However excited you may be over the Dallas Stars’ current and rising prospects, their future success will probably depend on the activation of their talented (and highly paid) veterans. The paradigms for this picture are Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin – whose very best days are behind them, but who can and must be more of a factor on the ice next season.
The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf took a long look at the Benn-Seguin situation and summarized what’s possible, and impossible, in his latest article. First, forget about moving either player, whether through trade or buyout:
The entire league is operating under a flat salary cap so any team that might be an acceptable consideration for Benn or Seguin likely wouldn’t have the cap space to bring on those contracts for older depth pieces who have been producing at a middle- to bottom-six rate.