Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Stars.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Jason Robertson – Robertson is the domino that dictates everything else Dallas does this offseason. An elite top-line winger coming off a great year, he posted 45 goals and 96 points in 82 games this past season. Robertson leaned heavily on the power play, where 41 of his points were generated, and logged a career-high in ice time around 20:15 per game. The catch is the price tag. His next deal is projected to land among the league’s top winger comparables, with most reports pointing toward something near $12MM annually. Re-signing him is priority one, but fitting that number under the cap is the entire puzzle.

C Mavrik Bourque – After a quiet rookie year with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 73 games spent largely getting shuttled around the bottom six, Bourque roughly doubled his output to about 20 goals and 41 points in 82 games, finishing seventh on the team in scoring. The trend line is the selling point. He closed with nine goals and 19 points in 25 games while averaging 19 minutes a night after the Olympic break, the kind of usage-plus-production combination that suggests the role is finally catching up to the pedigree (Bourque was the 2024 AHL MVP and scoring champion). On an expiring $950K deal, he’s drawn mention as a realistic offer-sheet target, but a modest bridge contract is the likely outcome, and a strong value for a cap-strapped team. 

Other RFAs: F Arttu Hyry, F Antonio Stranges, F Samu Tuomaala, F Matthew Seminoff, F Kyle McDonald, F Chase Wheatcroft, F Scott Harrison, D Vladislav Kolyachonok, D Jeremie Poirier, D Luke Krys, G Benjamin Kraws

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Jamie Benn – The Dallas captain of 13 years is no longer a focal point of the offense, though he remains a leadership presence that the Stars may be reluctant to move on from. The 36-year-old put up 15 goals and 36 points in 60 games, a respectable depth-scoring line for his age but a clear step down in volume, due in part to opening the season on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He’s been on a string of short, team-friendly deals, and his future remains unresolved; even a discounted contract would cut further into Dallas’s limited cap space. The angle here is sentiment and leadership weighed against a tight budget. AFP Analytics projects a one-year deal in the $1.3MM range, roughly the discount required for a reunion to make sense.

F Michael Bunting – A trade-deadline pickup whose Dallas tenure is a small sample. Acquired from Nashville in early March for a 2026 third-round pick, Bunting had posted 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 61 games with the Predators before the deal, finishing the full season around 14 goals and 33 points in 74 games between the two stops. He’s a complementary middle-sixer who chips in power-play offense, roughly 10 of his points came on the man advantage, and a bit of grit, though his minus-24 rating is an eyesore. At 30, he’s the type of depth piece a cap-conscious team might let walk in favor of a cheaper option, making his return no sure thing. Notably, AFP Analytics is far more bullish, projecting a four-year deal near $5.8MM annually which, if accurate, would almost certainly price Dallas out and reframe him as a cap-casualty departure rather than a re-sign candidate.

F Nathan Bastian – A late-summer depth signing whose first year in Dallas was a quiet one. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound winger was brought in for size and physicality, he’d piled up 138 hits in 59 games with New Jersey the year before, but a limited role, a handful of healthy scratches, and a hand injury down the stretch held him to just three goals and three points in 24 games. His value was never about offense; he’s a heavy, penalty-killing fourth-liner (over 135 hits in four of his five full NHL seasons) who fits the Stars’ stated aim of getting bigger and harder to play against.

F Adam Erne – The feel-good depth case rather than a numbers case. Erne earned his first NHL contract in two years off a professional tryout out of training camp, the third straight year he’d attended a camp on a PTO, and turned it into five goals and six points across 39 games, a season interrupted by a lower-body injury that cost him about a month. He’s a forechecking, physical, bottom-six energy winger whose value is in hits and fourth-line minutes rather than scoring. For a team doing cap triage, he’s easy to bring back on another league-minimum deal or let walk without much consequence.

Other UFAs: D Alexander Petrovic, D Kyle Capobianco, F Kole Lind

Projected Cap Space

Dallas’s cap picture is a tight one. The NHL’s record $104MM ceiling for 2026-27 was expected to create flexibility across the league, but for the Stars the numbers remain cramped. Per PuckPedia, Dallas projects to enter the summer with roughly $10.1MM in functional cap space and 19 players already under contract, with nearly $94MM committed, leaving about $2.5MM per open roster spot. That’s a workable figure for depth pieces, right up until Jason Robertson enters the equation. A Robertson extension in the $12+MM range would swallow most of that room on its own, which is why the Stars spent last offseason shedding salary and why GM Jim Nill faces ugly triage this summer. Outside of re-signing Robertson and possibly squeezing in a discounted Benn return, Dallas is likely limited to league-minimum depth additions, and won’t want to lock itself into much term given the contracts still coming down the pipe.

Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia. 

The family of 38‑year‑old Marisol Perez and her 18‑month‑old son, Erik Jr., is sharing their grief after the two were killed in Thursday’s apartment explosion and fire in Dallas’ Oak Cliff.

The blast at the Clyde Apartments also claimed the life of community activist and Democratic Party precinct chair Sylvia Collins. Five others were injured.

Marisol’s sisters describe her as a devoted mother and a deeply loving person.

“She was a dedicated mom and a good person… she had a good heart and wonderful intentions,” said Maria Lopez, Marisol’s sister.

Family members rushed to the scene after receiving a call from police, hoping Marisol and her children had made it out safely.

“They told me they couldn’t find my sister and her baby. It was devastating,” Lopez said.

Daughter rescued from rubble

Marisol’s 9‑year‑old daughter, Vanessa, was pulled from the rubble by a good Samaritan moments after the explosion. She turns 10 on Monday.

“We don’t have any words to thank him. We are so grateful,” Lopez said.

“He risked his life. Anything could have happened when he ran across the street to get her,”  said sister Nora Carmona.

A close-knit family grieving

Marisol was one of four sisters, all of whom said they shared a tight bond.

“We called her Mari… or güera,” Lopez said.

“Every special occasion, she wanted me to do her makeup and hair. We’d laugh and bond. I miss it so much,” said sister Rosalinda Martinez.

The family says they are now focused on supporting Marisol’s husband, who was at work when the explosion happened.

“He wants justice. He knows this was not just a tragic accident. There have to be answers,” Carmona said.

Vigil planned for Sunday

The family is inviting the public to a vigil in honor of Marisol and Erik Jr. The event is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Sunday.

A GoFundMe has also been created to help with funeral expenses.