The Dallas Stars re-signed forward Patrick Eaves today, continuing their re-tooling of their roster for next season. Eaves was a glue guy that fit onto any line last year, and was a big part of their power play as a net-front guy.
Stars re-sign Patrick Eaves for one year. I believe it is $1 million.
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) July 1, 2016
The retention of Eaves on a one year deal for $1 million is another shrewd move by general manager Jim Nill. It should provide the Stars coaching staff with flexibility in the forward corps and some creativity with power play units. Forward lines as they stand after this signing are likely to look something like this:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin
Patrick Sharp – Jason Spezza – Mattias Janmark
Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Ales Hemsky
Brett Ritchie – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Curtis McKenzie
With RFAs qualified and expected to be re-signed, the Stars have 13 forwards, 7 defensemen (8 if you count Esa Lindell at the NHL level), and 2 goaltenders under contract for next season. It’s likely the Stars are done in free agency, though I wouldn’t rule out any additional moves through trade as a potential move in the future for the Stars.