Stars free agent targets: The perfect fit, one of the top defensemen on the market and more - The Dallas Morning News

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The Stars have some holes to fill.

With the loss of Jamie Oleksiak to the Kraken, and the ever-present need for a top-nine forward to help build depth in the Dallas lineup, Dallas needs some additions when free agency opens on Wednesday morning.

But they’ll have to navigate around the $81.5 million salary cap neatly.

After re-signing Miro Heiskanen to a massive eight-year extension with a $8.45 million cap hit, the Stars have limited money to work with. The projected roster leaves $7.334 million in cap space, and that it before the Stars re-sign Joel Kiviranta and fill a forward spot with another player with a sub-$1 million cap hit (players on entry-level contracts or organizational depth pieces like Rhett Gardner, Tanner Kero or Joel L’Esperance).

So the dreams of free agent hauls of the past (remember 2017 and 2019?) are gone. If things line up correctly, the Stars can still make a splash, but a splurge in one area would mean sacrifice in another.

Here are some players the Stars could pursue if they choose to go that route, and spend big on either a forward or a defenseman, since they cannot do both without moving money off the roster.

Blake Coleman

The Plano native would be a perfect fit in Dallas in the top nine, but may cost too much after playing a key role in winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay. With the Lightning, Coleman brought physicality to the team’s checking line, but has also been a consistent scorer in his career, eclipsing 30 points in each of the past three seasons, including both shortened years.

Coleman will likely fetch at least $4 million on the open market, given a similar contract Los Angeles signed Alex Iafallo to, and the fact that former linemate Barclay Goodrow received a six-year contract with a $3.6 million cap hit.

Coleman, a winger, is versatile to move up and down the lineup and a return to Texas would be nice, but he may cost too much.

Alex Wennberg

Wennberg is a two-way center that spent last season in Florida after being bought out by Columbus. He scored a career-high 17 goals with the Panthers (on a 20.7% shooting percentage), though he has typically been more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer.

Wennberg kills penalties and plays on the power play, and Florida coach Joel Quenneville trusted him with more 5-on-5 ice time than any forward on the Panthers roster, including Aleksander Barkov. Wennberg carries the puck on entries rather than dumping it in, but also does not forecheck as well as some of the current Stars forwards.

Wennberg played last season on a contract worth $2.25 million and will receive $891,667 from the Blue Jackets as part of his buyout.

Mike Hoffman

The Blues winger has perhaps the best shot in the league, but does not bring much else to the table. He is a left-hand shot who lines up in the right circle on the power play to rip one-timers (think Denis Gurianov), and can give the Stars the finishing touch they have sorely lacked in recent years.

He does not drive play at 5-on-5 and can be a liability in the defensive zone, especially against active defensemen like Cale Makar. Hoffman was a victim of the flat cap last year, signing a one-year contract with St. Louis that paid him $4 million.

Ryan Suter

The veteran defenseman is one of the top defensemen on the market after he was bought out by Minnesota earlier this month. The 36-year-old is left-handed and is one of the most reliable players in the NHL, having missed just four games in the past six regular seasons.

The Stars have been linked to Suter, who reportedly wants a multi-year contract in free agency. He could be a natural fit with Miro Heiskanen now that Oleksiak is in Seattle.

Mike Reilly

Reilly is an offensive defenseman that just posted a career-high 27 points last season in a year split between Ottawa and Boston. The 28-year-old made $1.5 million last season and is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. Perhaps the Stars don’t need another offensive defenseman with Heiskanen and John Klingberg already on the roster, and Thomas Harley in the pipeline, though.

Cody Ceci

Ceci had a resurgence last year in Pittsburgh, when he had 17 points for the Penguins and was second on the team with a plus-18 rating. Ceci hits the market after playing for $1.25 million last year, and was fortunate that the Penguins shot 10.49% when he was on the ice, leading to his stellar plus/minus.

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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