Coming into the season, the Dallas Stars had question about the ownership of the team. Unfortunately, six months later, those questions still remain unanswered as their offseason rolls around and roster changes come to the forefront of the mind.
The Stars were ranked number 23 out of 30 in the league in terms of payroll at the end of the season. Despite their low payroll, they were one point away from making the playoffs.
Heading into the next season, the Stars will have eight free agents to think about and somewhere a little over $20 million to play around with. It is still unknown whether or not the Stars will spend money near the cap limit, although it’s quite doubtful. The salary cap had a limit of $59.4 million this year and that number is expected to expand by $3 million more for next year.
The most scrutinized free agent will be Brad Richards, who has already come out and said that he will not return to the team if they do not get an owner. With things looking as they are for the Stars, it’s going to be a tough time trying to re-sign Richards.
Here’s a look at the salary cap for the Stars next year. It lists: The player, years left on their contract, next year’s salary, cap hit and their salary change from this year to next year.
| Forwards (15) | Years Remaining |
Salary | Cap Hit | Salary Change |
| Mike Ribeiro | 2 years | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | No change |
| Loui Eriksson | 5 years | $4,200,000 | $4,266,667 | + $1,000,000 |
| Brenden Morrow | 2 years | $4,100,000 | $4,100,000 | No change |
| Steve Ott | 3 years | $3,300,000 | $2,950,000 | + $1,200,000 |
| Adam Burrish | 1 year | $1,300,000 | $1,150,000 | + $300,000 |
| Krys Barch | 1 year | $850,000 | $837,500 | + $25,000 |
| Tom Wandell | 1 year | $850,000 | $775,000 | + $150,000 |
| Toby Peterson | 1 year | $800,000 | $775,000 | + $50,000 |
| Jamie Benn | 1 year | $670,000 | $821,667 | + $35,000 |
| Tomas Vincour | 2 years | $630,000 | $800,000 | + $50,000 |
| Brad Richards | None | UFA | – | – |
| Jamie Langenbrunner | None | UFA | – | – |
| Brian Sutherby | None | UFA | – | – |
| Brandon Segal | None | UFA | – | – |
| Jason Williams | None | UFA | – | – |
| Defensemen (8) | Years Remaining |
Salary | Cap Hit | Salary Change |
| Stephane Robidas | 3 years | $3,550,000 | $3,300,000 | + $300,000 |
| Trevor Daly | 6 years | $3,500,000 | $3,300,000 | + $1,000,000 |
| Alex Goligoski | 1 year | $2,750,000 | $1,833,333 | + $1,250,000 |
| Nicklas Grossman | 1 year | $1,750,000 | $1,625,000 | + $250,000 |
| Mark Fistric | 1 year | $1,250,000 | $1,000,000 | + $250,000 |
| Karlis Skrastins | None | UFA | – | – |
| Brad Lukowich | None | UFA | – | – |
| Jeff Woywitka | None | UFA | – | – |
| Goaltenders (2) | Years Remaining |
Salary | Cap Hit | Salary Change |
| Kari Lehtonen | 2 years | $3,700,000 | $3,550,000 | + $1,000,000 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 1 year | $600,000 | $650,000 | – $100,000 |
| Re-entry Waiver Losses | – | Salary | Cap Hit | – |
| Sean Avery | – | – | $1,937,500 | – |
| Totals | Salary | Cap Hit | ||
| 17 Players on Roster | – | $38,800,000 | $38,671,667 | – |
