Zvezda’s star player who has to be traded soon

Although it was an up-and-down season for the Dallas Stars in 2024-25the team has been on a tear lately. Currently on a six-game winning streak and with nine wins in 12 tries dating back to Dec. 14, Pete DeBoer’s club looks poised to make another deep postseason run in the spring.

Now 26-13-1 and looking like one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, the Stars are in third place in the Central Division, just five points behind the first-place Winnipeg Jets and just six behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the President’s Trophy Race — with a game to play in hands. Dallas is fresh a a convincing 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on the road Thursday night.

It goes without saying that, like the last couple of NHL trade deadlines, the front office will look to improve the roster before March 7. But the Stars are firmly tied to the salary cap, currently only having under $1 million in closing spaceby Puck Pedia. That will make the deadline more difficult, and it doesn’t help that there are more players on the roster who will need new contracts.

The Stars need to find the money to pay a couple of key players

There is a very real chance that Zvezda’s roster next season will look much different than it does now. This has been one of the better clubs in the Nationals over the past few seasons, as evidenced by back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals in each of the last two postseasons.

But the franchise was unable to overcome its current core problem, advancing to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Finals but losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. The organization went without a championship after Brett Hull’s heroics helped win the inaugural title in 1999.

With the calendar now flipped to 2025, the pressure to at least reach the final is back on this iteration of Zvezda. And several key players in that pursuit are still out of contract beyond this season. That includes captain and heart-and-soul forward Jamie Benn, who has played his entire career in Texas. He makes $9.5 million in 2024-25 and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

What does the future hold for Ben in Dallas? It is a key issue moving forward. And he’s not the only player who needs to be paid. Along with fellow UFAs Matt Duchene, Evgeni Dadonov and Sam Steele — who have been effective during their tenure — Wyatt Johnston will command a massive extension. He is in the final year of his entry-level contract and is making less than $1 million this season. He will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, and with 30 points in 40 games, he will need a significant upgrade.

All that to say, the Stars need some cap space. And to make up for it, it would make a lot of sense for general manager Jim Neal to take a long look at moving Matt Dumba before the deadline.

The Stars’ Matt Dumba is a trade candidate

In a team as good as Zvezda, and in the last few years, there are not many players that need to be changed. The front office will make a trade at the deadline to try again to help transform this into a Stanley Cup contender. But Dallas currently boasts seven capable defensemen on the roster — and Dumba probably provides less value than any other blueliner.

Drafted seventh overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2012, Dumba has excelled in the first few seasons of his career. His best campaign was 2016-17; The Regina, Saskatchewan native scored 14 goals and 50 points in 82 total games. But the veteran declined, and bounced around several teams over the past two seasons.

Dumba signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes in the summer of 2023. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning before the 2023-24 deadline, before joining the Stars as an unrestricted free agent last offseason. It’s a two-year deal, paying Dumba $7.5 million over two seasons.

But the former Red Deer Rebel had a rough time in Texas. Dumba had just two assists in 23 games while skating to a minus one. Add the lack of production to the fact that the Stars already have six capable NHL defensemen without him: Mir Heiskanen, Ess Lindell, Thomas Hurley, Ilya Lyubushkin, Brendan Smith and Nils Lundqvist.

There’s no guarantee that Dumba will be in the lineup come playoff time, and given the situation, it’s probably time for the Dumba experiment to end in Dallas.

The Stars should trade Matt Dumb before the deadline

Even if Dallas isn’t able to get a significant return for Dumba — he just hasn’t been good this year — getting his $3.75 million off the books would be a wise move before the March 7 deadline. There are huge decisions to be made about the futures of Johnston, Benn and Duchene, and getting that cap space back would be helpful.

Dumba is still a bona fide NHL blueliner, and could help either a rebuilding team or a contender that isn’t as deep on the blue line as Dallas. Even without Chris Tanev, the Stars boast one of the best defensive units in the league. While he’s obviously nice to have around, especially if someone gets hurt down the stretch, he’s not worth the $3.75 million they’re paying him right now.

On a team as good as the Stars — and one with Stanley Cup aspirations — it wouldn’t be surprising to see the roster largely intact at the deadline, potentially sacrificing draft capital to bring in another impact player or two. That’s especially true for Tyler Seguin who is a LTIR candidate after hip surgery. That would give the front office even more relief — the veteran forward is making $9.85 million this season.

Whichever direction the Stars decide to go at the deadline, tough decisions will have to be made, regardless of how the team fares in the postseason. But as currently constructed, this is a roster that has a realistic shot at winning a championship later this year — with or without Dumba.