rather be fishing said:

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Man, that was a crap ending to the season.

You have to imagine there's gotta be new D and a new backup G on the roster for next year. As great of year as Benn had, when do you let him far into the background or leverage him for some prospects? Same goes for Seguin. Suter better be gone, and I hope it works out to secure Domi and Dadanov.

Wouldn't be sad to see Marchment and Miller gone. I'd include Hakanpaa and Lindell, but you can only guy the D so much.

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Benn and Seguin will be here until their contracts end.

Our entire current D-corps is signed up for next season. Can't really do much unless guys are traded out. Who would want them?

I fully expect to have Miro, Lindell, Harley, and Suter back. It would be nice to find an upgrade to play with Harley or Miro.

What trade can we facilitate with the garbage defensive chips we have? Maybe clear space for a free agent signing.

Don't think we can address the defense and also sign Domi. Not enough cap space. I'm not sold on Domi though. He lacks size and can be a liability defensively. I don't think his offense makes up for the negatives.

Marchment is a player that absolutely drives me crazy. I don't like his game at all. Hopefully he turns it around next year because year one has been a big disappointment.

Guh. I am glad we beat the Kraken but that series killed my spirit. Looking forward to next season!

I nerded out with my spreadsheet (yes, I have a salary cap spreadsheet), so sorry for the long post.

The forward group is going to have two opening night roster spots open, a third if they don't re-sign Dadonov. There is no way to fit both he and Domi on the roster.

I think you bring back Dadonov. He'll be cheaper and won't get as long of a term as Domi will. Why bring Dadonov back? His play and locker room presence were outstanding since getting here. As much as we're all excited for the youth movement (guilty as charged), after talking with some folks after the game last night and today, I was told it's a bit optimistic that more than one young guy will come up and stick with the big club next season. It makes sense. Bourque has 1 AHL season under his belt, and Stankoven has never played with grown men. Either one may need next season or least part of the season in the AHL. Either way, you can't go into camp in the fall EXPECTING both to stick. So for argument's sake, let's say one of the two is on the opening night roster. That leaves your forward group as follows:

Hintz-Robertson-Pavelski
Johnston-Benn-Dadonov
Bourque/Stankoven-Marchment-Seguin
Faksa-Glendenning/Kiviranta/Olofsson-Dellandrea

Glendening, Kiviranta, and Olofsson are all UFAs. There's no reason to sign more than one, if any. I'm assuming they'll sign one though. Dellandra is a RFA, so he'll get some sort of offer that shouldn't be too unreasonable.

On defense, like has been said, you're locked in with your 7 guys. Hanley is a UFA, left-handed dman. He's out.

Assuming my projections, you're right up against the cap. I mean, RIGHT up against it (depending on the Dadonov, Glendening/Kiviranta/Olofsson, and Dellandrea deals of course). That is unless the cap is higher than the projected $83.5M which is looking like a distinct possibility.

You could leave Dadonov off and have some space, but then you have another forward spot to fill. Youth movement sounds good, but that's a big gamble. There's also the possibility of a Suter buyout, but with Johnston, Bourque, Stankoven, Harley, Lundkvist, and Oettinger all needing new deals by the end of the 24-25 season and Robertson needing one at the end of the 25-26 season, that dead money could come back to bite you.

Other than a buyout, I would try to bury Suter on the 3rd pairing. Play him under 20 minutes per game and take him off special teams. With a manageable workload, maybe he won't look quite as bad. Then I'd try and trade Miller, Hakanpaa, or both. Easier said than done, I know, but they're ok defensemen on low, expiring contracts.

So, let's say the cap is really $84M, you can shed Miller's contract and get Dadonov at a reasonable amount. You could conceivably have over $3M to go out and get a defenseman. I could live with a lineup that looks like:

Hintz-Robertson-Pavelksi
Johnston-Benn-Dadonov
Stankoven-Seguin-Marchment
Faksa-TBD-Dellandrea
Heiskanen-Harley-Lundkvist-Lindell-Hakanpaa-Suter-TBD
Oettinger-Wedgewood

If Stankoven and Bourque were both ready to roll, I would have no problem sending Marchment to the 4th line. That would make for a crazy talented top 3 lines.

I will say, the way the contracts on this team are laid out, is fantastic work by the front office:

Pavelski, Miller, and Hakanpaa come off the books in time for Lundkvist and Harley to get new deals.

Benn, Faksa, Lindell, and Suter come off the books in time for Johnston, Bourque, and Oettinger to get new deals and a year before Roberston and Stankoven need new ones, when Marchment also comes off.

This team is set up for long term success. Just don't be too shocked if next year's roster looks almost identical to this year's. This team's true peak is still ahead of it. That's why this year was such a pleasant surprise. They certainly exceeded my expectations going into the season.

shack009 said:

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Panthers shed Marchment then immediately make Stanley Cup Finals… Hmm…

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They also added Matthew Tkachuk who has arguably been the best player in the playoffs and has scored OT goals and GW goals in the 3rd period in droves.

Looks like Aggie98inFL won the bracket challenge! Congratulations! Send me a PM so I can get your address and send you the Stars keychain I made.

Thanks to everyone for playing and let's do it again next year for hopefully another deep playoff run!

Thanks! I can't believe I actually won. I didn't pay attention to anyone other than the stars all season, my bracket was simply based on what I wanted to happen. After the first couple of games and hearing the experts I thought I was done for.

My introduction to NHL hockey was a Conference final game between the Panthers and Penguins in during the year of the rat in '96. We had seats two rows behind the bench, and were close enough to see Radek Dvoraks teeth hit the ice after a high stick, a live mouse landed at my feet and there was a goalie fight. I was hooked on hockey after that.

After graduating I moved to Dallas just in time for the '99 cup run and have been die-hard fan since. I was on the waiting list for season tickets when I moved back to florida. Thank goodness for NHL Center Ice.

I was at Game 7 when Tampa won the cup in 2004. I didn't really care who won, but getting to see the cup skated was an amazing experience. Of course the year the Stars actually played Tampa in the finals and I could have gone to a game they were in the bubble. Now I live in SC so if we had made the finals against the Hurricanes i could have gone to a game, and I'm actually going to be in Naples next week for training so could have gone to game if we had survived.

It was still a fun season, hopefully I'll get to make it to see them in person next year, it's been too long.

You guys want to feel old?
Stephane Robidas son was just signed to an entry level contract by the Canes. When did all of the 90s-00s guys get so old?
Domi, Marchment, Tkachuk, and now Robidas. Crazy.

Exit interviews ongoing.

Otter says he was never fully healed from his lower body injury earlier in the season (no new playoff injury but likely why he struggled down the stretch especially given the workload).

Domi said he's open to signing with Dallas and hopes they make him an offer.

And this gem from Captain America:

Joe Pavelski on Wyatt Johnston’s lease status for next season: “He’ll have a key as long as he wants.” #TexasHockey

— Brien Rea (@BrienRea) May 31, 2023

The series was virtually ended in the last minutes of Game 2 when Suter **** his pants twice in the same play and the win was lost. The Stars greatly outplayed Vegas and Suter ****ed it up. He should be let go.