Which Free Agents Would Improve The Stars Roster?

Which Free Agents Would Improve The Stars Roster?

Then I went and looked this up, guys. There are still a bunch of open free agents unsigned on the market right now. That thus that’s kind of redundant. If you’re a free agent, you’re unsigned. And so the Stars have a little bit of cash base, not a ton. And I just wondered as you look through the list of guys that are, you know, there’s some retirees retired players out there. Uh maybe in another time we’ll talk about the guys that announced their retirement. Tyler Johnson, Riley Nash, Christian Fischer, Pat Maroon. We can get into that. But there are some guys out there that to me might be interesting for your roster if you can make the money work and and make it fit. And so let me read off a couple of names that catch my eye and then if you guys have any that you want to talk about and specifically feel free. Jack Rosik, Matt Grizzlick, Victor Olivesson, maybe for nostalgia sake, Joel Kivir, Luke Cunnan, and then although Sean insists the injury thing is not a good idea, Robbie Fabry. There’s some players out there that could help the Dallas Stars. Anybody uh Leds, we’ll start with you. Anything jumped to your mind as somebody the Stars might consider if they can get him at the right price? My think is Olison a right shot or is he a left shot? He’s a left. I think I I think he’s a lefty. I listen the guy can the guy can put the puck in the net every once in a while. So, I don’t know if he’s the answer up there, but I mean I I saw somebody or saw something today where they’re talking about giving Oscar Beck a chance up there and I’m thinking, well, maybe now that you mentioned it, I don’t mind Rosik either. I mean, he’s more of a skilled guy. He’s down more down the middle of the ice though. I don’t know. I think he’s a centerman, natural centerman. So, I’m not sure the way it is right now. I don’t think that one’s going to work. I don’t know. Just those names right there. I I I would give a I I throw Olsson a bone. John Olson would Olivesson would be kind of for me that’s the most natural fit both positionally and capwise, right? Where I think Rosik was coming off making two and a half million last year. He’s 2.8 2.8. He’s the guy who’s got the most uh has the most points last season. He’s the one who with all these teams with cap space. He’s the one who is probably going to command a little bit more. Olivesson coming off closer to making a million dollars. Um, if I could get So, to me, Olivesson makes a ton of sense. If you’re Dallas, hey, that’s you you help solidify a little bit down the left side. You get another good shot. It allows you to better slot Jamie Ben into the lineup where you think is is the best way, whether it’s second line, third line, however you want to play it. Um, I’m not opposed to Roselik. Like if there’s a world where if the market is really cool on Jack Rosik and you got that 2 million in cap space and you got two roster spots, if there’s a crazy world where you could get each coming in for a million dollars, I’d be thrilled with both of them. That’s so like I I’m not I I have I I think I admit that if I’m there’s got to if Jeff Skinner’s making $3 million this year from the San Jose Sharks, Jack Ros’s gonna Jack Rosik’s gonna make more than that from somebody else and he’s just probably waiting. But if you’re the stars, I would be calling both just to see, hey, where are you? What does on things and Olivesson makes a ton of sense, especially if you’re talking about let’s kind of fix an area of weakness right now in that forward. Yeah, I think that’s the key is that you need a little skill. They don’t need to go out and get like a C cuten or someone else like another Blackwell type. They have plenty of those. I think if you’re getting one of these guys, it’s got to be the the rare player that’s on that line of affordable, which as Sean just said, Olivesson was just above a million. Um, the guy put 28 pucks in the net, 20 pucks in the net for for a Buffalo Sabres team and then put I think he scored 15 last year. That to me is a is a no-brainer if they can make that work because that’s something that it may not be your long-term solution and they may have to make a trade down the line or something, but that’s a way to get yourself 10, 15 more goals. And like Sean said, I’m much more comfortable putting Victor Olivesson as the second line left wing than Jamie Ben or Oscar Beck. So, uh, I think that’s an easy one. And then the Rosik one, I’m agreeing with Sean 100%. I think he’s going to he’s going to get more money. The funny thing with him is he’s been so inconsistent that it’s you could have teams that are a little bit hesitant, but the teams that have the space, why not at give him four million or something like that and try it out, right? Sam, doesn’t Rosik seem like the perfect um if you’re a if you’re a a team like San Jose, for example, we talked about San Jose with Jeff Skinner. If you’re a bad team, doesn’t Ros make a ton of sense? It’s a I’m buying draft capital, right? Like you literally make the deal with her where it’s like, “Hey, come here for 4 million. 4 million. Help us get higher above the cap floor. We’ll sell you at the deadline.” You go off, we’ll sign a one-year deal, we’ll sell you at the deadline. Like to me, it’s a from a player perspective, I think Ross Levik is that guy of if you’re a bad team, you’re like, “Hey, this is a this is a signing that can buy us a draft pick.” And I think that’s that’s the deal. I I I would bet he signs at some point. the way John Clingberg is, the way John Clingberg was with Anaheim right out of his first year out of Dallas. Things like that. What I just what I think the Skinner trade is going to be. I think Skinner is one of those where I think I bet he gets moved at the deadline where some team is going to bring him in for his veteran savvy now that he has two playoff games, right? So, that’s uh that that’s going to happen. Hey, Luds, I actually saw that too. It was an article on the nhl.com website where it was laying out a possible stars forward group and they had Oscar Beck listed as the second line center with Duchain and Sean. And I had to kind of like shake my head for a second because I have nothing against Oscar Beck. But there’s no world where Beck is playing in your top six, right Luds? Not in my world. I mean I I think again I I I have nothing against him. I I just I didn’t see a ton especially from the off I mean he he does his job up and down the wall you know he gets the front of the net and and if he can be a penalty killer he’s got a good long reach those kind of things but yeah I didn’t see that offensive top six no not not for me I you know what though I think they’re looking at at you know where where Steel fits in as a centerman I don’t think you give Steel enough credit being a little bit more versatile than what he is but I I I just got a funny feeling that they maybe don’t get anything and maybe that’s where and I think Del even mentioned that a little bit like they’ll look at steel up there the answer not. Um and like I said I think if if you keep Sean and and Duchain together um you know he can add that little jam on on that line for for those two guys. Yeah. And the the point here is too is how how ready is Ritzovian? Is is Ritz Kovian ready to jump in and be a second line wing guy and potentially give that role more so than Oscar Beck I believe is the simple answer. But is he your your solution or is it a same thing with the defense? Is it a put him up there and wait and see? And if he’s not ready to do that, maybe he’s a fourthline guy. It’s it’s a tough there’s a tough team to jump into right now because there is there are spots technically, but they’re more so higher level spots. They have enough bottom six fourthline guys. So for someone that’s going to come in, they’re going to need to fill that hole most likely or the Stars are going to be filling it with Sam Steeler and Jamie Ben. Well, we got a second here. I’d like to throw Mike Hikah under the bus a little bit. I hikah called me this morning. Well, he, you know, he called me this morning and we were talking about a few different things and he’s as uh talking to Gully this afternoon, it sounds like, but but he thought we talked about that same thing and he goes, “Well, you know, my my my thought is I we could take Tyler Seagan and we could move Sean over on the left hand side.” I’m like, “What?” And he goes, “Yeah, well, Tyler, you know, he’s over there that one-time and all that other kind of stuff.” And I kind of give him my, you know, scenario that I talked to you guys about how Duchain and Tyler greeds off of Duchaine, he likes coming down the right wall and things like that. And he like, yeah, you’re right. All of his chances come from over there. And um, you know, so I I just think that that’s got to be an area that they’re looking for. I I think Tyler just is able to read so well off of Duchain when they get across that offensive blue line. So um, but yeah, Oscar Beck really didn’t come up there to plug him into that number two spot up there. I I do want I do want to throw something here to Sam on Ritzkovian because Justin Ritzovian screams Sam Nestler style player to me, right? Like he’s the guy who in NHL preseason last year he’s fighting like he’s out there fighting like it’s the mid 90s and and in in preeason the guy he’s a on top of that he’s a college hockey guy. So, I I it’s the like Justin Ritzovian seems to me to be the Sam Nestler uh pick to click if we’re talking about a guy that would could surprise some people as and I’m not saying top six at all. I want to be very clear on that. Not top six, not saying he’s up there, but I think he’s a guy that I think some people who maybe didn’t watch Texas or pay attention what happened with that team might be surprised. I think he’s a guy who plays himself into a little bit more of that feel filling a bit of that like fan favorite guy for the right reasons down there. And I’ll throw it to Sam because I feel like he fits what Sam likes about the sport a lot. Not in a bad way, in a good way. Yeah. Yeah. No, it’s a it’s a good point though because like I just said, they need to fill a hole right on that side, but they don’t need someone to come in and score 25 goals either. I mean, they if let’s say we are talking about that second line, you have Matt Duchain and Tyler St on that line. Mason Marchman fit on that line not not because he could score, but because he could bring that other element. So if you have a guy that’s going to work hard, be a little more physical, be that Stankcoin type horse that’s always in your face, that could fit in perfectly with those two super skilled guys. Or if he’s not a top six and he’s down there below, maybe he’s with a Wyatt Johnston and that’s the same kind of scenario. So I I think it’s important to look at what type of player they need versus, hey, this is a like LD said it on one of our shows, the stars are probably better off with one guy on each line. Maybe not the top line, but of the bottom three line, one guy at least that can bring more of that edge, more of that physicality for check. If that’s what they’re trying to do, then look at who you have. Duchain and Sean are skill. That means your left wing should realistically be more grit, be more forchecking. Same thing with Johnson and Bourke. That’s Bourke a little different, but still that’s mostly skill. If that’s your third line, you probably want that left wing to do the same thing. So, I think it’s going to be interesting to look at uh to look at What are we looking at? Let’s [Music] [Applause] We all sitting like the mayor.

After the annual frenzy that surrounds the start of NHL Free Agency on July 1st, there remains about 40+ unrestricted free agent players who have not found a home for the 2025-26 season. We took a look at the list of names, including forwards Victor Olofsson and Jack Roslovic, who might be able to bolster the Dallas Stars lineup, if they can make the money work under the salary cap ceiling.

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