Max Domi and Evgenii Dadonov, two former Montreal Canadiens color bearers, played a part in the Dallas Stars’ playoff success, but have they done enough to earn the right to sign new contracts with the team?
These two forwards will soon become unrestricted free agents. Introduced around close of trade this winter, they didn’t disappoint.
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Domi was the Chicago Blackhawks’ top scorer at the time of the trade. He then went on to have seven points in 20 regular-season games, followed by another 13 points in 19 playoff games. Let’s hope for the Manitoban that he’s not yet packing his bags, he who wore the colors of six clubs during his eight seasons in the National League.
The 28-year-old has plenty of attacking talent but his defensive reliability has often been criticized. In the powerful stars, he had a difference of -6. His salary in 2022–23 was $3 million.
Dadonov’s case is a little different as he appears to have reinvigorated his career in Dallas. The 34-year-old Russian struggled to find his rhythm in Montreal this year. He had accumulated 18 points in 50 games before being traded to the Stars in exchange for Denis Gurianov.
In Dallas, the right winger picked up 15 points in just 23 games. In the playoffs, he picked up 10 points in 16 games, scoring as many goals (4) as during his brief stint with the blue-white-red. It would also be surprising if he were paid a salary of $5 million again, as he has in his last three campaigns.
The stars won’t have too many big freelance deals starting in July and should have about $7.4 million on their payroll within the salary cap.