Dallas Stars Sign F Vernon Fiddler To Three Year Deal

So much for the idea that the Stars would be quiet on the first day of free agency. One hour and thirty minutes in and they've already inked Adam Pardy, Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak.

Fiddler played his last two seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes to great effect and was a good fit with what they wanted to do there, which was play smart defensive hockey. Fiddler is known as a dynamite faceoff guy, always welcome in Dallas, and a good penalty killer, which the Stars need because that was a huge problem last year.

This is a depth move I think most of us can agree is a good one. He's 31 years old, so that three year term is not too much of a big deal. He'll add between 20 and 30 points to go along with his penalty killing and defense, which is something the Stars have not gotten from depth guys previously (Sutherby, Segal, Burish, Petersen, Wandell, etc...) so I like this move a lot there.

If history is any indication he'll also good for a couple of short handed goals per year, which is always nice.

Term is 3 years at $1.8 million per. Less than Adam Pardy, for whatever reason. Reports were that the Coyotes wanted to keep Fiddler, and $1.8 million doesn't seem like a lot, so it will be interesting to hear what happened there.

Please stick with us as we see what else happens today and how all these moves fit together. The Stars have dedicated at this point about $5.3 million more to the payroll next year. The thought of one "bigger" (big-ish?) name coming to town is one we're starting to question...