(Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)
Pressure is on Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist season as he will be a restricted free agent after this season.
Lundkvist was drafted 28th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2018 NHL Draft. The late first round pick didn’t see any NHL action until the 2021-22 season with the Rangers.
Lundkvist only played in 25 games with the Rangers during the 2021-22 season. He recorded one goal and three assists with New York.
On Sept. 19, 2022, the Rangers traded Lundkvist to the Stars for Dallas’ 2023 first round pick and a conditional pick that turned into a 2025 fifth round pick as Lundkvist didn’t score 55 points in the 2022-23 season.
In his first season in Dallas, Lundkvist played in 60 games. He recorded 6 goals, 10 assists, a -5 rating and averaged 16:18 TOI.
Lundkvist recorded an assist in his Stars debut on opening night in Nashville on Oct. 13, 2022, against the Predators. Lundkvist had an assist in 4-of-9 games in October.
Two of Lundkvist’s six goals were game winners. One was an overtime winner against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 10, 2022. The other was against the 2023 Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers on Jan. 8, 2023.
(Michael Ainsworth/AP Photo)
Lundkvist last played for Dallas against the Vancouver Canucks on March 25, 2023. He didn’t play in any of the 19 Dallas Stars Stanley Cup Playoff games. Thomas Harley was inserted on defense and played in all 19 Playoff games.
Even with injuries to defenseman Jani Hakanpää in the Playoffs, Lundkvist didn’t play in the Playoffs. Colin Miller and Joel Hanley played instead.
At 23 years old and entering his third NHL season, it’s unsure what Dallas has in Nils Lundkvist.
However, there’s a chance for Lundkvist to get more playing time with Dallas trading defenseman Colin Miller to the New Jersey Devils.
Lundkvist’s salary for the 2023-24 season is $925,000 and is a restricted free agent after the season.
Stars general manager Jim Nill talked about what he saw in Lundkvist when he traded for him in September 2022.
“We felt that adding a creative player like Nils to our defensive group was necessary,” Nill said. “And, he has a tremendous opportunity to establish himself as an everyday, impact defenseman at the NHL level.”
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