Dallas Stars Contract Value: A Deep Dive into NHL Efficiency Rankings

Dallas Stars Contract Value: A Deep Dive into NHL Efficiency Rankings

On today’s episode of Locked On Stars, in a landscape where contracts mean everything, where do the stars rank in contract efficiency? Is there an opportunity for Alex Petravvic to be more than just a safety valve? And Anton Udobin calls it a career. Your Locked On Stars, your daily podcast on the Dallas Stars, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. Howdy Stars fans. I’m Joey Ericson, former producer 105 through the fan. Please be sure to subscribe. We are freaking 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 back to another episode of Locked On Stars, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time map, create an account, redeem code Loc. That’s locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Happy Friday, Stars fans. I hope everybody had a fantastic week. Hockey is right around the corner. Training camp will be here before you know it. And as you’re watching or listening to today’s episode, I’ve officially moved back to Corpus Christi. The ice race season is about to get underway as well. So, I’m all moved in and next week I’ll be in a different location. And yes, hockey season is about to be in full swing. We’re still doing three episodes a week here on Locked on Stars for the month of August. So, just a heads up there as well. But a fun episode for you today. NHL efficient spending rankings. An article from The Athletic. The Stars are within the top 10. That’s my hint. Let me know where you think they fall in the comments below. Also, is there a chance for Alexander Petravic to just be more than a seventh defenseman, more than a safety valve? I’ll give you my thought process a bit later on. And Anton Hudobin calls it quits. want to show him some love in his 14 NHL seasons and where he’ll sort of land in um Dallas Stars lore the rest of uh our lifetimes because um he’s a rather interesting character of course. But let’s hop into this article from the athletic and we all know contracts mean everything nowadays. term AAV. It’s all very, very important. And it says here the the goal of the exercise is figuring out every player’s market value over the remainder of his contract, comparing it to what he’s actually being paid, and then figuring out the likelihood of the contract being a good deal. Then it’s put all together for each team to see which ones are spending money efficiently. Uh, by the way, it says this year with a lot of long-term legacy contracts still on the books, that shifted to twothirds of the league uh getting a good deal on average. For the purpose of this exercise, any team above uh above average gets a B-grade or higher, but grade on a curve and just getting equal value isn’t good enough anymore. And getting negative value can put a team very way behind. So, here we go. I’m going to hop into the uh the top 10 here and then I’ll I’ll show you more of a detailed explanation of the stars in each players contract value. So Tampa Bay is ranked number one. Last season they were 13th. So they have a lot of good contracts with Brandon Hegel, Nikita Cucharov, and Anthony Cerelli. They give Hegel an A+. Cutrov an A. By the way, this is a bit shocking to me. Nikita Cucharov, 9.5 million over two years. And I know that’s just a bit of a bridge deal, but uh that is a bargain for Nikita Cooerov and someone that I believe’s been a heart trophy finalist the last two years, wasn’t he? A year ago, maybe not this this past season. I think he dealt with some injuries, but we know he’s a guy that can put up over a 100 points in his sleep and is so so deadly. Um, they have a $1.9 million cap space. It says here, “There’s a new number one spot this season.” He says, “Perhaps I’m too high on them now, or was too low on them a year ago, but it’s worth looking at what’s changed since uh the uh since uh the Lightning now have the top spot.” First and foremost, the electric pairing of Brandon Hegel and Anthony Cerelli. um as a president of the Hegel fan club, even I would never have expected the leap he took last season into stardom, scoring 90 points. And uh that obviously was able to inflate uh their uh ranking. Here it says Lightning have exactly zero problem contracts on the books, but very uh several solid deals. And yeah, they don’t even have an uh a grade of a contract uh below a C+. Um, they have a couple C++ contracts like Yanni Gourd, uh, Ryan Mcdana or excuse me, uh, Eric Churnack, um, Jonas Johansson, and Andre Vaselki. But even for Vaselki, uh, look, um, if if you’re asking a goalender to win one game, I I think he’s probably still up there with a Sergey Barski, maybe an Igor Shurkin, maybe not at $9.5 million. He’s he’s uh maybe not valued at that. His positive value here, it has him at a percentage of 42.4%. I’m not going to go as indepth on some others. We’re going to get to the stars. Carolina Hurricanes, they come in at number two um just because former Dallas star Logan Stancoin is there. He actually um sits uh with a grade of a B+ on his contract after he just signed an extension this summer at 8 years, $6 million. That’s a positive value of 69.4% which is third best on the Carolina Hurricanes forward group. Number three, Colorado Avalanche. So a team within the division with the Dallas Stars. They come in at third. They were ranked third last season. Number four, the Florida Panthers, which I don’t think should come as much of a surprise. teams that sign contract friendly, team friendly deals and get positive value out of each player. I talked about Nick Schmidt quite a bit over the summer, how he became an integral part to the Stars or excuse me, the Panthers back end and he was getting paid $800,000 for that past season. They were ranked number one um a year ago. They come in at number four. And Seth Jones actually, which is interesting, comes in as one of the the worst deals signed by Florida um with a C value. Marawn and Bennett actually have D contract grade. We we’ll see how that all plays out, but we all know uh when they need them most, they they certainly showed up. Number five, we’re still not to the Dallas Stars. The Ottawa Senators come in at number five this year. And then we get to the Dallas Stars. The Stars come in at number six in NHL contract efficiency. Last season, they were number 10. And there’s a a potential for them next season to jump up within even the top three if they get a couple of deals done. And you may be wondering and already know what those are. Jason Robertson and Thomas Harley. I’m going to bring up for those of you watching on YouTube. It can be a bit tough to to see since it’s small print, but I had to make the picture fit within the box. And it shows each contract grade. It gives you the positive value percentage and total surplus. So, Wyatt Johnston comes in as the number one best contract for the Dallas Stars. His total surplus $17.8 million at a contract at $8.4 million over five years. He gets an A. Mirro Hastenan also gets an A. A $ 15.9 million total surplus with a contract of 8.5 over the next four years. Actually, the best contract for the Stars, they have it at Jakeer. Whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s pretty controversial to say. A+ eight years, 8.3 million, which signed last season at the uh early part of the 2024 25 campaign. A $25.8 $8 million total surplus for Jake Ottinger. So, they uh believe here that Otter is uh is going to to age out very gracefully over the next eight years. And uh they give the Stars an A+ there. A total surplus of $78 million for the Starve. The average positive value 64% and you can sort of go down the the line here and I I want to do that a bit. Sean comes in at a D+ and we know he’s aging his 9.9 million. Doesn’t look very good on the books. Uh Elie Labouchkin, he has a C minus um at 3.3 million now for the the next year. Radic Foxa is given a C plus. So, if you uh sort of want to figure out how others are are maybe grading the Stars off seasonason or at least the acquisition of Radic Foxa and you got a couple B+ contracts, right, Ben, Robertson, Duchain, and Bourke. It says here, “The Stars have a fantastic cap sheet, but just fall short of the top five. A big part of that is term, where the teams above them have more core pieces locked up for longer. Robertson and Harley are both on incredible bridge deals that create massive value for the Stars, but Dallas will have to pay up big for both in short order. Considering their track record, they shouldn’t have much concern. They’ll look at the value on deals like Johnston Hasten and Ager. If the deals for Robo and Harley are anything like that, the Stars will shoot up the list for next season. Aside from the two stars left on Tyler Sean’s deal and Elie Labouchkin, the Stars don’t have any problem contracts. just nailed the two key RFA extensions and the Stars are a top five team next summer. So, we’ll see if they can do that. We’ve been talking about Harley and Robo quite a bit this summer. To round out the top 10, by the way, you got Vegas, you have Edmonton, you have New Jersey, and then Winnipeg. So, uh a couple of teams within the Central Division ranked within uh the top team. And um you you look at just some of these rankings in general, like these are sort of the teams that were sniffing um around the Stanley Cup last year outside of really Ottawa. Um you can make a case for each of these teams kind of sniffing around. I know Tampa was a first round exit, but what nine out of the 10 are uh you know, playoff teams and uh you get I I think all the teams that within the top four um are within the top 10 as well. So, it shows how important contracts can be. And uh for those of you watching on YouTube, you get an idea of the total surplus and positive value and all that good stuff for the Stars as well. That’s going to do it for your NHL contract efficient spending rankings. Now, I want to talk about Alex Petrovic. Maybe not a very sexy player to talk about, but can he potentially be more than a safety vow for Glenn Gooson? Is uh this a guy that has played less than 15 combined games in the NHL over the past two seasons to play more than 50? We’ll get into that in just a moment. Today’s episode of Locked On Stars is brought to you by Game Time. Have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ball game with friends or family? Maybe it’s game day and you suddenly realize you want to be in the stands. That’s exactly where Game Time comes in. It’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. With the money you save on tickets, you can splurge on food, drinks, merch, or even invite a bigger group to come with you. Game time makes it possible. Game time makes buying tickets fast and simple. Prices on the app actually drop the closer you get to first pitch. And they’ve got incredible lastminute deals. Clear seat views at the lowest price guarantee that takes the worry out of buying. Just last week, I was in Seattle and me and my girlfriend, we wanted to go to the Rangers game in Seattle at T-Mobile Park. It’s a ballpark I never been to. Ballpark number 23 on my list. And then boom, went to game time. We got tickets. I was able to see the view from our seat. Beautiful ballpark. There was no obstructions. And just like that, within 10 minutes, we had our tickets and we were going to the ballpark and having a fantastic time. Game time is there for you. The official ticketing partner of Locked on MLB. It makes it easy to browse the app for an exciting upcoming MLB game. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create account. Use the code lock. NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem code Lok NHL locked up. NHL for $20 off. Download the Game Time Today app. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. So, I would label Alex Petravvic as the safety valve for the Dallas Stars heading into this season. He is going to be at least it it seems like the seventh defenseman for Dallas or potentially he’s moved back down to the AHL and they ask someone else to be that seventh defenseman. But I wonder if there’s a potential for for him to to be more than that just because of what we seen from him over the last couple of postseason runs. I I do believe Neil Lungquist is going to get the opportunity to be that sixth defenseman and play alongside Liam Bishell. We also saw how well Petravvic played with Bishell in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And I I wonder if there’s an opportunity for Petravic to maybe win out that job right off the bat if Lquist doesn’t show improvements or doesn’t show the the coaching staff that he deserves to be back in that position. Is there an opportunity where Lungquist is sort of the odd man out and Petravic is that veteran defenseman that gets the benefit of the doubt from the staff? We talked about it with Dbor a lot and Ryan Sudter and some others where coaches are always going to lean on the veterans because it’s all about winning games. That’s where coaches are going to be graded on at the end of the day. And yes, we want Golitin to bring in this fresh new perspective. But when he’s under the gun, if the Stars get off to a bit of a shaky start, he’s under the gun. He’s going to lean on the veterans. And can Petravic be that stabling piece on the blue line for Dallas? You have Miro, Lindell, Harley, Labouchkin, Lungquist, Bitchel, Petravic. That’s your seven defenseman right now under contract for the Dallas Stars. And I I’m just so curious since Brennan Smith was a guy that played 32 games last season. I know many of those games were by necessary uh were required by um just by by sheer necessary because the Stars went through a stretch where they had multiple injuries with Mero and Lungquist and Smith had to step in and also Smith could play up front. I know he got a couple of games as a forward under his belt as well, but I I’m almost going to throw out a prediction here. I think Petravic has an opportunity, and maybe this is just a a hot take. This is a bold take. I I’ll say that. I think he can play 50 games th this next season based off just what we’ve seen over the last few years and what Petro can provide a as a as a partner for Bishel. We haven’t seen Bishell play with Bluntquist. Is that something the Stars really want to go into next season under a coaching staff with a pairing that maybe they they don’t believe is uh a great fit? We still have to see the chemistry uh the chemistry between those two. And you’re you’re really putting your stock in a defenseman that’s 26 um and 21. And I know Lquist has been around the block, but he’s still, I think, safe to say he’s not established as an NHL uh defenseman. Uh, and Petravic is just an interesting case. He’s cheap number one, and he played a combined six games the last two regular seasons, and he was only called up because the Stars just needed him to fill in for a game here and there because of injuries. Well, it has a feeling now that I think Petra Vic can play, you know, upwards of 30 games this next season just to give maybe Bishel a rest. Also, I think you have to take that into consideration. As much as we love Bishial and we thought he had a really solid sort of rookie campaign, uh there there’s going to be some learning curves again and maybe some growing curves where the coaching staff feels like they need to give him a rest. and Petravic is going to be a really really solid safety valve for Dallas to just come in and be a stable presence and be that Joel Hanley where you know what you’re going to get even if he’s in the pet uh even if he’s in the press box for you know a week and a half at time they can work him in the lineup give Lungquist or Bishel a rest sometimes younger players just need to watch from the press box and Petravic Petravic can step in um and maybe as a guy too like let’s let’s be real, maybe if they feel like Labushka needs to be dropped down to give him um an opportunity to play less high leverage minutes, maybe Petravic is a guy they can throw in with Thomas Harley, round out your top four. And no, this is not ideal. This is not where the Stars want to be come playoff time. But you’re talking about the grind of an 82 game season and the potential for, you know, Meo’s been hurt the last couple seasons. He’s missed significant time. I think Petravic is a is a guy the stars could rely on to play alongside a Harley and be serviceable um and and be more serviceable than even a Matt Dumba um than last season. Um I I just think Petravic has been a guy that has really punched above his weight um and can be a a guy you can sort of stick with anybody. Sort of a guy you can just play with a Harley, a Lindell, a Labouchkin. just fits in with anybody and he’s he’s going to be just fine and he’s going to thrive um in a lot of situations. And you know, maybe the the the the advanced analytics aren’t going to be um a loving darling to him, but we we documented it multiple times this last postseason. I know Bishel and Petravic weren’t playing in high leverage minutes, but you know, they gr out very well. They were they were just one of the best pairings in general for the Stars this past uh this past postseason run because of uh I think their really ability to just be physical and move the puck. Um they they were a physical uh physical pair that uh could also move the puck with efficiency, get it up the ice and um were um actually um a strong pairing for Dallas when they really needed one after all the debacle with the uh you know kind of the top four and not being able to really find uh I guess find rhythm find rhythm there. It was just sort of a again a rotation of guys that we saw the last season. And and this is going to be one of my my hopes I guess for the season is that Dallas just finds uh pairings that work and that they can just stick to. That’s been something the Stars have lacked the last couple years. It’s always been sort of a rotation or every 12 games are kind of mixing in a new pair. Can they find stable pairings for a full 82? And you’re going to have to mix them around, right? There’s going to be injuries that that just is inevitable. But can you have a pairing? Can you have six defenseman you kind of roll with for let’s say 50 games out of the 82 and then the postseason you know what you’re going to get. Um and barring trade deadline and all that good stuff and uh additions. So, um, that’s sort of my thought process behind why I think Petravic could be a guy that maybe plays upwards of, you know, 50 plus games. Maybe he creeps, uh, around 55, uh, because of of Bishel being young and Lungquist. Yes, he’s getting a new lease on life, but there’s going to be maybe a more collaborative process. Where does that land him with this new coaching staff or at least Glenn Gooson in particular? Um and uh sort of where uh the stars uh blue line um is is coming into this season. Now on a fun note to to sort of wrap up today’s show, Anton Hudobin, yes, he is calling it quits. The career of Anton Hudobin, where’s he going to land for you in Dallas Stars lore? Of course, that magical run uh just about five years ago. We’ll put a bow on his NHL career in just a moment. Anton Hudobin, “We’re not going home.” Words that uh will always live in infamy in Dallas Stars history. He called it a a quits uh just a few weeks ago. And uh Hudobin had a 14year NHL career. four with Boston, four with Dallas, a couple of seasons with Carolina and Minnesota, and then one with Anaheim and Chicago. But he played 260 games. He started 238, had 114 wins, 100 92 losses, excuse me, and then 33 between ties and overtime and all that good stuff. Had a career goals against average 2.52 and a save percentage of 916. His best year, yeah, was that magical run in Dallas, a 930 save percentage, a 2.22 goals against average. Remember that run for a few years? It was between 2018 and like 2022. Hudobin and Bishop, Ben Bishop, one of the best best tandemss in the NHL. Man, I always love Ben Bishop, too. Um, what what could have been with him? It felt like he was a guy that could get it done for the Stars. I would have loved to see Bishop still playing with a roster the Stars have had the last couple years. Um he he just had something about him that I I think I think the Stars could have done something special with him and and unfortunately injuries just derailed derailed the rest of his career. But man who Dobin uh he he led the league in save percentage uh that year in 2019 2020 and he only started in 30 games right he wasn’t the workhorse um until the playoffs uh just because Bishop had started the majority of games but that playoff run man 25 games he was 1410 and0 in those 25 games he faced 811 shots and se and made 744 saves that led the league in the postseason um that year. And of course, that was just a weird weird year with um the bubble cup playoffs. Man, that was such a weird time. If you can recall where you were at during that time, I was living in my sister’s basement in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was watching those games, those Calgary Flames games are burned into my mind. I remember watching a game um in a lakehouse in Minnesota. the game I want to say it was four where the Stars were about to go down 3-1 in that series at Calgary and then Joe Pavvelski scored the tying goal with like six seconds left maybe it was 14 seconds left in the third period to force the game into overtime and then Clingberg scored the game-winning goal to make it a two-2 series the Stars of course go on to win that series and eventually make a one a run to the Stanley Cup and uh just some incredible incredible performances by Hudobin in that uh in that playoff run. Um just he wasesque in that remember that series against Calgary where he’s just being peppered and he just had the answer every single time. Every single game he seemed to have the answer um against the uh opponent and had to be just rode the rest of the way since uh Bishop only played in three games. I remember, you know, he didn’t start that first series and Bishop, I believe, came back in a couple of the games against uh a couple of the games against Colorado or at least came into one of them to kind of give him an opportunity and it just it it never it never transpired and then Hudobin was just main man the rest of the way. Um and and was just a workhorse and uh was was incredible. started 25 out of the 28 playoff games um the Stars played that year. 25 of the 30. Even Aer got a couple games. He had to come in relief a few of those. I think it was in that Stanley Cup final um when the game was sort of out of reach. And um imagine if Anton Hudobin won a Stanley Cup. I mean he he I I mean I don’t think there was any doubt he he would have been the the Kan Smite winner for Dallas. Um, I think Miro would have had a decent shot at it. Um, even even Ben that year had a really good year, but I think Anton Udobin, I mean, there’s no doubt he could have had a Khan Smi in a in a Stanley Cup. And again, it would have been weird. Uh, I’m sure many people maybe outside the Lonear State would have had an asterisk on it as well, uh, just because it came during that run. But it was so so just unique and historic. it probably will never happen again. Um, and man, I I I still I still think back with a lot of fondness over that team. It’s even hard for me to to to look back at footage from that year just because they were so damn close. And uh and what he did was so just so fascinating just because of how that year sort of transpired. and um who who Dobin will just always go down as a fan favorite. He’s just so easy to root for and he played the position bec and he played the position uh what made him so fun too was like it you know in a in in 2020 he played the position like you know in 2008 was flying around he was flailing and making acrobatic saves and you just don’t see that much anymore um in the modern NHL where guys like they’re just kind of in position they move and make saves and it’s a bit less you know, sexy or a bit less sporadic, but um Hudobin um he uh he made an impact um in Stars history in that short amount of time he was here and he’ll always be remembered fondly um for his uh for his production and almost almost what he was able to accomplish and would have been one of uh the best runs in franchise history. I it still is. I mean, if he capped it off with a cup, my goodness. uh what a legend he could be um in Dallas. But congrats to Hudobin on a wonderful NHL career. Let me know your thoughts on Hudobin in the the comments below. I’m sure many of you have kind things to say about what he was able to accomplish. And um yeah, I wanted to sort of put a bow on um his career since um he called it quits. And uh uh what a what a what a what a career. And um it was awesome to see him. he was what in the building for one of those playoff games uh this this past year. So, it’s nice to see that he’s kind of around the organization and um he uh is always going to be a fan favorite here in the Lone Star State. But that’s going to do it for this Friday edition of Locked on Stars and it’s going to wrap up your weekend. Uh Stars fans have a great weekend. Uh hockeyy’s right around the corner, just about two months away now um from your season opener uh which is going to be a ton of fun against those Winnipeg Jets. But have a great rest of your weekend and we’ll see you on Monday and on the next episode of Locked on Star. So long everybody.

On today’s episode of Locked On Stars, Joey takes a look at where the Dallas Stars rank on a list of best teams in terms of contract efficiency. The Athletic ranked all 32 teams and graded each contract of every team and the Stars cracked the top 10 with a few questions upcoming next season with Thomas Harley and Jason Robertson. Joey talks about Alex Petrovich in the following segment and why he believes he could potentially be more than just a safety net for the Stars next season with questions around Nils Lundkvist and a young Lian Bichsel. To finish the show Joey remembers the special moments and career of Anton Khudobin who announced his retirement last week. Follow Joey on Twitter: twitter.com/joeythejet19 Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOStars?sid=YouTube Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL Follow the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LockedOnStars Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockedonstars/ #NHL #DallasStars #hockey Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Gametime Today’s episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. Monarch Money Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year. FanDuel Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get $150 in Bonus Bets if your first $5 bet wins! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)