Dallas Stars Offseason Preview: Depth Forwards

In this installment of the Dallas Stars offseason preview, we’ll take a look at the depth forwards in the organization. Here’s the depth chart including their contract status for the offseason:

Pro:

1 – Logan O’Connor (1 year @ 1m)

2 – Zemgus Girgensons (UFA)

3 – Darren Helm (2 years @ 750k)

4 – Devin Shore (1 year @ 850k)

5 – Paul Byron (headed to LTIR)

Farm:

6 - Mason Shaw (1 year @750k)

7- Reese Johnson (RFA)

8 - Ross Johnston (1 year @ 750k)

9 - Hayden Hodgson (RFA)

10 - Logan Hutsko (1 year @ 850k)

11 - Gage Quinney (RFA)

12 - CJ Smith (1 year @ 800k)

13 - Scott Sabourin (UFA)

14 - Stefan Matteau (UFA)

15 - Patrick Giles (1 year @ 750k)

16 - Austin Rueschhoff (RFA)

17 - Maxim Marushev (RFA)

18 - Jan Drozg (signed to KHL)

19 - Dmitry Zavgorodniy (signed to KHL)

20 - Patrick Bajkov (RFA)

21 - Brendan Brisson (will sign ELC)

Leading the way for the Dallas Stars depth forwards this year is Logan O’Connor, who’s cemented his place on the team’s fourth line over the past two seasons. He provides a reliable defensive game while chipping in enough points to keep the opponent honest. He’s likely the first forward the team looks to give more ice time to if someone in the top 9 gets hurt.

After O’Connor, there are a bunch of veteran forwards who saw ice time with the team this year but have major question marks going into next year. The most obvious is Zemgus Girgensons, who the team reacquired at the trade deadline to stabilize their fourth line. He’s an unrestricted free agent who will likely be looking for more money than the Stars are willing to spend on the fourth line, but they’ll bring him back at the right price.

Center Devin Shore got an extended look with the team, but managed just 7 points in 52 games. He was waived in order to be sent down to the farm midseason and surprisingly no other team took a chance on him. He’ll have a shot at winning a spot on the pro team, but only due to two other injuries. It looks like Paul Byron will miss at least the first few months of the season, if not the entire year, due to hip surgery. And Darren Helm battled an abductor injury late in the season which could nag him or cause him to miss time as well.

That opens the door for a few players from the Stars’ farm system if they can produce during training camp and the preseason. The team is high on draft pick Mason Shaw finally breaking into the league after multiple ACL injuries and years toiling away in the minors. He got a cup of coffee with the big league team last season and would slot into the left wing position. There’s also the similarly named Reese Johnson and Ross Johnston competing for minutes after being two of the best players on the Texas Stars last season.

One more interesting note about the Dallas Stars depth forwards-this year they only have one eligible player who’s likely to be signed to an entry level contract. That’s center Brendan Brisson, who the team selected in the first round of the 2020 entry draft. He spent the last two seasons playing for the Michigan Wolverines and is the son of famed NHL agent Pat Brisson. He’s expected to start the season in the farm, but has the potential to be a midseason call-up if he performs well. Long term, the team hopes he can fill the hole at third line center that’s been a revolving door ever since the team traded Jordan Staal years ago.