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Stars keep Stanley Cup window open despite cap squeeze: Off-Season Recap

This is Off-Season Recap, a summer series where we’ll look at what the other 15 teams in the Western Conference have done ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. So far in the series, we’ve looked at every Pacific Division team, and we’re now on to the Central Division. In this article, we’ll take a look at the Dallas Stars.

The Dallas Stars’ 2024-25 Season in a Nutshell​


One thing you can count on is the Dallas Stars going deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 2020, they reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. After missing the postseason in the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season and then losing a first-round Game 7 to the Calgary Flames in 2021-22, the Stars have reached the Western Conference Final in three straight postseasons (2023-2025). In the 2023 postseason, the Stars fell in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights, the eventual Cup Champions. They were defeated in six again in 2024, as the Edmonton Oilers earned their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 2006.

It was another strong regular season in 2024-25: Dallas finished 50-26-6 (106 points), second in the Central Division and third in the West. They also made the biggest pre-deadline splash by acquiring Mikko Rantanen, who arrived with a signed eight-year extension.

First up in the postseason was a dogfight with the Colorado Avalanche. Tied 3-3 heading to Game 7, the Stars rose from the dead like the Undertaker. Mikko Rantanen scored a third-period hat trick against his former team. He also assisted on Wyatt Johnston’s tiebreaking power-play winner, with former Avalanche forward Matt Duchene adding an assist, too. Next came the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets. Dallas knocked them out in six on an early overtime strike from Thomas Harley in Game 6.

They were then defeated by the Oilers in the Western Conference Final for the second straight year. It wasn’t exactly shocking. After dropping the first two games to the Kings in Round 1, Edmonton went 12-2 over the next 14 to emerge as the West’s best.

Will the Stars continue the trend in 2025-26 with another deep playoff run? Let’s look at who can help them get over the hump.

Who can help the Stars get past the Western Conference Final?​


Starting with the kids: Wyatt Johnston posted 33 goals and 71 points, finishing third on the team in scoring. Harley broke out on the back end with 16 goals and 50 points in 78 games. Rookie Mavrik Bourque chipped in 11 goals and 25 points. Lian Bichsel also gave them hard, useful minutes in the spring.

The Stars also have a handful of very good players in their prime. Jason Robertson led the team with 35 goals and 80 points in 82 games. Miro Heiskanen, one of the league’s best defensemen, logged 25 points in 50 injury-shortened games. Roope Hintz added 28 goals and 67 points in 76.

That doesn’t even mention Rantanen, who posted 18 points in 20 regular-season games after the trade and then nine goals and 22 points in 18 postseason games. Jake Oettinger remains squarely in his prime, finishing 36-18-4 with a .909 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average.

Esa Lindell, a strong defensive defenceman, is 31. Tyler Seguin was efficient when healthy, scoring nine goals and 21 points in 20 regular-season games, plus four goals and eight points in 18 playoff games. Matt Duchene put up 30 goals and 82 points in 82 games, and Jamie Benn added 16 goals and 49 points in 80.

Dallas Stars Pete DeBoer

May 9, 2025; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer talks to media after their loss to the Winnipeg Jets in game two of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images

Off-Season Transactions​


Before free agency, they re-signed Benn to a one-year deal with a $1 million base and performance bonuses. They also extended Bourque for one year at $950,000. On July 1, they re-upped Colin Blackwell (two years, $775,000 AAV) and brought back Radek Faksa (three years, $2 million AAV); Faksa had spent 2024-25 with St. Louis after being moved the previous summer.

On the trade front, Dallas dealt 22-goal, 47-point winger Mason Marchment to Seattle for futures, and later moved Matt Dumba (with a 2028 second) to Pittsburgh for Vladislav Kolyachonok to clear cap space. That trade helped to facilitate a new contract for Matt Duchene worth $4.5 million annually over four seasons.

Several veterans departed in free agency: deadline pickup Mikael Granlund signed a three-year deal with the Ducks; Cody Ceci joined the Kings; and Evgenii Dadonov signed a one-year deal with the Devils after a 20-goal, 40-point season. That’s a meaningful slice of last year’s scoring out the door.

The biggest change came behind the bench: Pete DeBoer was dismissed and Glen Gulutzan was hired as head coach.

What’s next for the Stars?​


With a full season of Rantanen, as well as a great blend of young players, players in their prime, and productive veterans, the Stars are still going to be one of the strongest teams in 2025-26.

It’s not perfect for the Stars, though, as they have just $405,084 in cap space, or just over $1.85 million in cap space at the deadline. On top of that, their defence core outside of Harley, Heiskanen, Lindell, and maybe Bichsel, is rather weak. It seems that they focus on defence at every trade deadline, and haven’t found a long-term solution in Chris Tanev or Ceci.

Hopefully, Dallas’ season ends with another Western Conference Final defeat at the hands of the Oilers.

Off-Season Recap…​


Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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Source: https://oilersnation.com/news/dallas-stars-off-season-recap-2025
 
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