Every NHL franchise dreams of selecting just one player in a single draft who can develop into a cornerstone defenseman, forward, or goaltender. The Dallas Stars achieved this feat threefold in their 2017 draft class.
Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, and Jake Oettinger have each matured into foundational pieces for the team, playing a significant role in establishing the Stars as a consistent Stanley Cup contender.
This success, largely built through their draft-and-develop pipeline, explains why Stars general manager Jim Nill and his front office have traditionally been hesitant to part with draft picks.
This backdrop is precisely what made Nill`s decision at the recent trade deadline so remarkable: the Stars acquired Mikko Rantanen, sending two first-round picks, three second-round picks, and highly-regarded prospect Logan Stankoven to the Colorado Avalanche.
While the trade undeniably bolstered the Stars with another elite forward, it also marked the team`s entry into a new strategic phase—departing from the successful blueprint that first elevated them into championship contention.
“It`s a combination of two factors: the current state of our team and the unique opportunity presented by Mikko Rantanen,” Nill explained. “Often, trades involve older players with only a couple of years remaining in their careers. Mikko is at the peak of his abilities. He`s recognized as one of the league`s top power forwards. Given where we typically draft, acquiring a player of his caliber is exceptionally rare. He became available due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Following the trade, the Stars secured Rantanen long-term with an eight-year contract extension carrying an annual value of $12 million. This substantial commitment highlights the Stars` conviction that Rantanen can be the key player to help them finally capture the Stanley Cup, a championship they haven`t won since 1999.
But how did the pieces fall into place for Dallas to acquire Rantanen? What motivated the shift away from their foundational draft-and-develop strategy? And looking past the current playoff run, what are the short-term and long-term implications of Rantanen`s presence on the roster?
“Certainly, [the Rantanen trade] sends a strong message that management has confidence in our group and the chance we have to achieve something significant,” commented Stars defenseman Esa Lindell. “It signifies a genuine opportunity to win, and that naturally brings higher expectations.”
RANTANEN HAD SPENT HIS ENTIRE CAREER playing for the division rival Colorado Avalanche until this season. This afforded Nill and the Stars` management a firsthand view of his ascent to stardom. They considered him one of the league`s premier players but never believed acquiring him was feasible for Dallas.
“When you`re assessing your team and looking for potential changes, Rantanen wasn`t even on your radar,” Nill stated. “It honestly wasn`t a realistic option for us.”
However, the situation evolved, though the Stars remained initially cautious.
When Rantanen was first traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on January 24th, the Stars` front office still didn`t view him as potentially available to them, operating under the assumption that Carolina, also a contender, would retain him. Rantanen registered six points in 13 games for the Hurricanes. Yet, as the weeks passed without him signing a contract extension in Carolina, speculation intensified that the Hurricanes might trade him again to avoid losing him as an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
“Approximately two weeks before the trade deadline, Carolina began making calls to gauge market interest,” Nill explained. “We were among the teams they contacted. Then, about a week to ten days before the deadline, we decided to seriously investigate the possibility, though we still weren`t certain that was the direction we would ultimately take.”
Pragmatism remains a guiding principle for Nill.
Even before they could formulate a trade proposal, numerous factors needed to align in the Stars` favor. For example, acquiring Rantanen the previous season would have been financially impossible given their salary cap constraints at the time.
This season, injuries to key players like Tyler Seguin and Miro Heiskanen provided significant cap relief, creating necessary flexibility. This room allowed the Stars to take on the full salary cap hits of Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund in a separate trade with the San Jose Sharks on February 1st.
Nevertheless, the Stars still required further cap space to integrate Rantanen`s significant salary. This is where his initial trade became crucial: Rantanen, who earns $9.25 million annually, had 50% of his salary retained by the Chicago Blackhawks in the initial three-team transaction. This meant his prorated cap hit for the remainder of the season with Dallas was a more manageable $4.625 million.
“Numerous factors aligned where we found ourselves saying, `Just a year ago, we couldn`t have considered this because of his salary and the absence of injury cap flexibility,`” Nill commented. “But with this altered scenario, a viable opportunity emerged, and that`s when we pursued it more aggressively.”
The Stars had developed a successful team dynamic, centered around a young core largely under the age of 26. They had established a consistent pattern of introducing promising prospects from their system who transitioned from developing talents to impactful NHL contributors. This validated their “farm-to-table” approach, which also helped ensure a degree of salary cap predictability.
So, what persuaded Nill and the Stars that now was the opportune moment to alter this successful strategy? Especially considering that homegrown talents like Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston are transitioning from cost-effective entry-level contracts to earning significant raises on their second deals?
“You`re not solely focused on the immediate season,” Nill explained. “When you make a substantial commitment to a player through a trade involving valuable assets, you typically plan to sign them long-term. That`s when we had to sit down and carefully evaluate our team`s future financial landscape. Several key players are earning the significant pay increases they deserve, and we had to determine, `How can we manage all this under the cap?`”
CHAMPIONSHIP WINDOWS ARE TRANSITORY, and change within a roster is inevitable.
Jason Robertson, despite being only 25 years old, serves as an example of the roster changes the Stars have experienced since their run of three Western Conference Final appearances in five seasons began in 2020.
In the 2019-20 season, Robertson played only three regular-season games and was a taxi-squad member during the playoff bubble, never appearing in a game. Technically, he is one of only seven players currently on the roster who played at least one game for the Stars that season. This group also includes Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Thomas Harley. Jake Oettinger was also part of the taxi squad but did not play in the 2020 playoffs.
“The following year, we didn`t make the playoffs, and there was a clear shift towards incorporating new players,” Robertson recalled. “It was my second year, and our primary goal was just to qualify for the playoffs, perhaps as a wild card. In my third year, head coach Pete DeBoer arrived with a new coaching staff and many new players as well. I`m not sure what our specific expectations were then, but the main focus was simply making the playoffs.”
Nill attributes the successful transition from the earlier core, led by Benn and Seguin, to the current group to the strength of their farm system, which consistently provided key players on team-friendly contracts.
As these prospects have matured into veteran contributors, the Stars now face the challenge of managing the salary cap strategically and making difficult roster decisions moving forward.
While such cap management is a common hurdle for perennial contenders, Rantanen`s arrival significantly accelerated this challenge for Dallas. Before the trade, the Stars were projected to have over $17 million in cap space heading into the upcoming offseason. This ample room would have been sufficient to re-sign pending unrestricted free agents like Benn and Matt Duchene while still allowing flexibility to add players in free agency.
This projection already factored in Jake Oettinger`s cap hit increasing from $4 million this season to $8.25 million annually for the next three years, and Wyatt Johnston, who was a pending restricted free agent, signing a three-year deal with an annual cap hit of $8.4 million.
However, the addition of Rantanen`s contract means the Stars` projected cap space is now reduced to $5.32 million, according to PuckPedia. This tighter cap situation raises the possibility that key veterans like Benn, Duchene, and Evgenii Dadonov (along with Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund, whose acquired contracts expire) might not return, potentially limiting the Stars` options in free agency.
Conversely, another perspective on the Stars` short- and long-term outlook is that their willingness to execute such a major trade underscores management`s strong belief in the current roster`s championship potential. Jamie Benn noted this, suggesting the trade signals that the front office was prepared to alter its core philosophical approach to acquire Rantanen and secure his presence in Dallas for nearly a decade.
“I believe it demonstrates confidence in our current group and what we`ve been able to accomplish this year,” Benn stated. “Our success in drafting over the past few years has truly positioned us to contend. When management makes a significant move like acquiring a player of Mikko`s caliber, it instills a great deal of confidence in the entire team. Now, it`s our responsibility as players to capitalize on this opportunity.”
This brings up the question of Benn`s own future, as he is in the final year of his contract, especially given the Stars` looming cap constraints for next season.
“I honestly cannot envision myself playing for any team other than this one,” said Benn, who has spent his entire 16-year NHL career with the Stars. “Hopefully, everything will be resolved this summer. Regardless, I am incredibly enthusiastic about the future trajectory of the Stars organization.”
