The Dallas Stars have surfaced as one of four teams with reported interest in winger Patrik Laine, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.
Garrioch also named the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning as clubs with interest. He said the Ottawa Senators discussed signing Laine as well, but a deal there is unlikely because Ottawa does not view him as the right fit for its roster.
Laine turned 28 in April and became an unrestricted free agent in July. His four-year, $34.8 million contract, which carried an $8.7 million cap hit, expired after last season, per PuckPedia.
His 2025-26 season was cut short by core muscle surgery on Oct. 25. Laine appeared in just five games with the Montreal Canadiens and finished with no goals, one assist and one point while averaging 12:36 of ice time.
Before that, he put together a much stronger first season in Montreal. In 52 games, Laine scored 20 goals and added 13 assists for 33 points. Fifteen of those goals came on the power play, and he finished with 19 power-play points.
Laine’s career resume still carries plenty of weight. In 537 regular-season games, he has 224 goals, 198 assists and 422 points.
He has added eight goals and 17 points in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Winnipeg selected him second overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and his career-best 44 goals came with the Jets in 2017-18.
Dallas, meanwhile, is navigating a tight cap picture. Pro Hockey Rumors, using PuckPedia figures, reported last month that the Stars sat at $105,360,333 in cap charges against the $104 million upper limit, leaving them $1,360,333 over the ceiling. That total included $2.08 million in dead cap from a carryover bonus charge.
The Stars also locked up Jason Robertson on a one-year, $12 million contract on July 21 after he filed for salary arbitration on July 5. Robertson led Dallas with 45 goals, 51 assists and 96 points in 82 games last season, and he becomes eligible to sign an extension Jan. 1.
Tyler Seguin is in the final year of the eight-year, $78.8 million contract he signed in 2018, which carries a $9.85 million cap hit. He skated Tuesday at the team’s practice facility while working back from a torn right ACL. TSN reported that Seguin is one of nine pending unrestricted free agents on the Dallas roster.
The Stars went 50-20-12 for 112 points last season and finished second in the Central Division before the Minnesota Wild eliminated them in six games in the first round.
Dallas opens training camp Sept. 17 at Comerica Center in Frisco. Ottawa begins camp a day earlier at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Stars have four preseason games on the schedule. Their exhibition slate starts Sept. 19 at St.
Louis with a 6 p.m. CT puck drop and ends Sept. 25 at Minnesota.
Dallas opens the regular season at home against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 2 at American Airlines Center.
Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. CT on TNT.
In Other News...
NHL Trade Demands Just Drew A Blunt Response From MacKenzie Weegar
MacKenzie Weegar had a pretty clear message when the conversation turned to player movement and pressure around Canadian markets. The Utah Mammoth defenseman, who spent time with the Calgary Flames, spoke positively about his years in Canada and said he appreciated the passion that comes with Canadian hockey fans, a perspective Stars followers know well anytime trade chatter starts heating up around the league.
Weegar also drew a line between the perks of different markets and the obligation that comes with any NHL jersey, which made his comments land as more than just a polite nod to his old team. There is always a tension in the league between where players want to be and where they are asked to stay, and Weegars stance left little doubt about how he views those demands, even if he stopped short of turning it into a bigger argument. [Read more 🡒]