has done a great job, as every season he coached was played in very different circumstances. He wants to talk with ownership first and see their position. I feel Nill is open to searching for another coach, but needs a green light from ownership and needs to feel supported in that, as that would be 5th head coach during his tenure. 

A coaching question is also the first one to be addressed, after that will come key decisions about players, because the vision of the next coach has to be aligned with what player personnel he has to operate with. 

Re: His own job safety

Nill said he feels comfortable where he’s at (imagine he didn’t use the phrase, pure apocalypse). Although he has only a year left, he doesn't feel the pressure to solve the contract for him now. There has to be some balance though with the new contract for the coach - which might mean he also wants to be aligned with who the next coach will be. He loves the city and I think is genuinely proud of his scouting staff’s job over the last few years - thanks to which the franchise is in a seemingly good spot. 

Re: Jason Robertson’s next contract

I got the feel, he prefers the short-term bridge deal, as he hinted the cap will go up more in 2-3 years time and that’s probably the main focus also for Robertson’s representatives. I think it’s the right call, given the cap crunch in the next 2 years and I’ve already analyzed Robertson could go the way Brayden Point went in Tampa - as I don’t think Stars have cap space to sign both Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson to long term deals.

Re: John Klingberg’s next contract

Nill said Klingberg has a big opportunity to be a free agent and he respects that. Cap is paramount in this case - I really think Nill would like to have him back, for sure - but only at the right number. Klingberg definitely would like to stay in Dallas, as he said himself - hinted they’d probably need to meet in the middle, which is a good way of approaching these things. 

I think Nill’s offer is somewhere along the lines of 6 million for 6 more years and Klingberg is more in the lines of 7 million or more for 7-8 years. He even smirked that he wants to sign for “somethings similar to his previous contract” - which means 7 years. It always comes down to my initial prediction - close to a 7x7 contract.

Having John Klingberg signed for the next 7 years seems risky enough for Nill to just wait and let Klingberg hear other offers on July 13th when free agency opens. If Klingberg was to re-sign with the Stars, he’ll do it very close to July 13th or right at the start of free agency, after he receives offers from another teams, same situation that Khudobin went through 2 years ago - after which he signed 3 year deal worth of 10 million dollars. 

Klingberg also said it’s about comparison between some players on the team and presumably in the league, stats-wise and I see him using the Esa Lindell contract as the floor. Lindell signed 6-year deal worth 5.8 million. That’s an overpay in my books but the Stars appreciate what Lindell brings to the table and also - that deal was pre-covid.

Re: Tyler Seguin

Tyler had a tough year but was getting better as the year went on. He’ll work on his explosiveness in the summer - which Nill pointed to as crucial for Stars to again rely on the 30-year old center. Seguin is the key for Stars success in the coming years as he’ll try to justify his enormous cap hit of 9.85 million. He’s still relatively young and has examples to copy - just ask Patrice Bergeron or John Tavares. 

Re: Denis Gurianov future

Gurianov didn’t have a good season, Nill wants to find out why, he still sees him as a part of this group - probably will give him a chance to improve next year - but that’ll also depend on whether the new coach will see Denis Gurianov in his plans. I predicted he’ll sign a 4 year contract but now I’m leaning more toward a 1 or 2 year prove-me deal from the Stars - as Gurianov knows his value is probably at an all-time low. 

Re: Anton Khudobin, Scott Wedgewood and the goalie options for the back-up position

I feel Nill would like to have Anton Khudobin back for the final year of his contract or still sees him as an option, even though he’s really underperformed the expectations the last 2 seasons. The timeline to his return is sometime between training camp (September) and November - and they’ll consider all options regarding the goaltender situation. That doesn’t look good for Scott Wedgewood’s camp but I still think he’s their safety net, when it comes to the backup position for the next year. Jim Nill probably feels they have the upper hand in the negotiation with Wedgewood and want to make the right decision. I project they’ll re-sign him as options out there are not that way better money-wise than Wedgewood. Having a trio of Oettinger-Wedgewood-Khudobin coming into the season bodes well for the desired depth on every position. I did a deeper dive into the situation here:

ANALYSIS: Who will be Jake Oettinger's back-up next season?

Re: Emerging young players like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque but also Thomas Harley and others

Aside from Miro Heiskanen, all of these young players fit into a 2-4 year development plan. Nill specifically emphasized the year Johnston had in the OHL and I genuinely feel he’ll get the opportunity to have a 9-game tryout next season to determine whether he needs one more year in the juniors or stays with the big team. Remember, due to NHL-CHL agreement, prospects under age of 20 cannot play in the AHL. 

Jim Nill will go to Canada in the coming days to watch their games in person as all of them are playing meaningful games in the CHL playoffs, Johnston for Windsor Spitfires in the OHL, Stankoven for Kamloops Blazers in the WHL and Mavrik Bourque for the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL. 

Due to cap constraints, the Stars will need to inject some cheap, young players into the lineup next year - which means Thomas Harley will get the chance as well. Nill stressed how hard it is for 20-year old defenseman to come into the league if you are not named Miro Heiskanen. Expect Riley Damiani, Fredrik Karlstrom and others to make a push as well as they’ll know there is space for them. 

Ty Dellandrea is a lock for next year’s opening night roster, I think. Nill said he wasn’t fully ready before - but sure as hell is now.

Re: Other potential free-agents (restricted or unrestricted)

I don’t think Radulov’s name was mentioned even once - but it’s a foregone conclusion he won’t be coming back even at league minimum as there’s just no place for him anymore. Nill would certainly like to bring Michael Raffl back - but we’ll see whether that's a one or two year extension. Raffl is already 33 - but remember how Jim Nill signed then 34-year old Andrej Sekera to a 2 year contract which expires now. Even Sekera himself was surprised by the offered length of the deal - which he disclosed in a Slovak hockey oriented podcast. He’s not gonna be offered any deal this time around. 

I’m curious whether Vlad Namestnikov gets an offer from Nill, he’s a good depth piece - but will probably get more in free agency. His short stint was definitely worth a 4th round pick in the 2024 draft. 

I sure as hell hope they bring restricted free agent and waiver pick-up Marian Studenic back, as he's a really effective 4th liner with speed and also your ideal 13th forward ready to jump in - if you have a really good team, which I certainly hope Stars are aspiring to have next season. 

---

Well, that’s pretty much it from the exit interviews - I hope this digested form was helpful for you, Stars fans, in getting the maximum information coming into the offseason. I’m really looking forward to this part of NHL season.

Those of you who have already subscribed to my articles know (by the way, thanks!) that I like to focus more on the business part of the NHL - projecting contracts, monitoring cap space and analyzing managerial moves - which we will see plenty of during the offseason. 

If you like the content, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a beat. It’s free.
If you REALLY like my work - you can buy me a coffee here! This actually fuels the creation of my articles and I also like to use this as an actual feedback from you — how much you appreciate me doing it.

Until next time!