The Dallas Stars have made a splash in free agency, coming to terms with UFA winger Mason Marchment. Reports indicate that the deal is four years for $18M, resulting in a cap hit of $4.5M.
Marchment is coming fresh off a breakout season for the Florida Panthers before electing to test the free agency market. By signing Marchment, the Stars are taking a gamble that last season was no fluke but rather a sign of things to come:
Mason Marchment, signed 4x$4.5M by DAL, is a two-way winger coming off one of the most bonkers seasons in recent memory. 70 point pace in fourth line minutes with elite on-ice impacts. Your guess is as good as mine as to what comes next. #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/cEv1NkkzTn
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 13, 2022
Mason Marchment broke my model with a ridiculously off-the-charts season last year. A great bet to make for the Stars to bolster their forward depth at the price, but safe to say he won’t replicate what he did in 2021-22. pic.twitter.com/wAGC4gSLQ5
— dom (@domluszczyszyn) July 13, 2022
Marchment is expected to round out a Top 6 that includes Roope Hintz, RFA Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, and either Jamie Benn or Denis Gurianov. More specifically, he’ll likely slide into the second line next Benn and Seguin, filling the void left since the decline (and now departure) of Alexander Radulov.
Earlier in the day, Pierre LeBrun had reported that Marchment was expected to sign for four years with the Carolina Hurricanes. This came shortly after the Hurricanes traded for Brent Burns, whom was also being targeted by the Stars as a John Klingberg replacement. Reports then came in that Klingberg and Dallas had renewed negotiations, but with the addition of Marchment, a reunion would be very difficult to fit underneath the salary cap.
In other Stars-related free agency news, Vladislav Namestnikov returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a one year, $2.5M deal. Meanwhile there are no further updates on new deals for RFAs Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger.