Deadline Drama: Which Seven NHL Teams Are Racing Against Time to Shake Up Their Rosters?
Dallas has a couple of weaknesses that it should address. Up front, the Stars would benefit from adding a middle-six forward — they lost a decent chunk of their forward depth in the summer as Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment and Evgenii Dadonov all departed last summer. Seguin’s injury has further exacerbated that gap, forcing the club to rely on less proven players such as Sam Steel, Mavrik Bourque and Justin Hryckowian in elevated roles, with mixed results this season.
On the back end, the Stars also need to add a top-four right-shot defender. This has become an annual trade deadline requirement, as the club traded for Chris Tanev in 2024 and for Cody Ceci last year. Finding an upgraded partner will be crucial to unlocking the best version of Thomas Harley. Harley, a top-20 defenseman in the NHL, is having a down year, earning only 44.9 percent of shot attempts and 47 percent of expected goals at five-on-five this season. He’s been saddled with one of Nils Lundkvist or Ilya Lyubushkin for most of the season, which just isn’t going to cut it come playoff time.
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