FREE AGENT FRIDAY: Realistic Options, Bottom Six Toughness and Dream Scenarios for the Dallas Stars!

FREE AGENT FRIDAY: Realistic Options, Bottom Six Toughness and Dream Scenarios for the Dallas Stars!

free Agent Friday returns let’s take a look at some unrestricted free agent forwards some realistic options for the Dallas Stars some bottom six grinder types and why not let’s dream a bit as well you’re Locked On Stars your daily podcast on the Dallas Stars part of the Locked On Network your team every day howdy Stars fans i’m Joey Ericen former producer 105 through the fan please be sure to subscribe we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube and as always thank you so much for making us a part of your day and making us your first listen welcome to the first edition of Free Agent Friday this off season and today we’re going to take a look at some of the top unrestricted free agent Fords i have a list of players I want to throw out there that the Dallas Stars should look at this off season some are realistic we’re going to dream a bit a bit later on as well also adding some size and toughness maybe some bottom six grinder types the Stars could get for cheap heading into next season so welcome to a Friday edition of Locked On Stars part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every single day today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel right now new FanDuel customers get $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins so we did this a few times last off season and it’s always fun to take a look at the potential candidates of course the Stars don’t have a ton of cap space but who knows with the potential to make some big time trades they can uh acquire some more cap space and may go uh after some of the players I I mentioned so I I have a a bit of a a few groups um I want to throw your way we we’ll start with some realistic options i I got some guys that can maybe light up the stat sheet also just some guys that are strong defensively just a little bit of everything that I think the stars should take a look at and and some players are some names I brought up even last season but I’ll start here and I think this is really really intriguing just looking at this player andre Kusenko who uh played with the Los Angeles Kings this past season and the Philadelphia Flyers and the Calgary Flames so he moved around quite a bit but uh was rather productive with LA 17 points in 22 games but come playoff time he had three goals and six points in the six games uh against the Edmonton Oilers and he’s 5’11 194 pounds he’s a right shot left winger and I think Kusmano would be a really really interesting player his offensive rating via hockey stats cards is plus 0.4 his defensive rating is plus 0.8 so you get a pretty solid two-way player and he’s got some knack in around the net and could potentially be a guy that you slide in on your top six i think he plays a bit bigger than maybe he looks but physicality is is not really his game he’s got a really strong shot his puck moving ability is all right he’s got some uh decent uh consistency he’s been strong on the power play in years past he’s sort of a a robo archetype in in in in some ways um not as elite of a of a goal scorer don’t get me wrong when you look at his numbers but he had 15 points with the Flames in 37 games five points in seven games with the Flyers uh when he just had a cup of coffee there so he he’s produced really everywhere he’s gone but his his best year is still back uh in his rookie season he had 74 points in 81 games uh with the Canucks and he hasn’t quite lived up to that but he’s just missed a lot of time um he he hasn’t really played a full 82 games in his career he hasn’t the the closest he was was 81 games in his rookie season i guess he played uh a total of uh near 60 games in 2024 25 when you look at a couple of the places he went between Philadelphia um Los Angeles and and Calgary but um had some success in Calgary um and I think could be a cheap uh option for for Dallas for a few years his uh AFP projection which is his contract projection um is 2 * 4.5 million and of course we all know Stars only have 5 million right now but you have to take some of this with a grain of salt things could change and also um if the Stars want to to get a player I think they can make it happen as well so Kusenko is the uh the first player I want to throw out there on this edition of Free Agent Friday um we’ll move on to a name I actually touched on in the middle of this season and this is P Sudtor he was a name that popped up around the trade deadline somebody tweeted out that the Stars were in talks of potentially acquiring him of course we all know that didn’t play out but Sudter was a guy when I really took a deeper look at I was more and more intrigued uh by it because he’s a strong two-way player his defensive rating is strong he does have some offensive pop had a career-high 46 points and 25 goals in 80 games with the uh the Conucks uh this past season and we all know the Conucks had uh a lot of issues there um he’s a a Swiss native um but I think could be a a a solid bottom six center uh maybe even just a a guy you can kind of move around your lineup he’s a strong penalty killer as well um he played a lot of played a lot of minutes on the PK with Vancouver and we all know the stars love their their Fords that uh that can go to work on the PK um and he I think could be a really really strong fit he’s on the smaller side 5’11 174 lbs so wouldn’t add a ton of size we’re going to get to some of those guys in the next segment if you’re looking for some tough gritty uh forwards that maybe not uh haul an offensive punch but could um could start to to lay the body and bring that toughness that I know a lot of Stars fans are looking for as well but Sudter I think a really really strong really strong candidate um I think um he could be a nice fit in Dallas too he has an AFP projection uh four years times 3.9 million so um that’s uh that’s his contract projection for next season but uh Sudter is a a name that uh popped up um halfway through the year and I was like “Oh um yeah I when I looked at him he was a a pretty strong player.” and um it made sense on maybe why Dallas was looking into him who knows if the report was remotely true but um still a name to look at in free agency coming off a really strong year in uh was was pretty cheap the last couple seasons so he he may be due for a pay raise which may not always fit in to what the stars are doing now to uh finish out this first segment um I’ll go to somebody that can pack more of an offensive punch or has with more regularity over his career and this is Jack Russellic i I brought him up last off season as well um he’s a center iceman can fill on your bottom six he played with Carolina we all know the style they kind of play with and he actually produced pretty well 22 goals which tied a career-high 17 assists for 39 points in 81 games so he fit rather well into um into that system uh his career high in points is 45 back in 21-22 with the uh the Columbus Blue Jackets his offensive ratings really good uh not so much defensively so a guy that uh can can help you out on the offensive side of things but not a strong candidate to be great in his own zone but um that’s a name to look at as a potential guy to to add on your bottom six as well and his contract projection three years times 4 million if I’m Dallas I wouldn’t be very interested in in Roselovic at uh at that number necessarily um just because it seems uh a bit steep for the type of play you’re getting and for what role he would play in Dallas i I don’t think he would be the best fit i I would say out of the two I just named he would probably be the uh the least likely to fit in Dallas um just because stars are pretty loaded down the middle and if they potentially resign Matt Duchain and Jamie Ben it’s just maybe not a whole lot of wiggle room or uh a role for him to play and you’d probably rather uh elect to bring up somebody from Texas and have them play a bit bigger of a role but those were three names of some potentially realistic options i I think the first two are probably more realistic than Roselvic akuso really intriguing player 29 years of age by the way um Sudtor is 29 as well so you could get some control uh over each of these players and um I I think could actually play a strong role in in Dallas depending on how this off season goes kusenco a little more offensive inclined suitor really strong two-way forward a as well and have shown some signs of production kusmea really everywhere he goes um he he finds a a way to be rather productive so those were a few names I was rather intrigued by uh when taking a look by the way you can go to Puckedia and look at the unrestricted free agent list and you can just scroll down let me know some free agents that you’re interested in that maybe I’m not going to touch on today and we can revisit that on another free agent Friday let’s move on to some bottom six grinder types stars want to be tougher to play against right maybe they want to add some physicality that’s what a lot of Stars fans are looking for physical presence well let’s look at some of those options players that maybe not stat the stat sheet or stuff the stat sheet I should say but could be solid options to get Dallas over the hump and start getting some snarl in their bottom six we’ll do that in just a moment today’s episode of Locked on Stars is brought to you by FanDuel the NBA playoffs are in full swing and every night delivers highlight worthy performances major momentum shifts and can’t miss moments i think that more accurately describes the Stanley Cup final but whether it’s a game-winning shot an overtime winner there’s never been a better time to get in on the action fanduel makes it easy to stay in the game before tip off and live with player props performance trends and same game parlays fans have more ways than ever to play smart and win big also you get $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins fanduel is a great spot to get started with a little sports batting if you’re bored this summer and it’s not just with the NBA playoffs of course it’s hockey it’s baseball it’s maybe even the US Open this weekend in golf you want to sprinkle a little money make some cash new to FanDuel it’s a perfect time to sign up head to FanDuel.com and place your first $5 bet if it wins you’ll get $200 in bonus bets make every moment more with FanDuel official sports betting partner of the NBA physicality strength toughness all characteristics that Stars fans are looking for in certain players maybe this off season or just looking for Dallas to add at some point in the next year or so to get them over the hump we hear that almost after every time the Stars get eliminated in the Western Conference File they’re not tough enough they they don’t have uh players on the bottom six that are strong or maybe not strong but play with a physical presence so um let’s take a look at at some of those potential physical presence is that the the stars could go after and this is a name I actually talked about the other day um with a mock trade of Mason Marchment with the LA Kings and that is Tanner Jano or maybe it was Jason Robertson can’t remember off the top of my head but either way the point is true tanner you know 6’2 220 lbs uh this is a a player plays with a strong heavy physical presence hard on the for check and could add some toughness on the bottom six for Dallas again not going to light up the stat sheet seven goals 13 points in 67 games with the uh the LA Kings uh this past season he does have some playoff experience between Nashville and Tampa Bay um doesn’t uh blow blow you out of the water with those numbers but um he he’s strong defensively not going to give you a ton um up the ice but um this is a player I think the stars should really really go after um his uh projected uh cap hit or his projected uh contract uh is let me find it it may not be on here i don’t I don’t believe it um is uh unfortunately but his last cap hit this past season 2.2 uh 2.665 million and um he is 28 years uh of age he’s a left shot winger um and I think could uh actually play a big role um in Dallas if they were to acquire i think this is sort of the guy uh Dallas would love uh Stars fans would love just um a guy that plays with uh a lot of effort and um and just plays a heavy heavy style of game and can wear down backends right wear down blue lines come playoff time and that’s what uh Dallas is is really looking at right um for for next season can to get over the hump right they just they need some different they need something different right different archetypes i’ve touched on this well Jano’s a little bit different he’s a bigger presence stars can get a bit bigger um and I think Jano would uh fit that role rather well in Dallas now let’s move on to someone that’s having a lot of success still in the Stanley Cup playoffs and that’s Trent Frederick he uh is having a a strong postseason with Edmonton and uh it it’s uh reported that they would like to hold on to him but a guy that plays with some physicality a lot of it um but he’s a smart player a as well he’s very consistent he was traded uh from Boston at the deadline had 15 points in 57 games again not a player that’s going to light up the stat sheet but he does have the upside um to score um and 23-24 had 40 points in 18 goals in 82 games with Boston so he does have that ability over a full season to put up really really strong numbers and I think that’s exactly what you’re looking for in a bottom 64 also he’s big too um he’s 6’3 220 lbs um uh his his advanced numbers aren’t darling uh by any stretch of the imagination uh funny enough you look at the unrestricted free agent list um he’s actually second in points per 60 um in 2425 um but a lot of his other numbers aren’t aren’t darling but these are type of players that that help you win games um in the springtime and um I I think would be a really strong improvement on the uh the bottom six for Dallas so uh Trent Frederick his uh AFP projection is 4* 4.1 million so he’s a bit higher than some of the others um I uh uh I’ve I’ve touched on already um and who knows that that could change these were done about a month ago like he’s had a pretty strong playoff run um his his number could possibly potentially go up he’s got four points in 19 playoff games um and he’s actually shown some success in the in the playoffs um scoring wise he had five points in 13 uh games with with Boston but again you’re not asking him to carry the load offensively really anything you get from him is u is is a cherry on top so uh Trent Frederick um the second uh choice for someone that um bottom six sort of grinder option um in uh in free agency um we’ll end it with this player uh Brandon Tanv why not another Tanv uh brother um didn’t love his game um against the the Stars in uh in the Stanley Cup playoffs but we know he’s a bit wonky he’s a bit crazy plays a strong game um his capit was 3.5 million this past season um I would suspect that would uh come down i think they have his projection in here as well i can uh throw that out at you and move on i swore I saw his name in here i did 2 so two times 2.4 million so um they’re projecting that his capit would come down and that’s to be expected at 33 um so be 34 next season so he’s on the older type than really any of the other uh other players I brought up but is a guy again that you know is just known for playing hard um he throws his his weight around um I don’t know if he’d h play I don’t know if he’d be a great fit in in Dallas and also um you have to take into account who the next head coach of of the stars is going to be uh they could like certain types of players uh they could like certain type of systems that lend better to certain uh styles uh of play and maybe some of these options fit better than another just right now we we don’t really know what that is in a lot of ways could it be Neil Graham could it be Ela Nazerine could it be an outside hire right there’s uh a lot of um outside factors that the stars have to still figure out his offensive rating minus 5.6 his defensive rating minus uh 0.4 so nothing great um he his offense has slowly declined since 22 23 um so you’re just looking at a fourth line checking role um and and again um when you look at some players like him necessarily you kind of get to the point where you’re like well um why not bring up a Justin Ritzovian or or Matte Blue Mel who do have a little more offensive punch uh probably uh uh would uh lend better to the modern style of play and they’re they’re they’re cheaper too um so some of these options may not really make sense um at all but um if you’re just looking for toughness um I think those are some options uh for Dallas and there’s a ton of unrestricted free agents that um we can get to in other episodes and other editions of Free Agent Friday down the line so let me know if there’s anybody you would like me to look at as well i know I’ve seen Patrick Kane thrown out there a bit uh Jonathan Ta as well who’s not really an unrestricted free agent but possibly looking to come back i I’m not going to be in on Taz he’s 37 hasn’t played uh not not really for me um Kane I discussed I believe a few years ago uh not a a huge fan of of bringing Kane in i I know it was a pretty popular little saga there for a bit that he was interested in coming to Dallas i think it was a couple of seasons ago now i didn’t really see the fit didn’t really see the role for for Kane um look for maybe a really really cheap option um they’re projecting him at 3.4 for a year at 36 I’m not signing up for for Kane at that i’ I’d rather have Duchine for a couple years at 3 million than than Kane um at 3.4 uh for a year so I don’t think either of those players really make uh a lot of sense uh for for Dallas um either if those were a couple of names that uh you were curious about as well okay who cares about cap space why can’t we dream here for a bit what would be a dream scenario if you just take the whole cap system away jim Nil can just give uh whatever amount of money he wants to whoever who’s a dream dream for that you want on the Dallas Stars i’ll share mine in just a moment today’s episode of Locked on Stars is brought to you by Indeed you just realized your business needed to hire somebody yesterday how can you find amazing candidates fast easy just use Indeed when it comes to hiring Indeed is all you need stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites indeed sponsor jobs put your post at the top of the page and help you find the right candidates faster they match the candidate with your job requirements so you can hire right away when the pressure is on every day without finding the right person could be a setback for your business that’s why Indeed sponsored jobs come in handy they make your post make it sure it’s seen and it’s seen by the right candidates as quickly as possible now you can speed up that hiring process with a $75 sponsor job credit just go to indeed.com/shockdon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast terms and conditions apply hiring Indeed is all you need so I always like to end free agent Fridays wi with this type of segment and we can all dream uh about going out and getting that one player who is way out of the price range for the Dallas Stars but this is a capfree zone on this segment of Locked On Star so I thank you for joining us again on this Friday as we kick you off into your weekend um I enjoy doing these just kind of playing fantasy uh GM uh a bit um and I think these are fun let’s just take a look at some players like yeah I I would want him uh on the Dallas Stars and uh I think there’s a lot out there uh I think Mitch Mner uh would top a lot of lists albeit I I’m not just a ginormous fan of Mitch Mner just not a big fan of of his overall game not saying he’s a bad player by any means because he’s obviously an elite scorer um you don’t pick up 102 points um and not be a good player he’s not somebody that I necessarily would love to have um on the stars um but I’ll I’ll start with my first dream scenario i would go with Nicola Eers um I love his game uh of course played with the Jets um didn’t have a ton of postseason success I guess well and maybe not that that’s kind of stupid now that I say that um well at least I’ve heard that but he had five goals seven points in eight playoff games uh w with the Jets uh this past season i don’t think that’s uh nothing to to scoff at um uh but um he he’s um a guy that I think would be a heck heck of an addition in Dallas for a few reasons right um well he skates like the wind he is incredibly fast imagine him playing alongside uh Rope Hints um he can fly uh he can score as well 63 points in 69 games uh this past season has a really really strong produ uh production um and yeah just flies around the rink think he would be like a nice replacement for a player uh like like a Guinea Donovan but at at this point in his career at 29 um I think would just be a phenomenal phenomenal fit alongside Wyatt Johnston i I think uh Eers would be a really really fun player to watch here in D i think he would look great in Victory Green um as well for whatever reason um this one I think has to be on everybody’s list sam Bennett um he’s probably going to get paid like $11 million after what we see um in the last few postseasons but um at at 28 years old it’s incredible 4.425 million Sam Bennett is making yeah 4.425 million let’s just go over some of the production and I’ve talked about him in the regular season not like knock your socks off 51 points this past year 41 41 points the uh previous season 14 goals and 20 points in 20 playoff games this season 14 points in 19 playoff games in a Stanley Cup uh a year ago um need I say more just uh a really really fun player to watch um and he has that toughness uh and and grit that um you just you you love um you love to have in a player so I I think Bennett Eers would be on my top list uh of free agents the the stars mustave um trying to look at one more to to throw your way i’m going to go down the list um I always like just throwing some some pretty funky names out there um let’s see is there another one that I would Oh um Brock Besser uh this is a North Dakota Fighting Hawk um I think he’s been on the trade block the last three years or at least he’s always being brought up in uh in trade scenarios um he scored 40 goals a couple years ago had 50 points in 75 games this past year vancouver was just wonky all season long um but I think this is a really strong player uh he’s a Minnesota guy um 28 years uh of age he he’s a winger um I really like Brock Besser i I think he would uh actually fit in rather nice in uh in Dallas a as well i think um if the cap wasn’t a thing I would throw Brock Ber in there as a dreamlike scenario for the Dallas Stars um see if there’s anybody else of course you you got Marner Bus or anybody else you have to have if you’re if you’re down a lot of older players too um in in this class you know um just to kind of go over a list why not a Riley Smith reunion in Dallas i think that would be interesting for a guy that could be cheap um 34 um I don’t know i I think that could be intriguing uh not a not a guy I think that would you know get everybody out of their seats but Rally Smith reunion uh may be interesting uh Joel Mia is a guy that we talked about um at the uh the deadline of just a a guy that’s you know on your bottom six plays a heavy game um that could be uh an interesting um interesting option uh why not Mason Appleton as well and this could be sort of realistic too i I don’t think this is even like a dream scenario mason Appleton um I think he lights up the stars every time um he plays us so uh why not get him here in Dallas um I think he could be an interesting acquisition um for an actually a a realistic uh a realistic price um he’s 29 years of age 6’2 294 pounds could be sort of a Mason Marchment replacement uh yeah I think I think he could be an interesting uh player as well i wouldn’t really categorize him as a dreamlike scenario but maybe that’s a more realistic option and somebody we’ll have to take a closer look at um in uh a couple of more weeks and some more editions of free agent Friday but um there you go those are some dream players some bottom six grinders and some just options I think the Stars should really take a look at kusco’s got my eye for whatever reason i don’t know maybe it’s just the name that rolls off the tongue nicely i think Kuseno could be a rather interesting character maybe Stars could find a way to acquire him via a trade um or a package for Robo Marchment what whatever they’re they’re thinking about here since Stars need some cap space and uh they need to to retool a bit so there you go um that’s uh our first edition of Free Agent Friday this off season let me know some uh free agents you have your eyes on that you would like the stars to go after let me know in the comments below and I can uh possibly touch on them in uh the the weeks to come but that’s going to do it for um today’s episode of Locked On Stars part of Locked on Podcast Network and that’ll do it for uh another week here we’ll kick you off into your weekend hope you have a phenomenal phenomenal few days it’ll be busy for me going to a uh a wedding i think that should be fun and um in a week got a vacation coming up so that will be uh great as well so um good times good times here in the month of June stanley Cup final pretty electric so far to say the least one of the best um in a while through four games tied at two going back to Edmonton so um a lot of fun fun hockey uh the rest of the way to finish out this season but have a great rest of your day Stars fans and we’ll see you on Monday

On today’s episode of Locked On Stars it’s Free Agent Friday! Which means Joey Erickson takes a look at some UFA Forwards the Dallas Stars should take a look at this offseason. In the first segment, Joey looks at some realistic options for the Stars with the limited cap space they have. Andrei Kuzmenko, Pius Suter and Jack Rosolovic headline the opening segment. Following that we switch too bottom six grinder types like Tanner Jeannot, Trent Frederic and Brandon Tanev who could be intriguing. The final segment is a cap free zone, so which player would you love for the Stars to acquire if money was not an option!

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