Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Plan for Seguin’s Contract

Coming off of a disappointing season, many Dallas Stars fans are wondering about the futures of some of the decision makers on the team, such as General Manager Jim Nill and head coach Ken Hitchcock. But perhaps the biggest storyline of the offseason will be whether or not the Stars can sign Tyler Seguin to a contract extension.

The Stars’ top center has one year left on a six-year, $5.75M deal that he signed with the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Stars. The team can negotiate with Seguin about an extension as soon as July 1, but don’t be concerned if it doesn’t happen right away:

”If something doesn’t happen by July 1, I don’t want any panic out there,” Nill said. “He does have another year on his contract. It might not be the right time for him right now. Sometimes, there is a process you’ve got to get through.”

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because Jamie Benn went through the same process two years ago. The Stars captain eventually signed an eight-year, $9.5M deal about two weeks after July 1, and Benn says he’s ready to give Seguin any advice on the situation:

“We have a great relationship, and we’ve had a couple of small chats about it,” Benn said of his linemate. “It’s nice to get it done. It’s nice when you have a team that wants to re-sign you and they jump on the first opportunity, so hopefully we can get Segs all signed up again.”

You can read more over at Mike Heika’s place here.

Stars Stories

The players have cleaned out their lockers as they get a head start on their summer. Here are a couple of the final interviews, starting with Tyler Seguin:

Next up, Jamie Benn:

And finally, Alexander Radulov:

Stars forward Remi Elie is heading back to Cedar Park to help the Texas Stars out on their Calder Cup run:

Playoff Primer

The Stanley Cup playoffs start today! I could link you a bunch of different first-round predictions, but we’d be here all day. So instead I’m just gonna link you to Down Goes Brown, because he’s the best and I’m biased. [Vice Sports]

Also from DGB, here’s an overview of goaltender interference reviews and why they will probably ruin an NHL playoff series. [The Guardian]

Which players should you watch out for this postseason? Jared Clinton has you covered:

Patrice Bergeron is revered as one of the league’s best — if not the best — shutdown forwards, and will likely be tasked with stopping Auston Matthews in the first round. The Maple Leafs response? Bring it on. [Sportsnet]

Braden Holtby will be on the bench for the Washington Capitals’ first game as the team rides the hot hand in Phillip Grubauer. Here’s why the Caps have made the right call: [The Hockey News]

Okay, this is not strictly playoff related, but Vladimir Tarasenko is having shoulder surgery, and I can’t help but wonder if he would still be playing if the St. Louis Blues were in the postseason:

Okay now I’m just stretching it, but hey, the article has “playoffs” in the title.

Finally...

After spending the year with the Dallas Stars, correspondent Scott Burnside says his goodbyes:

And before you start theorizing too wildly: