The Hockey News breaks down each player's past and future for the Dallas Stars in preparation for the upcoming NHL season.

In advance of the 2024-25 NHL regular season, The Hockey News’ Dallas Stars team website is introducing a series of player projections for the Dallas Stars. Yesterday we left off with Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen next up is Ilya Lyubushkin.

Ilya Lybushkin became one of the more controversial signings of the offseason, and with Dallas needing right handed defensemen, that ended up being the landing spot for the veteran. Graded as one of the worst defenseman in the league by some statisticians, Lybushkin turned heads with his pricey contract, a three year $3.25 million deal that locks him in with the Stars for even longer than other new faces with a higher upside like Matt Dumba. Will Lybushkin give the Stars what they are looking for out of him, or will he become a liability and a potential bust of a signing?

Career: 5 goals, 47 points in 353 games

2023-24 Statistics: 0 goals, 8 points in 74 games

Salary Cap Hit: $3.25 million through 2026-27

Summary of 2023-24 Season: Lyubushkin started his season with the Anaheim Ducks before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for his second stint there. Despite very underwhelming statistics, and even subpar metrics beyond just points and plus-minus, Lybushkin was a coveted deadline acquisition. This points to the importance of right handed defensemen in the NHL and the overwhelming need for them on playoff-caliber teams. Dallas was at one time linked to the Russian, but ended up only adding Chris Tanev to their defensive roster. In Toronto, he went from a heavy minus player to a plus player, while getting time on the top pairing with Morgan Reilly. He is a player that coaches seem to trust, despite over his career not necessarily backing that trust up with results of any substance. He couldn't help get Toronto back over the hump of reaching the second round, getting ousted in Game 7 against Boston where he was -1 with almost 20 minutes of ice time.

Projections for 2024-25 Season: The Stars were looking to fill the hole left from the departure of Jani Hakanpaa to the Maple Leafs. Lyubushkin is a right-handed shot that plays a physical game and can kill penalties, which is what was expected of Hakanpaa. Last season, the Stars had Esa Lindell with Hakanpaa, so it's possible Lybushkin could be paired with Lindell as their potential shutdown defensive pairing that head coach Pete DeBoer seems to favor. However, the Stars could also give Lyubushkin a try next to Miro Heiskanen, as Lybushkin is used to playing nearly 20 minutes per game, and the move would put Heiskanen back on his natural side of the ice. Because Lyubushkin plays a more defensive game and puck control and movement down the ice is not his strong suit, putting him with a someone who excels at his weaknesses makes the most sense. Though Lyubushkin has not typically been an offensive player and recorded a lot of points, the Stars play a system that requires their defensemen to get involved in the offense. It's possible to see an uptick in his offensive production, and playing next to Heiskanen could even set him up for a career year of offensive production. That being said, a more realistic approach is simply hoping that Lybushkin comes close to his $3.5 million contract value rather than proving to be a bust for that high price. 

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Projecting the Stars: Miro Heiskanen

Projecting the Stars: Esa Lindell

Projecting the Stars: Logan Stankoven

Projecting the Stars: Colin Blackwell

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