Dallas Stars Offseason Preview: Defensemen

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

Pro:

1 – Jared Spurgeon (1 year @ 7.75m)

2 – Mackenzie Weegar (2 years @ 5.5m)

3 – Alexander Edler (UFA)

4 – Henri Jokiharju (2 years @ 2.5m)

5 – Jacob Middleton (1 year @ 750k)

6 – Dmitry Kulikov (2 years @ 950k)

7 – Anton Stralman (1 year @ 1m)

8 – Michael del Zotto (UFA)

Farm:

9 – Jacob Bryson (1 year @ 1.25m)

10 – Casey Fitzgerald (RFA)

11 – Dakota Mermis (UFA)

12 – Gustav Olofsson (1 year @ 850k)

13 – Austin Strand (1 year @ 800k)

14 – Joe Hicketts (RFA)

15 – Cavan Fitzgerald (RFA)

16 – Mitchell Vande Sompel (RFA)

If there’s one position the Stars management team has pointed to for this past season’s struggles, it’s on the blueline. General Manager ODeezy thought that while the team’s depth was commendable, it lacked top end talent behind number one defenseman Jared Spurgeon. He felt the team’s defenders were too one-dimensional, lacking physicality to punish other teams’ top forwards and also not having the offensive ability to push the puck to their own talented forwards.

That led to ODeezy trading longtime Dallas Star forward Alex DeBrincat to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Mackenzie Weegar. Weegar offered the hitting ability and puck skills that the team needed, even if it came at the cost of a high scoring forward. Weegar is signed for two more years at a fair $5.5m AAV and is expected to munch top 4 minutes for the team this season. He could see time paired with Spurgeon or be split off to spread the wealth around. This will be a big year for him as well as Spurgeon, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The Stars thought they were getting the top pair defender they needed last offseason when they gave up a first round pick to the hated Winnipeg Jets for Mattias Ekholm. But Ekholm never found his footing in Dallas and was ultimately shipped out to San Jose at the trade deadline. In return, they received a third round pick in 2024 plus help on the blueline in Jacob Middleton. In addition to helping the team’s cap situation with his 750k cap hit, he’ll likely receive minutes on the second or third pair next year.

Middleton will compete for those minutes with at least two holdovers from the team this year in Henri Jokiharju and Dmitry Kulikov. Jokiharju, who shared the team’s rookie of the year award, is someone the team hopes can take another step next year and give them a boost. It’s also possible the team brings back Alexander Edler-he’s a UFA and not the same defenseman he was, but could take on bottom pair minutes if he isn’t looking for big money. If not Edler, it’s possible the Stars look at other free agents or trade targets who could help their blueline on a low cost deal.

After that, there are a few guys who will need to come into training camp and compete for playing time. The most notable is Anton Stralman, who began this season getting time with Spurgeon on the top pair. But he did not look like the same player and ended up on the bottom pair by season’s end-the team will see if he has anything left in the tank next year. If not, youngsters Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald will fight to earn their first full time role with the club.