The Dallas Stars circle back to Nils Lundkvist and sign him to a one-year deal.
In perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, the Dallas Stars are bringing back Nils Lundkvist on a one year, $1.25 million contract.
After not receiving a qualifying offer, Lundkvist was set to enter the free agency market, and most expected his tenure with the Stars to end. But despite the Stars signing three other defensemen on the first day of free agency, Dallas added Lundkvist for next season.
This will be Lundkvist's third year with the Stars, playing 119 games combined over his time in Dallas. Two seasons ago, Stars General Manager Jim Nill took a gamble on the then 21-year-old, trading a first-round pick to the New York Rangers in one of the deepest drafts in recent history. It seemed like a commitment to developing this young right-hander into a long term option in a spot that was much needed for Dallas to fill.
Instead, Lundkvist has been the focus of polarizing opinions throughout the Stars organization and fan base regarding the handling of his playing time and usage. He has often fallen under the scrutiny of coaches for growing pains and mistakes made on the ice, while more veteran players have gotten a pass for similar errors. Last season, Dallas made the decision to phase him almost completely out of the defensive rotation as the regular season neared an end and the team had traded for Chris Tanev. Instead, the other five defensemen rotated with each other and Lundkvist was left playing around five minutes a game, which turned into even less as the playoffs went on. Eventually, he was replaced in the lineup by Alexander Petrovic, who played through the entire Edmonton series.
The now 23-year-old is smaller in size but has the offensive tools that other Dallas defensemen outside of Heiskanen and Harley lack. Over the last season, Lundkvist has made great strides in his defensive game, but his defensive issues are also what was cited as to why he was on such a short leash with the coaching staff. But when it came down to it, Lundkvist was simply not trusted in the playoffs when it mattered the most.
The Stars obviously did not want to part ways with Lundkvist yet, so hopefully for all involved, that means that there is still some trust and belief that he can continue to grow into a top-6 option on the blue line for a team that might have some short-term options, but still no long-term answer on the right side of their defense. With the addition of Matt Dumba and Ilya Lybushkin as two right-handed players, Lundkvist will have to prove his worth and earn his ice time even more than before, but clearly Dallas saw enough in the youngster to give him one more year in victory green.
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