- Et si l'OFFRE HOSTILE de Marc Bergevin..
- Venait du CHAMP GAUCHE...
- Et était pour Denis Gurianov...
- The ATHLETIC SUPREND...
The Stars have three important restricted-free-agent forwards they need to re-sign in Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov. The problem is they already have $27 million in real money tied up next season in four aging forwards: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov (the irony here is not lost on us). That same foursome will cost the Stars just over $34 million in real money in 2021-22, not to mention that is the year stud defenceman Miro Heiskanen’s next contract will kick in.
Gurianov, 23, is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound forward with a laser one-timer that he used to put in his first 20-goal season, including seven goals on the power play. He seems to be a player on the cusp of great things, one who scored nine goals in 27 playoff games, but also one who does not have the track record to merit a big contract just yet.
Unless the Canadiens happen to offer him one.
Would the Stars want to match a four-year offer worth $4.5 million a year for Gurianov, one that would walk him straight to unrestricted free agency at age 27 just like the Aho contract? With the Stars’ other financial commitments up front, the Hintz and Faksa contracts to take care of, the looming monster deal Heiskanen is sure to sign, the impending free agency of playoff hero Anton Khudobin and the impacts of the pandemic on the core business of the Dallas owner, it’s a question worth asking.
Evolving Hockey’s contract projection tool predicts the most likely deal for Gurianov is a two-year term at just over $2 million a year. It would be fair to assume the Stars are not prepared to pay this young man this much this soon.
The compensation the Stars would receive for walking away would be only a first- and a third-round pick in 2021, which frankly is not much of an incentive to let such a promising young forward walk away. But it would be worth a shot for the Canadiens.