The numbers would line up (assuming San Jose ate some salary). Esa would have to wave his no movement clause thoug, which would seem odd to do for a move to San Jose. I don't see it happening.
But it's a deal I would 100% do. Esa has lost something and that contract isn't looking great.

Edit to say: I do like Faksa, but he makes too much for what he brings to the table. It's more about hating the contract, not the player.

Thank you Nashville for buying out Duchene!

What a great deal. He must have really wanted to join this team.

I think I saw on twitter that he was surprised he got bought out. But he said Dallas was one of his top-of-mind choices when he heard he was bought out.

I like to see the stars working to improve the team. We were probably the 2nd best team overall last year.

Would love to see Vegas take a step back or at least not improve.

Klingberg signed with Toronto. 1 year, $4.15M.
Man, his former agent really screwed him last offseason.

Idk about yall, but does it feel like Colorado is losing A LOT of players?

FWAppraiser said:

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The numbers would line up (assuming San Jose ate some salary). Esa would have to wave his no movement clause thoug, which would seem odd to do for a move to San Jose. I don't see it happening.
But it's a deal I would 100% do. Esa has lost something and that contract isn't looking great.

Edit to say: I do like Faksa, but he makes too much for what he brings to the table. It's more about hating the contract, not the player.

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Esa is great for a Rick Bowness oriented defense and penalty kill. Even Montgomery didn't require the pace that DeBoer does and allowed a defense first mentality. Esa is not a good fit with DeBoer and a speed game.

Tksymm7 said:

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I get the Suter hate, I truly do, but I just don't think it's financially a good idea. We'd be stuck paying him for another four years, and even though it's not a ton, I'd think you just want to be free of him completely. Every little bit of cap space in this league is huge.

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Suter was actually good overall in the playoffs. That one play just turned a whole series on its head.

No, he was terrible. -3 w 18 pim. he's also not a good locker room guy per my guy in the know of such things.

hoosier-daddy said:

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No, he was terrible. -3 w 18 pim. he's also not a good locker room guy per my guy in the know of such things.

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Minus 3 puts him dead in the middle of the Stars playoff lineup, yet he and Miro got the most ice time by far.

I have been perusing Stars media outlets, and apparently there are real questions about the future health of Jani Hakanpaa. Some seem to think there are major question marks surrounding a knee injury and persistent back injuries. The knee injury I knew about because it was reported on, but the back stuff I don't remember seeing. Does anyone have further knowledge on this? Also, what are the chances Hakanpaa starts the year on LTIR, or the chances we don't see him this much year at all? That's a pretty decent hole in the d-core if he's out for an extended period of time.

https://theathletic.com/4656930/2023/06/30/ryan-suter-buyout-stars-nill/?source=user_shared_article

Q: If you decide not to buy out Ryan Suter by (Friday's) deadline, why not?

Nill: My question is, why (buy out Suter)? Can you find us a defenseman better than him?

Q: Do you think he's been that good, to be a top-six defenseman?

Nill: I think he's been fine. At his cap hit, I think he's a fine player. I've got no problems. And I'm baffled by you guys' comments. Actually, disappointed. I think the level of hate you guys have shown for a guy who plays 20 to 24 minutes a night in the playoffs and goes to the third round, I'm baffled. Don't send me your resumes, all right?

Q: When you look at the cap space that can be created with a buyout, is that something you considered (possibly using) when he was 38, 39 (years old)?

Nill: If he couldn't play anymore, yes. I get rid of him, how do I replace him? You brought up (Justin) Holl and these guys. Those guys are nowhere close. (Connor) Clifton didn't even play in the playoffs, and you want to replace Suter with him? I'm baffled by this. Don't quit your day job. That's my message.

Domi to the Leafs on a one year deal. Knew we couldn't afford to keep him but still sucks seeing him go.

That's the issue though. Suter is playing 20-24 minutes a night, and closer to 30 in the playoffs, and he shouldn't be. He should be playing in a third pair and 16 minutes a night. If he were in that role I think I would be fine with him even though I believe he's still being paid too much for the player/production you are getting.

Now, Nill does point out the obvious, but good, point that you can't just buy somebody out without a plan to replace him. From my observation of free agency there really wasn't anyone out there that was obtainable for us and we don't have spots open; and we don't have any prospects that will be ready within another calendar year. That leaves the trade route as the only option to get something done for the d core. I think Nill is still looking at this route pretty heavily, but I don't think Suter will be involved in a trade one way or another. All of that being said, if Suter can play less of a role and if we can maximize what he still has left, then I can live with him, but if not, then it's only going to continue to go down hill.

I'm not a huge Suter fan, but think the hate is overblown. Klingberg was a much bigger liability in the playoffs and thankfully is gone. Ideally we could have kept Oleksiak, but we didn't have the money. Suter isn't the best, but he is the best that we can do right now.

aggie98infl said:

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I've been neglectful in posting. I got the keychain and love it. You do great work. Thanks again for setting this up. It was fun (and not just because I won )

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Happy to hear you like the keychain! Congrats again. I look forward to doing it again next year.

FWIW, ESPN talking heads are high on the Duchene contract:

I'd caution inserting him with Benn/Dadonov over Wyatt as I feel like they had some good chemistry this year

"Matt Duchene, C, Dallas Stars
Terms: One year, $3 million
Where does he fit? Under a cowboy hat. The Stars had an intrinsic advantage in courting Duchene, in that he really enjoyed his time in Nashville and saw a similar existence possible in Dallas. Hence, he is now in the Big D.

Dallas was seeking to add a veteran scorer this offseason. There was some hope that Blake Wheeler might be an option, but it became clear he wanted to play in the Eastern Conference. What the Stars might not have anticipated was having Duchene hit the market, as Nashville bought out the last three years of his contract on Friday.

That left Duchene flush with cash, which meant he could take a short-term, low-cap-hit contract with the team of his choice. Dallas afforded him a great location, on a Stanley Cup-contending team with a chance to potentially play in its top six.

Does it make sense? Absolutely. Roope Hintz has the No. 1 center spot locked down. Wyatt Johnston, off a stellar rookie season, and Radek Faksa are the other primary options in the middle. Duchene could slot in between Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov. Duchene could play with the likes of Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin. He could make a very good power play -- 25% conversion rate, fifth in the NHL -- even better.
Duchene, 32, is a top-six forward who creates a bunch at 5-on-5. He is two years removed from a 43-goal campaign with the Predators. To get a player of this caliber at $3 million at just a one-year term is incredible. It's reminiscent of when the Chicago Blackhawks signed a 34-year-old Brad Richards to a one-year deal worth $2 million after the New York Rangers bought him out in July 2014. Guess what the Blackhawks did that season?

Grade: A+"

Sign me up!!

I'm not that bummed about Domi going away. His track record seems to indicate he wears out his welcome pretty quick everywhere he goes.

justnobody79 said:

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I'm not that bummed about Domi going away. His track record seems to indicate he wears out his welcome pretty quick everywhere he goes.

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Losing his fighting is the biggest loss. Like his dad, he will put a knuckle to a face. His dad was Toronto's enforcer forever. His dad even fought a Philadelphia fan who flopped into the penalty box.

Remember When Tie Domi Fought A Fan In The Penalty Box?! - YouTube


Craig Smith will fight, though. Andy Andreoff vs Craig Smith Sep 21, 2018 - YouTube

Keeping Same Blueline, Dallas Stars Are Making a Huge Gamble (defendingbigd.com)

good article on gambling on defensive corps

So Miller for a 5th round pick is just a cap move I assume? Not heartbroken over him going but want to see what move they make seeing as how the D is pretty bad overall.

Yeah, just a cap move. There were too many defensemem, Miller or Hakanpaa were really your only 2 movable contracts on the blueline, and Hakanpaa at least gives you size.

Signing Hanley for basically league minimum was the way to go. Your 7th defenseman shouldn't make what Miller was making and he would have basically been relegated to odd man out.

I've seen it thrown out that the plan will basically be to pair the d to mask deficiencies.

Heiskanen- Suter
Harley- Hakanpaa
Lundkvist- Lindell

Pair young with old, fast with slow/size, puck mover with traffic cone, good with not so good...you get the picture.

Defensemen that are worth any salt are going at a huge premium right now. The market is flooded with forwards and we got 3 major upgrades. Maybe we will get lucky and can trade Faksa and some assets for a top 4 defenseman.

All Stars fans need to listen to the Matt Duchene interview on the Ticket. He has me fired up already!

When was it? Able to go back and listen on the app?

Yes, about 2 30pm. Edit -Shoot, you will only catch the last half. They will probably post on their website.

Just listened to the Duchene interview with Saad and Mino from yesterday on The Ticket Top 10 podcast feed. Really fun stuff.

Just realized I won't be here for opening night… dammit.

PrestigeWorldwideAg12 said:

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Just realized I won't be here for opening night… dammit.

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Always a good ticket to sell if you care about recouping your season ticket costs. If you're cheap like me.

Oh I'll definitely be selling them

So rumor has it, there are some conversations going on internally about relocating to the Lebanon / DNT where they were to originally build Wade Park. Lease is ending in 4 years and doesn't seem like Stars and AAC are seeing eye to eye on a lease extension.

I was also told they are looking at this because roughly 60% of the season ticket holders live in Plano area or north (also go east and west).

I'll be interested to see what comes of this in the next year or so.