The Penguins’ surprising decision to hand Ville Koivunen an eight-year, $32 million extension has put a new idea on the table around the league: get ahead of the market before a young player’s price explodes.
For the Stars, that thought points straight to Lian Bichsel.
Pittsburgh’s move came Thursday, and the size of the commitment turned heads even more because Koivunen had only seven points - two goals and five assists - in 39 games during his first real NHL run this season. Still, the 2021 second-round pick has been a point-per-game producer in the AHL and now looks like a possible long-term, cost-controlled piece for the Penguins.
That kind of bet naturally raises a broader question: which players are still waiting on their real NHL chance, but already look worthy of a big commitment?
Bichsel fits that mold. The 6-foot-7 defenseman just completed his second NHL season and showed he can handle himself, finishing with four goals and four assists for eight points in 50 games before a lower-body injury that required surgery took him out for a significant stretch. He then returned in time to skate in all six of Dallas’ playoff games, where he kept building a reputation as a hard-nosed, reliable presence on the blue line.
Now the timing matters. The former 18th overall pick in the 2022 draft is entering the final year of his entry-level deal, which makes him eligible for an extension. That gives Jim Nill a chance to act before the number gets much bigger.
Dallas has already spent much of the offseason sorting through a roster that is both crowded and expensive, with the Jason Robertson situation drawing plenty of attention. With Robertson’s contract handled through his one-year, $12 million deal, Nill has a little more room to look at the rest of the roster and think about the long view on defense.
Bichsel is the type of player that can make an early extension look smart in a hurry. He has size, mobility, and enough offensive touch to matter from time to time, and that combination is exactly why teams try to get ahead of the next contract cycle. As the salary cap keeps rising, deals for players like him are only going to get more expensive.
That is why the Koivunen extension in Pittsburgh may matter beyond just one surprising contract. It offers a blueprint. If Dallas believes Bichsel is part of its foundation, locking him in now could give the Stars cost certainty and help preserve the flexibility they need to keep building around him.
The conversation may not be urgent yet, but it feels close. And after what Pittsburgh just did, Nill may decide it is time to follow a similar path.
In Other News...
Miro Heiskanens Ranking Says A Lot About The Stars Blue Line
NHL Networks latest preseason defensemen rankings offered a pretty clear snapshot of where Miro Heiskanen stands around the league, and, by extension, where the Stars blue line stands with him at the top. Heiskanen came in fifth entering the 2026-27 season, a one-spot dip from the previous ranking, after putting together another strong year in which he played 77 games, finished with 9 goals and 54 assists, and added a bronze medal for Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
What stands out for Dallas is less the slight slide than the separation between Heiskanen and everyone else on the roster. He was the only Stars defenseman to crack NHL Networks top 20 in the networks nine-part preseason series, which says plenty about both his value and the gap the team will keep trying to narrow behind him. For a club that leans so heavily on its back end, the ranking is another reminder that Heiskanen remains the standard, and the rest of the group still has some work to do to catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Enter A Season Where Every Big Game Carries More Weight
A new season in Dallas arrives with the kind of urgency that tends to sharpen a teams attention from the opening faceoff. The Stars are chasing the franchises first Stanley Cup since 1999, and they are doing it with a roster that has plenty at stake beyond the standings. Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are among the players whose futures are very much part of the backdrop, which adds another layer to a team already expected to play meaningful hockey deep into the spring.
The contract-year theme does not stop there, either. Tyler Myers, Sam Steel, Oskar Bck, Colin Blackwell and Lian Bichsel are all in the same position, trying to turn steady production into something more secure when the season is over. For the Stars, it means every big night carries a little extra weight, because the push for a championship is unfolding alongside a group of players trying to prove they belong in the teams plans beyond this year. [Read more 🡒]