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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Examining The Market For Mats Zuccarello

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

Should the Dallas Stars do whatever they must to keep Mats Zuccarello in Big D? Or should they be looking over his shoulder for a new dance partner?

The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks has done some sums. He takes a look at the market, as well as the Stars’ history, starting with how the Stars have made deals with players like Zucc in the past:

Zuccarello is a creative, offensive-minded winger who can play on the top power play unit but doesn’t kill penalties and just averaged a career-high 19:51 of ice time per game this season, although he topped that figure just once in non-overtime games during his 15 regular-season and postseason games with the Stars.

This will likely be Zuccarello’s last chance to cash in with a big-money, multi-year contract and he probably would have posted his sixth straight season with at least 49 points had he not broken his arm blocking a shot in February.

He also examines the no-state-taxes trope and whether it’s really worth it for a player to take a discount on that basis:

While no state taxes in Texas assuredly helps the Stars, it’s not as big an advantage as often thought. Players are taxed on their salaries based on where they earn the money, so for road games, players are taxed by the city and state they play in. For example, if the Stars had a week-long road trip through California, they would get taxed that week by California.

But if the contract is structured with heavy signing bonuses paid in July (like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn ’s are), the no-tax effect is amplified.

There’s more at the News. [SportsDayDFW]

Stars Stuff

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Talking Points